Where I Invest My Money
...and how I diversify
There will always, always be financial news that causes you to question your investments. “URGENT! Divest from this, invest in that” — every year, every quarter, it’s the same. It’s how those people (who sell urgency) stay in business. They need eyeballs on their content, or to sell you their financial memberships...
If you’ve ever felt that anxiety — checking your accounts after a fear-mongering headline, wondering if you’re doing it all wrong — this post is for you.
What follows is my whole approach: what investments I have, why I own those assets, and most importantly, the rules that keep me from wrecking it. It’s a boring system on purpose. I review it four times a year... and it lets me sleep well at night.
The standard reminder first: I’m not a certified financial advisor — simply a passionate amateur who has been investing since 2016, and studying about it along the way. Please do more research and get clear about your own strategy and risk tolerance before you invest. I can’t be responsible for your financial future 🙏🏼
My philosophy, in four sentences
For years, I described my approach as the “Boglehead” way: low-cost index funds, held for decades. That’s still my foundation... but I’m no longer a pure Boglehead.
What I do now:
I make a few high-conviction bets — Bitcoin, and the infrastructure of the AI revolution — that I intend to hold for a decade or more, through every drawdown.
I diversify around those convictions, not instead of them... broad index funds that own a piece of everything.
Instead of bonds, I hold an income engine — low-volatility income funds that pay for living expenses, so I’m never forced to sell my long-term holdings in a bad year.
And I follow pre-committed rules, because the biggest threat to a good portfolio isn’t the market... it’s the urge to do something.
I’ll explain each...
Where my money actually is:
Think of my portfolio as three buckets of roughly equal size, each with one job:
The foundation (about a third) — broad, low-cost index funds: the US total market (VTI), international (VXUS), plus a bit of emerging markets (VWO) and real estate (SCHH). This is the classic Boglehead core. It owns a slice of the whole world economy, costs almost nothing, and never gets sold.
The convictions (about a third) — mostly Bitcoin, plus funds that own the infrastructure of the AI revolution (chips, data centers). These are concentrated bets I’ve researched deeply and plan to hold for at least a decade.
The income engine (about a third) — low-volatility income funds (STRC and SATA are my current preferences) that yield far more than bank interest. This bucket has two jobs: it pays our living expenses, and it serves as reserves for buying dips in the other two buckets. It’s my replacement for bonds.
Add it up and you’ll notice: more than half of my portfolio rides on the Bitcoin ecosystem in some form. I know. It’s deliberate — and it’s the opposite of what most financial advisors might recommend. More on that below.
The exact percentages (updated May 19, 2026):
20% into VTI
8% into VXUS
2% into VWO
3% into SCHH — diversification into real estate via a basket of more than 100 REITs.
7% mix of VGT, SMH, AIPO — a basket of stocks that own the infrastructure of the AI revolution.
2% mix of Google & TSLA — because I want to invest more in AI and robotics, and I think Google and Tesla will be winners in these sectors.
20% Bitcoin (what is Bitcoin?) — via Fidelity Crypto. Outside the USA? Coinbase or Kraken.
5% into a mix of MSTR and ASST — amplified Bitcoin stocks: more volatile, greater potential for long-term growth.
33% into a mix of low-volatility income-generators: STRC and SATA — mainly early-retirement income, plus a bit of reserves to withdraw and buy dips of the above.
The rules that matter more than the allocation
If you remember nothing else from this post, remember these:
1. Start now, not “someday.” Invest into a tax-advantaged retirement account (such as an IRA) every single year. Do not delay even one year... don’t skip.
2. Give compounding the years it needs. A rule of thumb from the Boglehead forum (assuming you retire in your 60’s):
Every dollar you save in your 20’s = $16
Every dollar you save in your 30’s = $8
Every dollar you save in your 40’s = $4
Every dollar you save in your 50’s = $2
That assumes a modest 7% return (historical total stock market returns minus inflation)... so every $1,000 invested at age 20 becomes $16,000 at age 60.
3. Never sell the long-term holdings for at least 10 years — ideally until retirement — no matter what the “imminent market conditions” are. Time in the market beats timing the market.
4. Review quarterly, not daily. Daily checking can turn into anxious tinkering. I look at my portfolio seriously four times a year.
5. Rebalance mechanically. When one bucket drifts too far from its target, new money goes toward whatever is underweight. No forecasting required.
6. If you must reduce a position, sell into strength — never into panic. Decide calmly, after a rebound, at a price you’re comfortable with... not during a scary week.
Protecting my portfolio from... me
Here’s what I’ve learned over time: the biggest risk to my financial future isn’t a market crash. It’s me, feeling the urge to act.
I know that urge all too well.
In October 2025, I moved a significant portion of my retirement funds into Bitcoin — all at once. My conviction was real, built on research... but so was the FOMO. The price had been climbing for months, and I didn’t want to miss any more of the ride.
