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Your situation sounds very close to mine 10 years ago.
Three things I wish I would have known or done differently;
1) Basically what SM1 said (don't be afraid/discouraged, keep it simple by identifying a basket of funds, ETFs or MFs with low costs, play for the long term and buy frequently even small amounts, both during ups and downs).
2) Clearly understand and write down short term and medium term needs. For ST, what's the rainy day fund; set aside cash, or nearly cash to cover that amount. For MT (~3-5 years), set a goal and start making progress towards it (e.g. house down payment). Consider the investment bucket the LT; contribute as much as possible to it. Try not to monitor it too much and be patient.
3) I wish I had really understood (internalized) how powerful it can be to buy real estate with 20-30% down and relatively cheap interest rates, and perhaps had done something there (though admittedly, in my 20s and I didn't see myself as staying anywhere for more than 2 years, so it was hard to justify the transaction costs)
One last point;
I was hesitant to throw money into 401k not knowing if I would be able to stay in the US long term, and also didn't want to turn potentially liquid cash into something less liquid like a 401k; I optimized by doing the minimum contribution that would max my employer contribution.
3. I opened a brokerage account outside of my work account to try my hand at investing, but so far, I’ve lost money.
Questions:
1. am I missing anything?
2. Is there anything else I should be doing to improve?
3. Would anyone within this bowl be willing to look at my current portfolio allocation and advise on what to add/remove?
Thanks in advance.
I have a brokerage account too. Vanguard. I only invest in vtsax. Auto transfer $350/pay period. That's it. Let it ride.
Coach
You don't need to overcomplicate. My HSA is 100% low fee sp500 index. There is a basket of options but given it is a relatively small portion of my portfolio I keep it simple. My 401k is the largest and has more diversification across a handful of funds. My IRA is mostly a total market index fund VTI but I also dabble a bit with individual stocks (not recommended) and a few other ETFs not available within my 401k.
Markets are mostly down 10-15% since November so don't get discouraged if you are just starting out and are seeing losses. I'm still up over 10% over last 12 months, as is s&p500, and over time it will likely average out to closer to 10% annually or at least it has historically. Be patient.
Mentor
Bogleheads has the best, clearest advice on this that I know of:
https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Three-fund_portfolio