Why am I writing this post?
Firstly, I am incredibly proud of my achievements and wanted to show them off. Secondly, I wanted to share my experience and help others with their financial journey. I know I have missed out on a lot of opportunities, but the path I have taken has taught me incredible lessons and I feel very grateful and lucky with the position I now have. I also know I have grown up privileged in comparison to people my age across the world. Before working I had a small pot saved from birthday presents and gifts, and I have utilised government schemes to increase my portfolio slightly. But the majority of what I invested was earned through work.
Background
I have always been incredibly fascinated with finance, and how it shapes the world we live in. It is an unavoidable cog in our modern society. When I was younger, in high school I always dreamed of a situation where I had complete freedom over my life. However, every decision felt dictated by others and my opinion was labelled naive. Although I was certainly naive, uneducated and rash, I noticed a good majority of adults were unhappy slaves to their occupation. Working wasn't a choice, it was a necessity. I quickly worked out the only solution to this issue was having a large amount of money, so I could pay the bills and follow my passions uninterrupted.
By the age of 16, I knew a little about investing. More than most my age but nothing useful. However, after I started my summer job in 2017 I had an opportunity to invest and try to grow this wedge of cash I was earning. I started talking to my godfather who was just entering crypto at the time, and we began to dabble with a variety of altcoins. Eventually, my passion landed me on Steem, which seemed to be a great idea, and I started posting. Then I took the plunge and put £1000 into Steem at around 1 dollar. Everything was going well and my unscathed financial success was exciting to me. I think at the time my portfolio was worth about £4-5000, a lot for a 16-year-old.
The Lesson
The 2018 crash taught me a lot more than the gains I made in 2017. My portfolio was decimated, my pride shaken. But, as my godfather always said take risks when you are young. So instead of putting more into crypto again, I would try learning about conventional investing. By the end of college (Summer 2019) I had learnt the basics of value investing, mainly through Reddit, youtube and "The Snowball Effect" by Amy Schrodinger. Unfortunately, I was never interested or talented enough to be excited by numbers. However, the book, which is based on Buffet's success taught me a lot about patience and temperament. How being consistent in life and investing will give you great returns in the future. So when I secured my first full-time job, I opened an ICA and started investing in value-based mutual funds.
Working full time was enjoyable, having responsibility and being treated like an adult was exhilarating. But, I felt a huge burden to my family and employer to be successful. I opted for employment due to my cynicism over university, and lack of direction. I didn't feel any particular urge over one career, and I was just focused on making money.
Where I am now
I am approaching two years of full-time employment and I have since joined the civil service, which I am thoroughly enjoying. I now have a clear picture of what I want to achieve in the next few years, and the financial freedom I seek has become an important but not overreaching and obsessive goal. My current plan is to go part-time at work and complete a university degree in History & Archeology, then go slow travelling through Europe working in Museums and absorbing the culture of the locations I visit.
My numbers and portfolio:
My estimated takehome over the last 20 months employed: £23,625
Average % of salary invested: 60%
As of April 1st 2021:
Fidelity Index Emerging Markets - £7,452.67
Fidelity Index World - £10,585
Crypto - Bitcoin £4,989.94 Hive £1,374.32
Total: £24,401.93
The future
I will continue to invest monthly into index funds through my ISA, and regularly buying bitcoin for the long term. Hive is still the riskiest asset I hold, and so if it does reach say $10, I would likely sell 1/3 to 1/2 of my position and reinvest the rest between conventional assets and bitcoin.
KPH
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Fortunately, we didn't listen to Warren Buffett when he said that Bitcoin was rat poison
Or when he said it was rat poison squared😂
Buffett doesn't understand the value of bitcoin, as it's a non-producing asset. He hates a lot on gold as well. The speculation drive in 2017 likely prompted these negative comments, as the state of the markets was pretty disingenuous at the time. I still respect him a lot though, and maybe one day he'll see bitcoins value.
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this is a nice comment, thanks for expressing your opinion
Nice to read success stories of youngsters. This is the way to go, start young, learn and try things. In 2-3 years you will definitely be 6 figures.
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Thanks, hopefully, it will motivate other people my age to take control over their finances. Although everyone here focuses on crypto, some exposure to boring long term assets is good in my opinion.
I have a lot to learn, and I'll look to steal as much as I can from the wise elders haha.
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I'm one that diversifies to a certain point, have some shares and some real estate investment that in most cases pays for itself.
The best strategy ever, find a mentor and suck up his knowledge!
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My next aim is property. But I think with Crypto and a global Index fund it's diversified enough.
@sharpshot has been my mentor, taught me a lot.
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Welcome to the fun!
Great to have you oboard!
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I will aim to continue posting. Gotta think of some new ideas. Maybe I will do one for UK investors, tips and tricks etc.
Thanks for the lovely welcome!
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First of all welcome to LeoFinance bro!
I feel you're on the right path to become a great investor within end of this decade.
Become the best at what you do. Refine what you do until this is true. Opportunity will seek you out. Luck becomes your destiny
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Thank you, Nathan.
I hope to achieve those goals, and be positive to others along the way.
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Welcome! As I tell every new person who joins this great community, curate, curate, curate. Read posts, comment, and vote. If you can do that consistently every day, your account will grow in no time, especially since you already have a good stake going. More than that though, is you'll be doing what good ol' Warren says above: you'll be reading. 90% of my ideas come from reading other peoples' posts and commenting on them. If you spend a few days reading and commenting, I virtually guarantee you'll come up with at least a couple good ideas to write about yourself.
Good luck and I look forward to reading some of your stuff in the weeks ahead.
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I will have a good search through Leofinance, I'm sure I will find some gems!
Thank you.
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Welcome to the club! The more new cubs the better.
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Thank you, hopefully, we can grow this platform more and more.
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That's a great achievement at your age. Wish I was as into investing at your age. I was too into the amber nectar. I think the learning curve with crypto is great though. Can be much faster to lose most of it, and hopefully learn the valuable lessons. I think it's good to spend a bit of money too. Some people get too obsessed with saving it all. None of us know how long we're here for, might as well enjoy some of it while we can.
Thank you. I do think there needs to be more education in school about finance. Its all a balance, small sacrifices for long term freedom. I have a lot of stuff I want to do with my money, I'm not going to hoard it. No point dying miserable but rich.
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