This article is an addendum to my first article on this topic   https://blog.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=space&uid=1565&do=blog&id=1474060  

First, learn to be your own financial adviser: This is because

1. the task is really not that complicated and can become a profitable hobby

2. no one knows you better than yourself w.r.t. risks and rewards

3. unless you are in the top 1%,financially  you get no more than cookie cutter attention from your advisor. You can do this yourself and avoid the yearly fee. Over time this 1 or 2 % yearly can do wonders to your accumulation due to compound interests

Second, be aware of financial scams that are often very clever and easy to trap investors that are looking for the home run. Be vigilant and don't be greedy. You cannot compete with the professionals who do this for a living. On the other hand,be patient since you are aiming for the long term. Exponentiial growth really does not become apparent until the later years. The only thing you need to count on  is "the future of America".

Finally I have only listed some of the more recent and relevant articles of the first 10 pages of my blog articles list. They are in the first article mentioned at the beginning of this article. There are additional 100 pages of the list which you can browse on your own time and discover for yourself.. Enjoy the good life  My wife and I are living examples of the advice/comment written here and earlier. We started with little to nothing, lived on one academic career income, raised three successful children and financed their college education, lived the American dream, and can afford to retire at a CCRC reliieving our children of the burden to care for us!! What more can one ask for?