Warren Buffett was once asked how he would invest if he were ‘30 years old again’ — his answer was simple. How to implement his strategy today

“If you were 30 years old again, how would you invest, assuming you're not a full-time investor, you have another full-time job and no dependents?” the audience member asked. (1)

Buffett’s reply has become a common refrain for the billionaire investor.

“I'll be very simple,” Buffett said. “I'd probably have it all in a very low-cost index fund — might be Vanguard — somebody I knew was reliable, somebody where the cost was low.”

He was quick to point out that this hypothetical scenario focuses on an amateur investor who plans to stay that way, unlike Buffett.

“You postulated that you're not going to become a professional investor,” he noted. “I would recognize the fact that I'm an amateur investor. I would feel that that was going to outperform bonds under current conditions over a long period of time, and then I'd forget it and go back to work.”

Buffett also clarified why his simple set it and forget it strategy wasn’t the kind of investment advice many were giving out at that time:

“You will not get that advice from anybody because nobody gets paid to give you that advice.”

Since anyone can safely implement this plan on their own, it can be a great way to get started as a new, DIY investor.

How to use Buffett’s one-step plan

Buffett’s advice makes it easy for even those new to investing to start making their money work for them.

All it requires is opening an investment account, like a 401(k) or Roth IRA, with your brokerage of choice, taking the money you have available to invest and buying shares in an index fund like Vanguard’s S&P 500 ETF (VOO) or Total Stock Market ETF (VTI). Both of these ETFs offer a low management expense ratio (MER) fee of 0.03%.

To ensure you’re continually maximizing your investments with zero effort, you can set up a portion of your paycheck to auto-deposit into this investment account and automatically invest in the index fund you choose.

If you’re looking for a simple self-directed investing platform to set up Buffett’s low-cost strategy, Public allows you to do just that.

Public is a commission-free investing platform that democratizes access to a wide range of assets, including stocks, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, treasuries and alternative investments. Best of all, the platform emphasizes transparency — rejecting the controversial "payment for order flow" (PFOF) model that many brokerages rely on. It also offers real-time insights and social features that help DIY investors make informed decisions.

For a limited time, you can get a 1% uncapped match on all transfers when you move your investment portfolio to Public. This covers brokerage and IRA transfers, 401(k) rollovers and IRA contributions. Plus, they’ll cover up to $100 in fees along the way.

But slow and steady portfolio growth is just the first step on your journey, especially if you’re starting at 30.

Build a better financial buffer

Another essential step to keep in mind when you're new to investing is to build an emergency fund that covers at least three to six months' worth of your living expenses. If you invest your emergency fund in the market, you risk the market being down when an emergency hits and you need to use that money — which defeats the purpose of investing in the first place.

That said, leaving that much cash in a checking account earning no interest, like 82% of Americans do according to a CNBC Select survey, (2) doesn’t make sense either, as your money will actually lose value thanks to inflation.

Parking your cash in a high-yield checking or savings account with SoFi can help you avoid this problem. SoFi offers interest rates that are often 10 to 12 times higher than the national average for traditional savings accounts, which currently stands at around 0.40%.

Open a high-yield checking and savings account with SoFi today, and you could earn up to 4.00% APY. Plus, SoFi charges no account, monthly or overdraft fees.

The best part? You can get up to $300 when you sign up with SoFi and set up direct deposit.