Learning Path.
Complete Beginner Path
A structured sequence for those completely new to investing. Start with foundations, understand core concepts, and build knowledge systematically.
Articles
12
For
People who have never invested before and want to learn from scratch
What Illuminvest Is (And What It Is Not)
Investing can feel like walking into a conversation that started before you arrived. The jargon, the assumptions, the sheer volume of opinions. It is easy to feel like everyone else already knows something you do not.
Common Beginner Myths and Why They Persist
There is a reason the same mistakes keep appearing. It is not because people are careless or uninformed. It is because certain ideas feel true, even when the evidence says otherwise. The myths that trip up new investors are not random. They follow pa...
Rules of the Game: What Markets Actually Do
Before putting money into markets, it helps to understand what kind of game you are entering. Not the details of products or strategies, but the basic rules of how markets behave over time. These are not predictions. They are patterns that have held...
The Role of an Emergency Buffer Before Investing: Why Runway Matters
An emergency buffer (sometimes called an emergency fund or cash runway) is a pool of accessible savings set aside to cover essential expenses during unexpected disruptions. The term "runway" refers to how long someone could sustain their essential co...
Debt Triage and Why Interest Rate Matters
Debt is not inherently good or bad. It is a tool with costs attached. The question is not whether debt exists, but what it costs, and how that cost compares to the alternatives. This article explains why interest rate is the central variable in think...
Cashflow Systems That Actually Stick: Behavioural Economics and Sustainable Money Management
A cashflow system refers to the structure used to direct income toward spending, saving, and obligations over time. Managing money is often framed as a discipline problem. The assumption is that people who fail to save simply lack willpower or financ...
What Investing Is in One Page
Investing is the act of putting money to work with the expectation of receiving more back in the future. That is the entire concept in one sentence. Everything else is detail. This article explains the basic mechanics: what you are doing when you inv...
Risk vs Volatility vs Uncertainty: What the Words Actually Mean
These three words are often used interchangeably, but they describe different things. Confusing them leads to poor decisions. Understanding them leads to calmer ones. This article explains the distinctions: volatility as normal movement, risk as the...
Compounding and Consistency: Why Time and Contribution Rate Matter More Than Cleverness
How compounding works, why contribution rate and time dominate investment outcomes, and how fees act as compounding in reverse. The maths is simple; the behaviour is not.
Diversification: What It Is and What It Is Not
What diversification actually does, what it cannot do, and why the instinct to concentrate is persistent despite evidence against it. Diversification removes the possibility of ruin from a single mistake.
Risk Tolerance vs Risk Capacity: Two Questions That Are Often Confused
When people talk about how much risk they can handle, they usually mean one thing. But there are actually two distinct questions, and confusing them leads to predictable problems. The first question is psychological: how much volatility can you watch...
Goals-First Investing Using Buckets: Matching Money to What It Is Actually For
There is a question that sounds simple but changes everything: what is this money for? Most investment discussions skip this question. They jump straight to returns, asset classes, and performance charts. But returns without purpose are just numbers....
Illuminvest provides general educational information only and does not provide personal financial advice.