Index fund saver
Index funds explained in plain words, one letter a week
I’m Tapio. I put the same amount into an index fund every week and write about how it works, and I sell printable guides, a tracker and two video courses.
The year so far
The one number I keep
One bar for each weekly letter: what I have put in so far, at $100 a week. It is a dull chart on purpose. It shows what went in, never what it is worth, and it is not a forecast.
- Put in so far
- Plan for the year: $5,200
- Week 21: what a share isJun 28$2,100W21
- Week 22: the words on a statementJul 5$2,200W22
- Week 23: why I put in on the same dayJul 12$2,300W23
- Week 24: holidays and the same amountJul 19$2,400W24
- Week 25: what “diversified” meansJul 26$2,500W25
- Week 26: half a year of the planAug 2Half a year$2,600W26
- Week 27: reading a chart of money put inAug 9$2,700W27
- Week 28: the week I forgot to lookAug 16$2,800W28
- Week 29: a fund is not a bank accountAug 23$2,900W29
- Week 30: three thousand put inAug 30Three thousand$3,000W30
- Week 31: how my plan is set upSep 6Plan on a page$3,100W31
- Week 32: saving and investing are not the sameSep 13$3,200W32
- Week 33: one fund or several?Sep 20$3,300W33
- Week 34: when the news says everything fellSep 27A falling week$3,400W34
- Week 35: what a fund’s running cost meansOct 4$3,500W35
- Week 36: why the amount stays the sameOct 11$3,600W36
- Week 37: a fund, a basket and a shareOct 18$3,700W37
- Week 38: looking at the number less oftenOct 25$3,800W38
- Week 39: what is inside an index fundNov 1$3,900W39
- Week 40: the plan nobody noticesNov 8Forty weeksNow$4,000W40
All 20 titles
- Week 21: what a share is Jun 28
- Week 22: the words on a statement Jul 5
- Week 23: why I put in on the same day Jul 12
- Week 24: holidays and the same amount Jul 19
- Week 25: what “diversified” means Jul 26
- Week 26: half a year of the plan Aug 2
- Week 27: reading a chart of money put in Aug 9
- Week 28: the week I forgot to look Aug 16
- Week 29: a fund is not a bank account Aug 23
- Week 30: three thousand put in Aug 30
- Week 31: how my plan is set up Sep 6
- Week 32: saving and investing are not the same Sep 13
- Week 33: one fund or several? Sep 20
- Week 34: when the news says everything fell Sep 27
- Week 35: what a fund’s running cost means Oct 4
- Week 36: why the amount stays the same Oct 11
- Week 37: a fund, a basket and a share Oct 18
- Week 38: looking at the number less often Oct 25
- Week 39: what is inside an index fund Nov 1
- Week 40: the plan nobody notices Nov 8
Newsletter
Method
New issues, straight to your inbox.
Week 40: the plan nobody notices
Forty weeks of the same amount on the same day, and why a plan nobody notices is the point. Put in so far: $4,000.
Week 39: what is inside an index fund
What an index fund holds, drawn as a basket, and what it means to hold a little of everything on a list. Put in so far: $3,900.
Week 38: looking at the number less often
Why I look at the number once a week and no more, and what looking more often does to how I read it. Put in so far: $3,800.
Week 37: a fund, a basket and a share
Three words that get mixed up, explained with a bag of shopping. Put in so far: $3,700.
Downloads, a course and merch
Shop
Downloads arrive by email. Merch is printed to order and shipped by Printful.
About
About me
I used to teach maths, and I still like it when a hard thing turns out to be simple. When I started saving into an index fund, I could not find an explanation that did not either shout or hide behind long words. So I began writing my own, one letter a week.
I write in an old mill by the river, where I rent a desk, and I cycle there along the water in all weathers with a thermos. Each letter explains one idea, such as what is inside a fund or what the news means when it says everything fell, and tells you honestly what I do and why. I am not an adviser. I do not tell you what to buy, I do not promise a return and I do not guess what markets will do.
The one number I keep is what I put in each week, so my chart is dull on purpose. What I sell are the things I made for myself: a glossary, a tracker, cards and a workbook for writing your own plan down. I do not sell personal help. You read, practise and decide on your own.
Newsletter
Dull on Purpose
A short letter every Sunday on index funds in plain words, with the one number I track: what I put in.