<prompt> Human: Long story short: Her family instilled in her a major distrust in pretty much any financial institution.She is 30 making decent money but sees 401Ks as nothing but scams. Are there any references or videos geared towards easing someones worries that they are throwing their money away?  <response>: Ok, Ill bite. Your money becomes worth less over time thanks to inflation. If youd put 1000 in cash into a coffee can in 1950 and buried it in your backyard, youd still have 1000 in cash today - but it would be worth about 17th of the value today compared to when you buried it. So, we have to put our money somewhere in order to at a minimum avoid losing value, and hopefully increase a bit in value. Ok, what about a savings account? Well, the interest rate on a savings account is lower than inflation, so youre still losing money each year. Crap. Invest that money in a business? Great idea! Thats risky, though - a single business could tank and take your money with it. Wait, what if I could invest in a bunch of businesses at once? Id spread out the risk, but diminish the potential reward, right?Right, and you can do that through an index fund.Awesome. Ill invest in some index funds. Wait, will I have to pay taxes on my investment returns?Yes.Crap. Theres no way around that, is there?No - but if you contribute to a 401k, it lowers your taxable income and you only pay income tax on your withdrawls. So what youre saying is that the world is needlessly unjust and awash with paperwork?Yes. Yes I am. 