Using consistency to counter uncertainty
My secret to navigating this up-and-down market ... and those to come
Last week, I bought the dip.
This week, my portfolio dipped, shedding every dollar I gained over the previous 70-plus days … plus a little more.
It was tough to watch my $10-a-day portfolio — steadily climbing thanks to the consistency of the daily deposits, interest income from cash, my first dividend and even a little appreciation — suddenly swing to a loss.
It was also totally out of my control.
I mean, I didn’t send those rockets toward an Iranian drone factory. Either did my holdings; Microsoft didn’t do it, Costco surely had nothing to do with it and, well, Rivian can’t even make electric vehicles without losing more than $40,000 so I’m pretty sure it didn’t play a role, either.
All three, along with Robinhood and even my ETF, SCHD, shed tons of value late in the week, though.
I guess wars in Eastern Europe and the Middle East will do that.
Uncertainty sucks.
War sucks.
It’d be great if people could just get along and work together to work out their problems. The reality, though, is a much more unfortunate one. Instead of working with one another to make the world a better place for everyone, we have the U.S. banning TikTok and China ordering Apple to remove WhatsApp and Threads from the Chinese App Store … you know, for the sake of national security.
It’s just the world we live in.
It’s the world we’ve lived in for a long time and, rightly or wrongly, I cooked up my investment strategy with that — uncertainty — in mind.
People are unpredictable.
To combat that, I keep my investments entirely predictable … $10 a day into a dividend-paying ETF, my cash pile (which currently earns 5.25% interest thanks to this higher for longer rate environment we find ourselves in), or one of four individual stocks I want to build meaningful positions in.
Simple.
When you approach each trading session like that, it really just comes down to taking advantage of whatever the market gives you on a given day. If everything’s up, I have no problem letting the day’s $10 earn some interest until a better buying opportunity presents itself. If everything’s down, I’ll happily take my pick and add to a position while it’s on sale.
Down days are just discounts.
Investing $10 a day won’t make me rich tomorrow. Over time, though, it will. The key is consistency. It also allows me to take what I’ve learned one day and apply it to how I invest the next … a powerful advantage for any market participant.
Anyway, here’s a look at this week’s buys:
Monday: 1.16 shares of Rivian at an average price of $8.60.
Tuesday: 0.13 shares of SCHD at an average price of $76.06.
Wednesday: 0.60 shares of Robinhood at an average price of $16.71.
Thursday: 0.24 shares of Microsoft at an average price of $410.61.
Friday: 0.25 shares of Microsoft at an average price of $398.88.
Thursday and Friday’s buys tell the story of the late-week fade. Just one day after buying a fractional share of Microsoft for just north of $410, I grabbed a slightly bigger fraction at an average cost of just south of $400.
Overall, I deposited $70 — $20 went to cash and, as outlined above, I invested the rest. I didn’t receive any dividends this week and my portfolio depreciated by about 2.3%.
Here’s how things stand heading into the weekend:
Thanks, as always, for following along and subscribing to this newsletter — it, and my portfolio, are just getting started. Let me know how the week treated you on Threads, X or in the comment section.
Until next time … good luck out there.
Are you a market participant?
There are more than a few ways to make money in the stock market, but you can’t take advantage of any of them if you don’t participate. Don’t have much money? Me either. I mean, I’m not investing huge chunks at a time — $10 every day — but it adds up fast. Consistency is key and, if I can build a million-dollar portfolio, anyone else with a phone, internet connection, and a little disposable income can, too.
If you aren’t already, start investing today.
Need a brokerage?
Investing is impossible without a brokerage. If you’re in need, I recommend Robinhood. Sign up with this link and we’ll both get a little something to brighten our financial futures. The best time to start investing was yesterday. Today’s the next best and, well, if you don’t start today I highly encourage you to pencil it in for sometime soon. Your future self will thank you.
Disclaimer: I’m a market participant, not a financial advisor. This is not financial advice … but it could change your life.