There’s a lot going on in 2020 and we are almost through the 3rd quarter. I had planned on investing a lot this year for some personal goals. Most of these investments were going to be in short-term, such as bonds. However, with COVID-19 and the economic impact created, I have decided to put a little more in some long-term investments also.
My goal was to get to $500k before my 31st birthday. That meant I had to hit it this year. I’m happy to say that I have just barely reached my goal, thanks in part to the last two year’s markets. With everything going on this year though, it is surprising that some stocks have been doing so well.
My current investment portfolio has a wide range of investment assets. Here’s a breakdown of what categories and percentages I am currently investing into each section.
Investments breakdown
I’ve broken down the categories into different individual investments that I currently have in my portfolio. The important part is figuring out if it’s on track with personal investment goals.
Of course most of the above is what I was investing in before COVID-19 in the United States. Due to these unforeseen circumstances, I would estimate that my current risk is quite high. For me, this is okay because I am looking at long term gains with my investments. However, if I was planning on spending some of this money in the next couple years it would be a problem.
What’s Changed
At the start of the pandemic, precious metals like gold and silver were at a fairly decent price. Higher than last year but not by much. Now, precious metals are almost at an all time high. Precious metals (in the form of ETFs or a service like OneGold) are a good way to hedge against inflation. During financial uncertainty it may be useful if you have to spend some of your invested money in an emergency.
I’ve also begun to invest more in collectibles, which is indicated by alternatives in the above charts. Due to the issues we are facing this year and not having perfect confidence in the stock market, it’s an alternative that I have been focusing on more for the second half of this year. I will be writing more about alternatives and collectibles and how they can help long term as a way to store wealth. These alternatives are good foundations to help keep a stable net worth during market volatility and uncertainty.
Going Forward
Since my 2020 investments did fairly well, even during the pandemic, I am still in a solid position to reaching my next goal. The next step is $1 million. With my ultimate plan to get to a point where my job doesn’t matter, I need to at least be able to pay for my minimum expenses with dividends alone. This means I will need to be investing aggressively the next 2-3 years or more.
I’ve never been one to form budgets, but for 2021 I am going to be making a budget. I will share the process here on the blog. My reasoning is that without it, I am much more likely to impulse buy things that really aren’t necessary. Even though things may seem small they add up quick. With a budget I should be able to keep myself on track with my long-term goals.
