Honestly, if ordinary people don't want to turn investing into a mystical art, looking at these 5 ETFs for a lifetime is basically enough:

VOO: Top 500 US companies

VTI: The entire US market, about 3,000 companies

VT: Global market, about 10,000 companies

QQQ: Tech-focused, about 100 companies

SPY: Almost the same as VOO, but with better liquidity

I'm not telling you to buy all of them, but first figure out what you want.

If you want to buy the US large-cap market, look at VOO / SPY.

If you want to buy the entire US market, look at VTI.

If you want to buy the global market, look at VT.

If you want to add some tech offensive, look at QQQ.

Choose clearly, invest regularly, and don't mess around.

Most active fund managers can't beat these things in the long run. Ordinary people really don't need to make investing look like a mystical ritual every day.