[paulgb]

Sure, I'm defending starting with less than $1,000, not doing so on Robinhood specifically. Your suggestions are good, I use Schwab and Vanguard myself.

I wouldn't advocate anyone trying to build wealth to pick individual stocks, but I do think if someone were investing $1,000 to get their feet wet I'd recommend they put a bit in individual stocks. The financial system is complex and I think it's worth stripping away one level of the complexity for educational purposes. (It's typically also a humbling experience.)