Build money that works while you work—with DCA, compounding, and pricing power.

Hands writing an auto-invest DCA plan and budget on a clean desk

Why you need money that works for you

Some days work is fun; other days it’s exhausting—and bills won’t wait for motivation.
So I flipped the script: buy shares of excellent companies and let them earn for me while I’m earning my paycheck.
If I’m working and the companies I own are also working, I move faster. The simplest way to build that engine is automatic investing (DCA) on payday.

First: when will you need this money?

Before investing, sort by purpose and time.

Short-term money (soon): keep it in high-yield savings, money market funds, or short-term Treasuries. Hold six months of living expenses as an emergency buffer so life stays steady when markets wobble.
Long-term money (5+ years): raise stock exposure and let compounding do the work. If your numbers and life fit, buying a home can add stability that makes saving and long-range planning easier.

A simple age-based framework

A common guide is stock allocation = 100 − age.

In your 30s: roughly 70% in stocks
In your 50s: roughly 50% in stocks
The younger you are, the bolder your stock weight can be; the closer you are to retirement, the more gradual your de-risking should be.

Stocks are a long game with time as the edge

Stocks aren’t about flipping—they’re about owning time.
Trust compounding and, in your 30s, auto-invest 70% of your paycheck with a DCA plan so timing stress disappears and volatility averages out over time.
Adjust the exact percentage to your cash flow and responsibilities—the real unlock is automation that keeps you consistent.

Why avoid day trading

Day trading drifts toward gambling—it swings with headlines, moods, and luck.
An investor is a part-owner of businesses; as those businesses grow and cash flow scales, we share in the results.
Shiny charts and rumors fade; time, rules, and diversification do the heavy lifting.

My portfolio principle (personal experience)

I focus on category leaders and hard-to-replace businesses.
I used to lean on staples and high-dividend names, but price momentum was weak and drawdowns hit hard.
Six years ago I pivoted toward technology-led innovation, and results have been stronger since.

Companies and plain-English advantages

Apple — Tight ecosystem lock-in across iPhone/Mac/Services, pricing power with loyal users, Apple Silicon for performance and cost control
Microsoft — Enterprise software standard (Office/Windows), Azure’s recurring revenue, and the distribution to plug AI (Copilot) straight into workflows
NVIDIA — De-facto AI compute standard (GPU + CUDA), integrated hardware/software/developer stack, direct tailwinds from data-center demand
Alphabet (Google) — Cash engines in Search and YouTube, massive Android/Chrome distribution, and both AI models and cloud infrastructure in-house
Amazon — AWS as the profit engine (high-margin, recurring), Prime + logistics for scale and lock-in, fast-growing ads business
Occidental — Low-cost assets (Permian) with strong operating leverage to oil prices, plus CCUS/DAC for energy-transition optionality
Tesla — Brand + vertical integration (batteries, software) for cost and speed, FSD/robotaxi software upside, growing energy storage arm
Palantir — Data integration + decision platform with high switching costs, sticky government demand and expanding commercial use, AI operations (ontology) that move quickly from model to frontline

If hand-picking stocks feels heavy, a low-cost total-market or S&P 500 ETF is a perfectly solid starting point. I’m comfortable concentrating; you should match your personality, time, and risk tolerance.

Your turn

Which one step will you take today—setting an auto-transfer percentage, picking your ETF/stock list, or choosing a rebalance date?
And what’s one question you want me to dig into in Part 2?