Understand before you invest
A free course on stocks and crypto markets that starts with taking stock of your finances and never talks down to you. Every lesson comes twice: in plain language, and with numbers, formulas, and sources.
- 101 lessons
- 13 calculators
- free
- no jargon
- no ad links
Your progress
Where are you right now?
Three questions, then you'll know where to start. Nothing is saved or transmitted.
Two depths, one page
You decide, lesson by lesson, how deep you go. Try the switch.
A plain-language explanation, no jargon
Compound interest means the returns on your money start earning returns of their own. That's why an amount grows slowly at first and faster later. Time matters more here than the exact moment you start.
Background, numbers, formulas, and sources
The future value of a regular contribution follows E = R · ((1+i)^n − 1) / i, where R is the payment, i the periodic rate, and n the number of periods. The result is linear in R and exponential in i. Since i can't be controlled, only estimated, the only reliable levers are R and n.
The path
Six stages, each building on the last. You don't have to start from the top, but you should know what you're skipping.
An example that sticks
Loss and gain aren't symmetric. Drag the slider and see what it would take to break even.
What would you do?
Three situations, the kind that actually happen. Pick your answer and see what follows.
Just five minutes today
No course, no commitment. One lesson that stands on its own.
Run the numbers yourself
All calculators run in your browser. Nothing is transmitted, nothing is saved.
Taking Stock
Check whether investing is even your next step. This is where things get sorted honestly, and some people leave for now.
Fundamentals
Understand what this is actually about. No money in play yet.
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- 1What money actually isin progress
- 2Why saving in a bank account means losing moneyin progress
- 3What return actually meansin progress
- 4Compound interestin progress
- 5Risk and return are linkedin progress
- 6What a stock exchange isin progress
- 7What a stock isin progress
- 8What a bond isin progress
- 9What an ETF isin progress
- 10Why active funds usually underperformin progress
- 11What a cryptocurrency isin progress
- 12Blockchain without the jargonin progress
- 13Investing and trading are two different thingsin progress
- 14Why most people should invest, not tradein progress
- 15Why prices movein progress
- 16Who really moves the marketsin progress
- 17Bull market, bear market, crash, bubblein progress
- 18The classic beginner mistakesin progress
- 19Savings accounts and fixed-term depositsin progress
- 20Gold and precious metalsin progress
- 21Commoditiesin progress
- 22Real estate and REITsin progress
- 23Collectibles and tangible assetsin progress
- 24All asset classes comparedin progress
Practice
Open an account and understand your first order. Still no real money.
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- 1Finding a reputable brokerin progress
- 2Comparing brokersin progress
- 3If your broker goes bankruptin progress
- 4Opening a brokerage accountin progress
- 5Crypto exchange vs. brokerin progress
- 6Wallet, private key, and seed phrasein progress
- 7Not your keys, not your coinsin progress
- 8Understanding the trading interfacein progress
- 9Order typesin progress
- 10Setting a stop-loss correctlyin progress
- 11Spread, slippage, and liquidityin progress
- 12Every fee that eats into your returnin progress
- 13Currency riskin progress
- 14Trading hoursin progress
- 15The savings planin progress
- 16Paper tradingin progress
- 17Your first orderin progress
Risk and Psychology
The most important stage. This is where it's decided who's still around in the long run.
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- 1Capital preservation before profitin progress
- 2The one-percent rulein progress
- 3Calculating position sizein progress
- 4Risk-reward ratioin progress
- 5Win rate and expected valuein progress
- 6Drawdownin progress
- 7Diversificationin progress
- 8Leveragein progress
- 9Liquidationin progress
- 10CFDs, and why regulators warn about themin progress
- 11Fear and greedin progress
- 12FOMOin progress
- 13Loss aversionin progress
- 14Confirmation biasin progress
- 15Overtrading and revenge tradingin progress
- 16The trading journalin progress
- 17When to stopin progress
Analysis
Learn to judge for yourself instead of repeating what others say.
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- 1Fundamental vs. technical analysisin progress
- 2Reading a chartin progress
- 3Spotting trendsin progress
- 4Support and resistancein progress
- 5Trendlines and channelsin progress
- 6Chart patternsin progress
- 7Moving averagesin progress
- 8RSI, MACD, and Bollinger Bandsin progress
- 9Why indicators lagin progress
- 10Reading a balance sheetin progress
- 11The key financial ratiosin progress
- 12Skimming an annual reportin progress
- 13What a company is worthin progress
- 14On-chain analysisin progress
- 15Tokenomicsin progress
- 16Checking a whitepaperin progress
- 17Interest rates, central banks, and economic datain progress
- 18Why news is already in the pricein progress
- 19Evaluating sourcesin progress
Advanced
For those who want to go further. Optional, and nobody has to come here.
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- 1Portfolio theoryin progress
- 2Correlationin progress
- 3Rebalancingin progress
- 4Volatilityin progress
- 5Options: calls and putsin progress
- 6Hedging with optionsin progress
- 7Futures and derivatives marketsin progress
- 8Short sellingin progress
- 9Order books, market makers, and high-frequency tradingin progress
- 10Writing down a strategyin progress
- 11Backtestingin progress
- 12Overfittingin progress
- 13Automated tradingin progress
- 14DeFi: staking, lending, liquidity poolsin progress
- 15Impermanent loss and smart-contract riskin progress
- 16Your written trading planin progress