My portfolio finally hit $100,000 and I feel... no different. Well, at the very least I feel vindicated. I have that "I told you so" type of feeling, but more so just me proving myself right.

When I started investing at 18, the most common thing everyone would say is "diversify!" The whole point of diversification is to help you grow your money and ensure you're not being too risky. That's what every financial expert will tell you.

Save some of your money and invest the rest in index funds.

But the more I learned about money, the more I read about money, the more I watched about money → I came to a realization.

When you think about diversifying - it's for people who want to protect their money. More importantly, index funds are designed for people who might not understand investing or lack experience and want returns without risking their money.

But in 2018 I was 18 years old. My measly $2,000 was not going to grow if I diversified. Even if I increased my income and kept investing - I needed to be aggressive.

So I did just that. I shifted my investment philosophy around 2020, which centered around achieving my first $100,000. Because by then, a 10% return on $100,000 ($10,000) would be worth way more than 10% on $2,000 ($200).

I started placing my money (whether in my Roth IRA or individual brokerage account) and began investing in single stocks. Nothing risky. Nothing I didn't understand.

I started to study businesses.

Their cash flow, their impact on society, their innovation, and their business units. It was a mix of leveraging financial statements and macro economic trends.

And the trick is to find 1-3 good businesses and focus on those. No need to diversify.

I can go more in-depth on how I decided what to invest in, but the most important thing for me was finding opportunities for more than 10% returns - but not by day trading or constantly checking the market. More so just finding companies that have strong growth opportunity.

The hardest part wasn't even finding the businesses. The hardest part was just being patient and continuing to reinvest in the same old businesses.

This was a boring journey, but that's okay. Boring works.

With the portfolio hitting $100,000, assuming I contribute $10,000 every year and convert to index funds (assuming 8% average) - by 2050 I will have $1.4 million. Now 25 years from now that might not be "a lot," but still - the fact that I sacrificed in my early years means I can easily secure myself and my future family to be millionaires.

Mind you - there are other people with way more money at my age.

But the fact that I had a vision, stuck with it, and executed feels like the world to me.

I urge you to start investing today. Please.

At this point it's too expensive to breathe.

It feels like the price of everything has increased, but your income has stayed the same. Hence the decreased purchasing power you now have.

No matter your thoughts on greed and capitalism - at the end of the day, you need to earn more money. The price of things will continue to increase over time.

And at some point you'll have to decide to leave your current job for a new one, work multiple jobs, or start your own business.

Control what you can control. You can only cut back on so many expenses, but if you focus on your income there's unlimited upside.

Luv,
Luv