BVW, I agree with you 100%. When I first set on the path of...

BVW, I agree with you 100%. When I first set on the path of investing, a bank manager sat me down and explained how money in a bank account is lucky if it goes forward in "value". Coming from a family that thought a term deposit rolling over was a financial plan, (and the sharemarket was a bad place) it was a much needed light bulb moment. Your point is one that they need to teach at school, rather than the "magic of compound interest."

But if you have bills to pay, are a learner in the sharemarket and the bears are out in force, I would argue that a bank account is the best place to be.

Hopefully, the OP can see the point I was trying to make, invest in themselves, make the process of owner building a strategy for building wealth in a long term plan. After a few cycles of building and selling, then transfer some funds into a different stream of investing, possibly the share market. Then the same way they have built their skills in owner building, develop more skills in the sharemarket.