Money Move: Setup a Vanguard Brokerage Account

Ready to make your money work harder than a savings account? Welcome to your first brokerage account – the launchpad for building real wealth. This isn’t just another financial account; it’s your ticket to owning pieces of companies, or stocks, like Apple and Google, and watching your money grow alongside some of the world’s most successful businesses. Don’t worry if that sounds intimidating – I’m about to break down how to setup a Vanguard brokerage account into bite-sized pieces that anyone can handle.

With most brokerage accounts you have a “cash account” or “settlement account” that earns interest rate, like a savings account. If this account is a Monkey Market Fund, it can earn a higher interest rate, but have the same security, as a savings account.

💡 QUICK WIN: Before you start, grab these 3 things:

• Your bank account number and routing number
• Your social security number
• About 15-20 minutes of uninterrupted time. That’s literally all you need to get this done.

Setup a Vanguard Brokerage Account

There are many steps to this page (unfortunately) which is one of the reasons why so many people don’t set up these important accounts or pay people to do it for them. They’re not difficult steps, but there are a lot and they can be confusing. They’re pretty harmless and you can always adjust the information later. Take a deep breath, and let’s begin…

🌟 Checkpoint 1: FIRST WIN! You’ve already done something most people never do – decided to take control of your financial future. These next steps might look long, but I’m right here with you. Let’s tackle them one at a time.

1. Head over to Vanguard’s Money Market Fund page
2. Click the “Open an Account” button
3. On the new page, assuming this is your first account, click “Sign up” under “I’m New to Vanguard”
4. You will have a multi-select option. Choose the one that’s right for you. For most people, this will be “Open an account with money from my bank.” and then “Continue“
5. On the next “How do you want to manage this account?” page, select “On my own”
6. On the “Here’s an overview of what’s next” page, select “Select your account“
7. On the “What is your investment goal?” question select “General investing or emergency savings”
8. Under “Who is the account for” select “Myself“
9. Under “Select a relevant account” choose “Individual brokerage account” (This is what 90% of people choose – it’s like the vanilla ice cream of accounts, tried and true)
10. On the “You’re opening an individual brokerage account” select “Continue“
11. You will need to go through a series of simple pages asking for personal information, banking information, and so on. Simply follow the prompts until you get to a “Great, let’s fund your account“
12. If you’re not sure which to choose, select the Faster “I’d like to fund my account with a transfer from my checking or savings account” and then click “Continue“
13. On the “Now, let’s add some money“, choose an amount you feel comfortable with (and hey, starting with $50 is totally fine – I’d rather see you start small than not start at all. You can always add more later!) Moving money in and out of a Money Market Fund can take 3-5 days and you should be prepared for that. Click “Continue“
    
    🎯 Checkpoint 2: HALFWAY POINT! Great job! You’ve got all the basic setup done. The next part is about customizing your account – and remember, you can always change your answers later.
    
14. On the “Choose your settlement fund” the default option should be Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund – exactly what you want. Click “Continue“
15. It will ask you more questions about your employment. Go ahead and fill it out and click “Continue“
16. It will ask you more questions about your income & net worth. Net worth is the amount of money you would have if you theoretically sold every possession you had and turned it into cash (don’t sweat this too much – they just want a ballpark figure. No one’s expecting you to go count your socks). Or, another way, it’s the complete value of everything you own. Fill it out and click “Continue“
17. The next page will be “What are the sources of money going into this account?” Fill this out and hit “Continue”
18. On the “Describe your purpose for this account” your answer will probably be “Capital preservation” and “Growth“, but choose whatever feels more accurate for you. Then click “Continue“.
19. On “Just a few more questions” it will ask you about your taxes, and fill out your best estimate. If you don’t know your target retirement age, 65 is the default. You can always change this later, then click “Continue“.
20. The next page is going to teach you a little bit about “risk” in the financial world. This will only affect the advice it gives you, and doesn’t have to do with the Money Market Fund, but other funds Vanguard might suggest for you. Unfortunately, you have to go through this process here, but c’est la vie. While I’ll rant on this topic later, go ahead and give it a gander, and click “Continue” when you’re ready.
21. Choose what feels best for you regarding risk, I always choose “Long-term” and accept “Very high“, which has the greatest ability to produce wealth, but it also means that you might have to ride out down-markets of significant drops. Choose what you feel comfortable with. Click “Continue“.
22. There will be several more pages like this. I am always thinking for the long-term, not sensitive to losses, and accepting high variability. click “Continue” on each when you’re ready and “Submit” on the last page.
    
    ⭐ Checkpoint 3: ALMOST THERE! You’ve crushed the hardest part – all those risk questions. Just a few more clicks and you’ll have your very own brokerage account.
    
23. It tells me my risk attitude is “Very Aggressive” (which I’m okay with), and initial projections are 100% stocks, which is what I want.
24. It might ask you about the Vanguard Digital Advisor, go ahead and click “Continue without advice“. You can always change your mind later.
25. On the “Please review your application to open an account” page you’re one step away. Review all the information and then click “Continue“.
26. There will be a long legal document, I’m obligated to say “read it” but I personally just skimmed it. When you feel confident you can agree to the policy, check the “I sign and agree” and click “Submit application“.
27. If you landed on a “Your Individual Brokerage account has been opened” page, you’re done! Congratulations!!!

Let’s celebrate what you actually accomplished today:

• You opened a brokerage account
• You set up a Money Market Fund that’ll earn way better interest than your savings account
• You positioned yourself to start investing whenever you’re ready
• And most importantly? You proved to yourself that you can tackle financial matters that might seem scary at first

Your money will take about 3-5 business days to show up in your account, but the hard part is DONE. You’ve just taken a massive step toward building real wealth. Remember: every financial expert started exactly where you are right now – with their very first brokerage account.

What’s next? Just kick back and wait for that confirmation email from Vanguard. Once your money lands in your Money Market Fund, it’ll start earning that sweet, sweet interest right away. And when you’re ready to explore investing in those Vanguard Index Funds we talked about? You’ll already have the perfect launching pad set up.

Seriously – pat yourself on the back. This was a big move!