How to invest?

[jo552006]

I found a lot of information on what to invest in, how to diversify, etc, but I am having trouble with actually figuring out how to invest (specifically with vanguard.) Just for an example: if I had $3000 today and knew exactly what vanguard index fund I wanted to invest in, how would I get the money from my account to owning stocks? Would I use a broker (I assume not) or some online service, or can I invest in vanguard directly?

I would guess that this topic has been covered before but I probably did not use the correct search terms, so a link to an old thread that I missed might be all I need.

Thanks!

[Will]

You can invest directly through Vanguard.

[Frankies Girl]

First you open an account at your investment house of choice - like Vanguard. Then you link up that account with a savings or checking account - usually in some area called something like "manage bank information." Then you do something to the effect of "transfer money/deposit funds from bank" and it will move whatever amount from your bank account to the investment account that you specify. I think most transfers are Electronic Funds Transfer - meaning that the funds will pull over in 1-3 days and should cost nothing to transfer. Once the funds are in the investment account, you can then do a buy order - and chose whatever funds you want to purchase. At least that's how my accounts work.

[arebelspy]

There are a number of ways to "fund" your Vanguard account, the easiest being linking a bank account, like FG said.  If you'v ever used PayPal, or anything like that, it's very similar.

Give them a call if you need help, their customer service is pretty good.