Carpe Diem!

Warren Buffett once said, “Unless you can watch your stock holding decline by 50% without becoming panic-stricken, you should not be in the stock market.” His words are reverberating like never before these days if you follow the world stock markets. To put it lightly — it has been chaotic. As the markets plunge due to the coronavirus, people are rushing to sell due to worries about economic fallout. 

For some reason, I should be panicked, but surprisingly I am not. After all, chaos can be good! Littlefinger from Game of Thrones (yes, I am invoking Game of Thrones) once said, “Chaos is a ladder,” and I believe it is. I hope this turbulent time is my ticket to uplift my financial standing in the world. So, instead of admonishing those panicking and driving the markets to new lows, I want to thank them. Thank you for this fantastic opportunity to buy stocks I couldn’t afford weeks earlier. Carpe Diem! 

What is FIRE?

Late last year, I became inspired by strangers on YouTube. I saw people my age (millennials), and older embracing a financial movement called Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE). I was amazed at how people were saving 50% or more of their income and investing in real estate, mutual funds, stocks, and ETFs. Some people had six-figure portfolios and were younger than me. I felt like a slacker and knew I had to make a mental change for 2020. If I wanted to spend more time with my family and be the master of my time, then I had to learn to invest! 

My Financial Goals

I am a goal-driven person. Before 2020 rolled in, I wrote down my main accounts and the corresponding amounts I wanted to meet or exceed by the end of the year.  Please remember, I am in the beginning stages of my financial journey, and I am under the age of 35:

Accounts

I plan to meet my goals by sticking to a strict budget, keeping my debt low, and saving or investing at least 50% of my income. Currently, I am on target for a promotion, which should garner me a $15,000 bump in income. I also work a part-time job and have various passive income streams.

Lessons Learned So Far

Now I can’t give you any advice on what to do with your money. I am not a financial advisor. But I learned the hard way how selling assets can be foolish. In May 2019, I bought Tesla stock at $199.96. That’s cheap for Tesla. Unfortunately, its volatility scared me, and I sold it months later at $221.15. Now, as of this post, Tesla is $ 634.98 a share. Please don’t say it, I know, and I feel like a fool! If anything, I should have held and bought more! So, that is my philosophy going forward. I am in for the long-haul as a dividend growth investor. It is going to take a lot for me to sell shares in 2020.

I hope you will follow my wealth-building journey by staying tuned to Virgo Philosophy®!

Do you want to carpe diem with me? You now have a claim to a stock like Apple, Ford, or Facebook. In order to keep this claim to your stock, sign up and join Robinhood using my link.

With M1, you can automatically invest in what you want for free. Try it today and get $10 to invest! #BeInvested

Also, please check out one of my favorite YouTubers and Investor — Andrei Jikh. I know his words will inspire you as he has inspired me!

Video Credit:  Andrei Jikh | YouTube

If you would like to send financial support, please give back to Virgo Philosophy here. Or send money to our Cash App: $MIHMedia. No amount is too little. We are thankful for every dollar.