What I Learned After 3 Years of Monthly 500,000-Won Auto-Investing (Nothing Special)
Since 2022, I’ve been putting in 500,000 won a month, split half and half between ETFs and savings. To start with the result: the returns are just so-so. I didn’t make big gains, and I didn’t take big losses.
But I realized something more important than how fast the money piles up.
- I don’t check my account anymore. I used to look at it three times a day; now it’s once a month.
- Payday isn’t scary. It means a lot that there’s still something left after the automatic transfers go out.
- I eventually sold off all my individual stocks. I admitted to myself that I don’t have a knack for picking stocks.
The conclusion is that it’s best to just set up automatic transfers and forget about them. It’ll be different for everyone, but that’s how it was for me.
9 answers
Facts, auto-transfer is the real answer. I set one up too and stopped looking, and my mental health actually improved.
It's a shame they didn't say what percentage return it got. Just saying 'it's like that' doesn't give me any sense of it.
Isn't 3 years a bit short? With dollar-cost averaging into ETFs, you really need at least 5 years before you start to see something. That said, I'll admit it does make you feel more at ease.
I'm not so sure that not looking at your account is an advantage. That just means you've become indifferent, and shouldn't you rebalance once in a while? I think it's better to check in once every six months. I used to pick individual stocks, and after hitting -40%, I switched to recurring contributions, and after that I really stopped checking my balance. But I still don't know whether that's a good thing or just being numb lol
I really relate to the phrase "not being afraid of payday"... Even after the automatic withdrawals hit, just having something left in your bank account is a huge psychological boost.
I'm doing something similar. You did a good job cleaning up your individual stocks. I still can't quite let go, so I'm holding on to a few, and those are the only ones that keep staying in the red haha
A half-savings, half-ETF allocation will vary from person to person, but by year three, it’s worth thinking about adjusting your allocation at least once. In my second year, I reduced my savings allocation and increased U.S. ETFs, and that ended up working out better for me. By the way, if you use a pension savings account and an IRP together, you can also get tax deductions, so if you have room, look into that too.
You really did the right thing clearing out those individual stocks lol. I'm still holding on, telling myself 'this time is different.'
Honestly, "I didn't win big or lose big" feels like the most realistic review. Communities only ever get profit-verification posts, after all.