Here is all the investment advice you will ever need: Open a Schwab account, and buy their S&P 500 index fund (SWPPX). There are no fees to open a Schwab account, no trading fees to buy the fund, and essentially no fees to hold it. Do not sell if you think it's going to go down. Just keep buying with whatever extra money you have month-to-month. That 8% per year (plus dividends) will add up fast.
Once you have some assets to your name, managed investment firms like JP Morgan will be courting you. Don't be fooled -- they won't do better than the market over the long run, and you'll pay a 1% per year management fee regardless of how well they do.
And if you're wondering "who is this guy and what is his authority to speak on this?", consider that Warren Buffet, world's greatest investor, agrees with me. Look it up.
1. Schwab is pretty much the best bank in the world for many reasons. Most professional service, no fees for banking, and minimal fees for trading.
2. With a Schwab account, buying and selling SWPPX incurs no trading fees -- since they own the fund.
3. The fund expense ratio is ever-so-slightly lower, 0.03%. VOO has 0.04%.
..but if that doesn't work for you for whatever reason, VOO is great!
My main point is that too many people are either afraid to invest at all, or they get robbed blind by investment managers like JP Morgan who take 1% of your money every year, regardless of their own performance.