Hello all, I am new to this forum, so I apologize if this should be in the Case Study section, however I didn't feel I have a super long story to summarize. Also, I realized I posted twice...that was an accident. I am seeking advice on investing in the stock market and how to start out, and retirement plans. I will get into that more below. But first...
Background:
I am a fairly recent college graduate (BA, September 2018). I am 24 years old. I have been working full time at law firms just to see if the legal field is right for me. Almost a year into working full time now, I've decided to pursue another route and much stronger passion/interests. That means I'll be leaving to a different city soon across the country and won't be living at home anymore (I've been living at home for about 4 months, the other months I stayed near my collegetown for a little while working). By the time I move out in a few months from now, I'll have saved close to approximately 8k. My future potential job will have a salary of approximately 45k, maybe more but that's highly unlikely.
Investing inquiry:
I have read The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham (quite dry!) and may buy A Random Walk On Wall Street as well to get more insight. I've also researched online a lot, asked my brother for advice/questions (he's a finance guy), and try to listen to Wall Street Breakfast podcast. This week I will begin reading articles online here as well.
I'm currently investing a few hundred in one stock right now (that my brother advised me of) but want to actually start getting into it. By that I mean I am going to put money into an ETF or index fund like VTI, S&P 500 (but that's very expensive right now for my income), or another not mentioned. My idea behind this is that it's a good route for a beginner to get his/her foot in the door sorta speak, while I continue research/learning over the next year or so. What do you think about this? More importantly, which one/s should I start building in and why? How much should I put aside into the index fund? How much woudl you put aside? Furthermore, after say 6 months or a year from now, I want to invest more elsewhere. What step would you take next if you were in my position?
I haven't started a 401k through my work yet as I feel I don't make enough right now to make it worth it to put towards that, plus I'll be leaving jobs shortly. Also, my company does not match. With that, another question I have is when should I start a Roth IRA and/or Roth 401k? How much should I put into retirement account/s if my salary will be between 42k to roughly 60k over the next two or three years? Retirement planning regarding 401k and similar things is more new to me than stock market investing so any advice here is very much appreciated.
Lastly, do you recommend apps or companies I should start using? I use to use Robinhood but ditched that for a bank/investment company so I can have my few finances in one institution for now. Also, I've heard of Wealthfront but know little about them besides that they're a robo advisor investment service. When would I use services like that?
That's all for now but I will likely have more questions.
Thanks so much! Excited to be a part of the community here!