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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