Got through the storm okay...it wasn't much worse than what I expected. The power went off at O-dark-hundred, then came back on at about four in the morning. That was a nice surprise, as I have a plan for if the power ever goes out for 24+ hrs. Didn't have to use it, obviously. I feel for the poor souls in GA, TN & the Carolinas.

It occurred to me that in my discussions on here with @TheMiamiDeSantos, not all of you may know what we were talking about. If you'd like to learn more about modern finance, great. You should know it as an inhabitant of this modern world. Everyone should have basic knowledge about how to invest their money. However, you must be cautious about who you listen to/read & what you learn. The Internet has made learning about finance way easier than it has ever been, but it's also increased the amount of erroneous info, lies, & plain old bullshit by several orders of magnitude. In any field the easiest people to fool are the noobs. There are a thousand & one YT channels about finance & investing; not all of them are of equal value--or are of any value at all. Be careful who you listen to & believe. If someone has a quick smile & is trying to sell you some kind of "online course" then most likely it's a scam.

Now with that out of the way, here are a couple clips for "Stock Market Indices 101". The first one is a bit lengthier for the more scholarly among you whereas the second one is more recent:

The above clips are American-centric but don't let that throw you off. Most modern countries have at least one index; the more developed ones have two or more indices to choose from. This is undoubtedly true if you live in Europe, Latin America or anywhere in Asia. Japan has the Nikkei 225, Hong Kong has the Hang Seng Index (HSI), Saudi Arabia has the Tadawul All Share, etc.

Also, my take on it: Ignore the Dow Jones. As an index it isn't representative of the stock market today. 30 companies cannot serve as a reliable indicator for a market with stocks in > 4,000 firms in it, no matter how successful those 30 companies may be. I pay attention to the S&P & the NASDAQ. There are also more focused indices--mid-cap, tech, mining/metals, consumer staple goods, a whole bunch--that not only give you a more well-rounded impression of the market as a whole, but can also provide good investment opportunities as well.