Year 2 of My ₩500K Monthly ETF Plan: Sharing My Current Approach
I’ve always found personal finance posts a bit burdensome, so I never wrote one—but I’ll just share my own approach. This isn’t investment advice, just a record.
When I started two years ago, the rules I set were simple: the 25th of every month, ₩500,000, automatic purchase, and a check-in once a quarter.
Looking back, here’s what I actually stick to:
1. Two U.S. dividend/growth ETFs mixed together, fixed 7:3 weighting
2. Only one domestic ETF, capped at 20% of the total
3. Only buy extra when a special bonus comes in
I’m not doing stop-losses or rebalancing yet. After two years, there hasn’t been much I felt needed changing. Instead, checking the monthly purchase notification has become a habit.
The one thing I regret is the exchange rate. Last year it was nice when the won was weak, but buying when it’s strong like now really cuts into the returns I feel. Still, I know I can’t time the market, so I just keep going.
One thing I’m sure of: because I automated it, the temptation not to do it is gone.
6 answers
Could you share which two stocks you’re going with? Dividend and growth stocks have quite different characteristics, so I’m curious.
Agreed—automation is the real answer. I set it up to just send me notifications, so I don’t even have to think about it.
Any source? Without a 2-year return or account verification, isn't this just a personal diary?
I can relate to the exchange rate talk. I bought in bulk during last year's dollar strength, but now that the won has strengthened again, the increase in valuation doesn't really show, which felt a bit hollow. Still, I tried to time the currency exchange twice and failed both times, so I concluded it's better to just fix the purchase date. Two years seems like enough time to build the habit.
Well, isn’t two years too short to say there’s “nothing much to change”? Framing not rebalancing as a strength is a bit much too. You say the allocation is fixed at 7:3, but if you left it alone for two years, it’s probably not 7:3 anymore—that’s just not managing it, not sticking to a principle. There needs to be at least returns or actual changes in allocation for it to be convincing.
I think limiting domestic exposure to within 20% was a really good call. I had a big domestic allocation and after years of frustration I’m finally reducing it little by little lol. Using special bonuses for additional purchases is also a good habit. That said, since you’re in your second year, I’d also recommend reviewing your allocation once a year. Not that it’s mandatory, but if you do it just once, you’ll understand why it’s worth doing.