You are now where I was 2 years ago. Then 2 years ago, I had to take part in a charity event involving picking stocks. They turned out to be made-up companies, like in Monopoly, but I didn’t know that beforehand.
To prepare for the event, I read Jeremy Siegel’s “Stocks for the Long Run”. His argument about stocks having lower risk than bonds over long holding periods made some sense to me. So did his argument that inflation is better hedged by stocks than bonds. I bought into his theory that the world of dividend-paying stocks is more rewarding than the non-dividend-paying stock world, based on what I know of the corporate world.
Finally and very importantly, I was tired of progressing towards my financial goals at a snail’s pace, despite a very high saving rate, when homeowners and stock investors and others were mostly doing much better than me, even though they spent way more than me (and saved way less). So I began immediately to research individual stocks with good dividends, and buying them as soon as I saw one I really liked. I am very pleased with the results 2 years later.
You should allow yourself to think about what long-term investments you really believe in, and then take actions to get familiar with them and make diversified purchases over a reasonably long period. Make sure you have your own arguments worked out that enable you to live with the investments through temporary ups and downs.
Sorry for the unsolicited advice but, like I said, your story struck a chord…
