The Simple Portfolio Strategy for Non-Finance People

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I’m going to tell you something that might surprise you, coming from a CPA and CFO.

Most investing advice is designed to make you trade. Not to make you wealthy.

TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab, Robinhood — they make money when you buy and sell. CNBC, Fox Business, Bloomberg — they make money from advertisers who want you to buy and sell. The entire financial media ecosystem is built on activity. And activity is the enemy of long-term wealth.

I wrote about this in my book Protect Your Money and Prosper back in 2016. The core idea hasn’t changed: you need to understand how the person giving you financial advice is getting paid. Because their incentives shape their recommendations.

The Two Things That Actually Build Wealth

After years of studying markets, writing about macroeconomics, and managing my own portfolio, I’ve distilled wealth-building into two principles.

First, save consistently and automatically. This is the Invisible Transfer I talked about in the Three Numbers post. If you haven’t automated your savings yet, that’s step one. Not step two. Not “something I’ll get to.” Step one.

Second, buy what’s cheap and hold it. This is the core of my Let Your Asset Allocation Build strategy. Most mainstream financial advice tells you to diversify across stocks, bonds, and cash — right now, today, regardless of price. That advice works fine if you already have $5 million. It’s terrible advice if you’re in your peak earning years with limited capital.

Why I Own Gold and Bitcoin

I first bought Bitcoin in 2016 at around $700. When it hit $20,000, I sold. I eventually bought back at $10,000 and sold at $60,000. Bought again around $40,000.

My biggest mistake? Not holding through the uncertainty in those early years. Every time I sold, I bought back at a higher price in a smaller position. The math on that is brutal.

I share that not to brag about timing — my timing was actually terrible in the long run — but to illustrate the principle: when you find an undervalued asset and you have conviction, the hardest thing to do is nothing. And nothing is usually the right move.

My current portfolio is anchored in gold, Bitcoin, and the miners that produce them. That’s my conviction. Your conviction might be different, and that’s fine. The principle is the same: understand what you own, understand why you own it, and don’t let market noise shake you out of a position you believe in.

For buying Bitcoin and other cryptos, I use Coinbase and Crypto.com (which also offers a debit card and staking). And if you want a debit card that earns Bitcoin rewards on everyday purchases, check out Fold — I use mine daily.

The Biggest Financial Mistake I’ve Made

In 2020, the market crashed with COVID. I believed it would keep falling. So I bought puts — essentially betting against the market. What I failed to appreciate was the sheer volume of liquidity that governments injected to prop things up. The market didn’t just recover — it rocketed higher.

I was fighting the Fed. And the Fed always wins in the short term. That lesson cost me real money, and it taught me something I’ll never forget: don’t bet against the printing press.

What You Should Actually Do

I’m not going to tell you what to buy. I’m not your financial advisor. But I will tell you the process that works.

Open a brokerage account somewhere reputable — I use Fidelity for my IRA and Charles Schwab for my brokerage. Automate a monthly transfer into it. Start learning about the asset classes that interest you. And when you find something that’s genuinely undervalued, have the courage to buy and the discipline to hold.

That’s it. No day trading. No options strategies. No watching CNBC all day. Save, learn, buy cheap, hold.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a licensed financial advisor. This is education based on my personal experience, not personalized financial advice. Always consult a qualified professional for your specific situation.

I break down the full five-move framework — including the 3-account structure and the real estate math — in The Weekend Wealth Blueprint. It’s free, and it’s written for people who want freedom, not frugality.

GET THE WEEKEND WEALTH BLUEPRINT — FREE

— Chad