I didn’t know at the time, but I ended up buying near the top of that cycle. Over the following months, I watched that purchase lose about half its value.
Checking the price every day didn’t bring peace. Going deeper into research did... I wanted to understand what I actually own. Two charts helped me the most: the SMA1458 chart, which averages Bitcoin’s price over four years... and the Bitcoin Power Law chart, which maps its entire price history on one long curve. Zoomed out like that, this drawdown looks like every previous one: painful in the moment, barely visible on the decade view.
From that expensive lesson, I built guardrails:
I buy in stages now, never all at once. If the conviction is real, it will still be real next month.
I decided in advance what would prove my thesis wrong... so a scary price drop isn’t the signal — a structural change would be.
I watch for the “small enough to feel safe” temptation. When I catch myself wanting to put “just 2%” into the exciting fund of the month, that smallness is usually a sign that I just want the feeling of doing something.
I’m wary of pitches that mirror my own beliefs back to me. I regularly receive investment offers that sound custom-made for my convictions (”AI companies! Bitcoin-adjacent!”)... when a pitch fits you that well, the fit is the marketing.
A reader once asked me about buying into a famous company before its IPO. My answer to every exciting opportunity is the same: my boring system serves me better than any thrilling exception.
One more question that has saved me, found in the investing forums: would I buy this position today, at today’s price? If not... my cost basis is a number the market doesn’t know or care about.
About Bitcoin
Bitcoin is my largest conviction, so it deserves its own section.
I hold Bitcoin because I believe its adoption story is still early... a holding I measure in decades. I’ve written more about the deeper reasons here: Why Bitcoin is Good for the World.
Most Bogleheads are old school — they think Bitcoin is “too volatile”... but they forget to zoom out, because if you look at any 5-year period, Bitcoin has trounced any stock index fund. Its historical return has been 70+% average per year for the last 10 years... yet it’s projected for “only” 15–30% annual return going forward. Let’s say 15% conservatively: every $1k invested for 20 years would become more than $16k.
(Do your own zooming out with the charts I linked above... I find them more grounding than any news cycle.)
I buy mine through Fidelity Crypto. Outside the USA? Coinbase or Kraken work well. And ask your Bitcoin questions at r/Bitcoin.
As you get closer to retirement...
The closer you are to needing the money, the more you would gradually reallocate your investments for retirement — from growth holdings into low-volatility income-generators like STRC and SATA (my preferences)... or CDs (certificates of deposit) if you want to be really conservative and don’t mind low yields.
When you’re living off income instead of selling shares, a market crash in your early retirement years can’t force you to sell at the worst moment. Your holdings recover on their own schedule... while your bills still get paid.
In 2023, my wife and I made a big financial move — a physical one. We moved to Mexico: a lower cost of living, and bank CD’s that pay almost double the US rate (about 7% compared to 4%, as of 2025). With lower costs and higher interest, it’s easier to live off that interest instead of eating away at one’s principal. Even considering the currency fluctuations, it’s a better deal.
Geographic flexibility, it turns out, is also a financial strategy.
The most secure investment isn’t in the market
After all this talk of funds and allocations... the most reliable investment, for most of us, is — and has always been — in our own marketable skills, and in growing an audience of people who trust us.
Your skills don’t crash. The craft people love to pay you for, your joyful productivity, your ability to market yourself authentically... these keep paying a return for the rest of your working life, in any market condition.
And your audience? In the distant past, we humans found long-term security in our tribe — as long as we contributed, we would be taken care of. Now, we each create our own tribes. With the internet, true kindred spirits can find us from all over the world. With a genuine following of people who care about you, you will never be in want: you can create and sell your own offerings, recommend someone else’s, or simply ask your audience for support.
So when I feel the itch to “do something” with my money, I’ve learned to redirect it. Instead of another trade, I invest that energy into my business — serving my clients, and creating new content. For us soulpreneurs, growing income through meaningful work beats squeezing an extra percent from a portfolio.
Where to keep learning
If I can recommend one resource to lean on for the “newest” financial news and perspectives on investing, it’s this one: r/Bogleheads.
Go there. Ask all your questions about investing. (Except about Bitcoin -- ask here instead: r/Bitcoin.) Ask about your latest concerns or investing opportunities. You’ll get sensible replies. In all manners of market conditions, that forum can be your grounding tool.
These forums are free. I bet that if you follow only their advice, you’ll be better off financially after 10 years.
Please share this... without my name 😅
Feel free to pass this around. Simply copy/paste any of the above, and share it anywhere, without my name. I don’t want random folks coming to my website asking me for financial guidance!
The exception — if you happen to be sharing this with a fellow soulpreneur, these are people I’d love to reach... then kindly share this link: www.georgekao.com/blog/investing
Use all investing info (including this post!) as one of multiple sources that you consult, then make decisions in full responsibility for your own financial future.
Take courage — but not too much — and one step at a time...
Questions? Comment below.
Originally written in early 2024... now rewritten for mid-2026.