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How investing works

Lesson 26 · Written for kid, teen, and little

How to actually start

Custodial accounts, ETFs, automation.

The idea

Starting feels like the hard part, but it's really just a few steps. With a parent's help you open an account, add a little money, buy a broad ETF (a basket of many companies), and let time do the work. Doing it automatically means you never have to remember. 🚀

A

Words to know

7

Brokerage account

An account you use to buy and hold stocks and funds, like a bank account for investing.

Custodial account

An account an adult manages for a minor. When control transfers depends on the account and applicable state law.

ETF

An exchange-traded fund holds investments and trades on an exchange. Broad stock ETFs can spread money across companies; other ETFs have different holdings and risks.

VTI / VOO

Broad index funds — VTI holds the whole US market, VOO holds the ~500 biggest US companies.

VXUS

A fund holding companies from around the world outside the US.

Roth IRA

A retirement account with contribution rules and special tax treatment. Qualified withdrawals can be tax-free; eligibility and withdrawal conditions apply.

Bonds / BND

Bonds are loans to issuers. BND tracks a broad index of taxable investment-grade bonds denominated in U.S. dollars; it does not hold every bond.

Try it — no accountPut it in order

The real-life starter pack. Use the up and down arrows to move these in the right order — what you'd actually do step by step. (A brokerage is an account for buying stocks; a custodial one is held by a parent until you're 18.)

Step 1 first, last step last.

    In the full lesson

    1. 1Put it in order

    Vine has 107 lessons like this one, each written three ways so a 7-year-old and a 17-year-old both get a version that fits.

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