Women save more, giving them the ability to invest more. While women earn less than men, after adjusting for pay discrepancies Fidelity Investments found that women typically save 8.3% of their income, while men save 7.9%. This, combined with the average employer match of 4.4% gives women a total savings rate of almost 13%, versus 12% for men, according to Fidelity.

While women have the numbers on their side, there are also some things we can learn from men, LouAnn Lofton writes in Motley Fool. For example, their propensity to take action. Men will start investing immediately, while women tend to take longer in getting their money working for them. And though doing thorough research helps women do well, there’s an opportunity cost for every day that your money isn’t invested and compounding. The answer? We need to do our research, but not worry about getting it perfect. In the stock market, there is no such thing.

So where do you start if you’ve never invested before?

Begin contributing to your 401k at work, and invest the max if you can. If you are getting an employer match also, that can mean a lot of free money being added and compounding for you.

Next, open an IRA account. The discount brokerage houses like Fidelity, Schwab, and Vanguard make it simple to do. Check to see if you qualify and what the minimum is to invest. For Vanguard it’s usually at least $3,000. Others may allow you to open an account with no minimum if they can do automated withdraws (typically $100 a month) from your bank account.

Once you’ve contributed the yearly maximum on your IRA (for 2015: $5500 if you’re under 50; $6500 if you’re 50 or over) open a regular investment account and start contributing to that.

What to contribute: Start contributing $50 to $100 a month. Of course, contribute more if you can, and try to ramp up the amount as often as possible.

What to invest in: When you’re contributing to an IRA or a regular investment account, typically the money lands in a cash/money market account. It’s up to you to pick an investment vehicle for it. Many certified financial planners suggest investing in index funds (as does Warren Buffett). For example, you might choose one index fund for stocks and one index fund for bonds just to start out. For a simple primer on index funds, read up at Motley Fool. Or for a great book that’s easy reading: Investing Made Simple, Index Fund Investing and ETF Investing Explained in 100 Pages or Less by Mike Piper, CPA.

Get compounding: Set your account to reinvest the interest and dividends your money earns. This way, you not only have your contributions making money for you but your interest and dividends earning money too. This is key to growing your portfolio.

The important thing is to start. You don’t need the perfect investment strategy—again, there is no such thing. But do learn as you go. Learn one new investing term a week if you can. Make a choice to become more money-savvy this year. In the meantime, start saving, investing, and compounding your money like a confident, financially-wise woman.