Common Sense Investing (Free)

Learn simple, time-proven investing wisdom. Successful investing is not complicated. Learn how-to-achieve superior returns with little effort.

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Ten simple rules will help you finance your dreams. These principles are also endearingly called the Boglehead Investment Philosophy by the tens of thousands of us that admire John C. Bogle, lifelong champion of ordinary investors.

These few investment principles are easy to understand. They are proven both by history and by Nobel prize-winning financial economics research. Learn to achieve superior results with only a small amount of effort.

This FREE introductory course is a dozen 5-minute video lectures with printable handouts. It will give you a good overview and get you started. Your confidence will grow solid as you become familiar with the concepts discussed here, and eventually you will regard this as Common Sense Investing.

Many of you are curious and questions are inevitable. Additional courses are here that go a little deeper and provide more structured learning with an instructor monitoring your progress and answering questions, along with a like-minded supportive community that is on the same path. Your financial education needs to be a lifetime commitment, because achieving your dreams is so important.

My mission is to help you learn, understand, and apply the essential investing concepts that 99% of us should use—but are rarely taught in our high-schools, colleges, or around our kitchen tables. FinancingLife.org is a not-for-profit financial literacy project and the small course fees help pay our direct costs.

CREDIT: Featured background photo of hiker in mountains by Nourdine Diouane on Unsplash.


Your Instructor


Rick Van Ness
Rick Van Ness

Rick Van Ness is a successful private investor and retired executive who provides investor education through online videos, short books, and workshops. Rick has an engineering degree from Cornell University and an MBA in Finance from New York University. His background in engineering and business provides him with an excellent basis for understanding and teaching investments and financial planning.

Rick provides unbiased education. He helps students understand the teachings of the most widely respected economists and financial planners. Students learn that smart investing is simple (not easy) and to take charge of their finances on their paths to achieving rich and fulfilling lives.


Common Sense Investing is a popular mini-course

This course in part of a bundle of mini-courses that comprise the Finance Your Dreams course. This shows the suggested learning path, but the courses also may be viewed in any order.

Curriculum (via video lectures, quizzes, handouts)

Required to Start: Live Below Your Means

Rule #1: Develop a workable plan

Rule #2: Invest early and often

Rule #3: never bear too much or too little risk

Rule #4: Diversify

Rule #5: Never try to time the market

Rule #6: Use index funds when possible

Rule #7: Keep costs low

Rule #8: Minimize taxes

Rule #9: Keep it simple

Rule #10: Stay the course

Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 30 days and we will give you a full refund.

Get started now!