How I went from broke to $100k invested in about ~2.5 years (and what NOT to do)
I was basically cooked at 23.
Substance issues, bad habits, wasting money, hanging around the wrong people, going out constantly, random late-night Ubers, blowing money at bars/clubs, and somehow graduating college through the haze of all that.
Then in November 2023 I decided I was tired of being broke.
Fast forward to now and I’ve crossed $100k invested. No inheritance. No parents handing me money. No lottery ticket.
Biggest thing by FAR:
Performance-based income.
I’m in sales. The more I learned, the more I earned. That changed everything.
At first I worked:
- Main job
- Side job
- Invested aggressively
Then around ~$50k invested, I realized increasing skill/output had way more leverage than just grinding more hours, so I dropped the side job and focused on getting better at sales.
If you’re not in sales:
- freelance
- learn high-income skills
- find ways to get paid based on output, not just time
That matters WAY more than trying to save $4 making coffee at home.
Things I did RIGHT:
- invested $2k-$4k+ monthly consistently
- automated investing
- avoided lifestyle creep
- stayed mostly in ETFs
- bought dips instead of panic selling
- went to the gym consistently
- stopped hanging around negative people
My portfolio is mostly ETFs, but I leaned toward growth:
- SCHG
- FXAIX
- SMH / PSI
I also took some concentrated bets:
- bought GOOGL when it got beaten down
- bought AMZN around ~$200
- currently heavier in MSFT because I think it’s a similar setup to GOOGL a year ago
Mostly large companies with strong balance sheets. I capped positions around ~10%.
Now for the important part:
What NOT to do:
DO NOT:
- panic sell
- revenge trade
- buy random meme options
- try to get rich in 2 weeks
- keep increasing lifestyle every time income goes up
- spend every weekend getting drunk and ordering Ubers at 2am
- hang around people who normalize staying broke
I made mistakes too:
- lost ~$2k buying RIOT call options early on
- lost another ~$1k getting pinned on a QQQ put
- bought a car I wanted at around 70k (didn’t need)
I eventually started running the wheel strategy on margin around $25k portfolio size and it added a few hundred/month, but this is NOT free money:
- margin amplifies losses
- options can blow up quickly
- you can get stuck holding bad positions
If you don’t understand options, skip them entirely.
Other underrated boosts:
- employer match ($200-$400/mo extra invested)
- bank bonus churning
- living cheaply
- keeping cash ready for dips
One of the best investments I made honestly was the gym. It gave me structure and momentum when everything else in life was messy.
Get good at making money and get good at investing it. Income isn’t always consistent and markets aren’t either, but if you stay, it compounds.
DO NOT PANIC SELL.
One last note: I did live with my parents for about a year and a half which absolutely helped, but I paid ~$800/month toward the mortgage, bought my own groceries, and would order food for everyone every couple weeks. Definitely grateful for that setup.
Happy to answer questions.
Edit:
The divide on this sub is insane 😂
I know I got lucky with the market being green and starting in 2023, but I also know I worked my ass off.