I'm on my way - 15 / 08 /25

Friday, August 15th, 2025: Launching Phase 1 – The Fortress Phase

Since July 5th, I’ve been stashing away £42.50 each week into a secondary account, aiming to fuel my investing journey. By now, I should have £297.50 in savings. The reality? £229.19 as of today.

Why the shortfall? Along the way, I transferred out two £50 payments and one £25 payment (totalling £125) to my Trading212 Stocks & Shares ISA, investing in the following tickers:

  • PLTR (Palantir)
  • FLTR (Flutter Entertainment)
  • PSON (Pearson)
  • BESI (Be Semiconductor Industries)
  • ASML (ASML)
  • BYDDY (BYD)
  • ASM (ASM International)
  • MET1 (Metals One PLC)

Admittedly, most aren’t performing well so far—but it’s early days. There was no strategy behind these initial picks, no loyalty, not even a glance at their balance sheets. To call it “investment” is generous; it was closer to gambling.

The platform threw in £11.44 worth of ASML, giving me a total of £136.44 invested, alongside £8.02 in cash. As it stands, my portfolio is down roughly 7.5% at £118.29. But that’s the market—it moves. I haven’t done any DCA (dollar-cost averaging) this week, though I should probably persist with a few pounds here and there, regardless of short-term weakness. Consistency builds discipline. For now, I’ll hold these stocks and avoid further buys until I have a real strategy.

Revisiting the Plan

The weekly £42.50 deposit was always meant for steady investment through a S&S ISA. That was my plan from the outset. Ideally, every penny should go into investments weekly, no exceptions. Yet, reality had other plans.

Post-idea, I drafted a playbook and will start following its rules come September. Those initial, impulsive buys? Not in the real plan. I’ll keep the £42.50 deposits flowing (“set-and-forget”—I used to spend that much on the lottery), but now backed with intention and strategy.

Building for the Future

On August 3rd, I opened a SIPP with Vanguard in a bid to take charge of my pension. My small Scottish Widows pot from a prior job is being transferred over—Vanguard’s fees and options fit my needs, at least for now.

I set up a direct debit: £100/month into the SIPP, boosted to £125 with tax relief (£1,500/year), invested in the FTSE Global All Cap Accumulation Index Fund. The first payment was due today, but I’ll make it manually if necessary. The Scottish Widows transfer is also in process.

The War Chest Strategy

Starting September 1st, I’m upping the ante: £420/month will go into a Cash ISA—a “War Chest” for future opportunities.

Monthly breakdown:

  • £100 – SIPP
  • £170 – Savings account (4 × £42.50)
  • £420 – Cash ISA
  • Total: £690/month

That’s about 25% of my take-home pay. Treating it as a weekly deduction, I won’t miss it—and only £100/mth becomes truly inaccessible, while the rest serves as flexibility and security.

The goal: Build an emergency fund and accumulate enough so rainy day money never disrupts my system. Twelve months could see me with £5,040 in the War Chest and £2,040 in savings, ready to invest further.

Income: Planning for Growth

Currently, my weekly gross ranges from £550 (slow weeks) to £820 (busier ones). More pay would make these ambitions easier. Training for ADR certification could land me £20–£30/hour, potentially raising my weekly gross to £900–£1,350. However, I aim to avoid the higher tax band: £960/wk keeps me within the basic threshold, so £21/hour is my wage target for sustainable, smart earning.

Scaling the Program

If my income rises, I’ll scale monthly deductions by about 27%:

 

Category

Monthly Now

With Higher Income

Annual With Raise

SIPP

£100

£127.20

£1,526.40

Savings Account

£170

£216.25

£2,595

Cash ISA

£420

£534.24

£6,410.88

Total

£690

£877.70

~£10,500

 

Over five years, that’s a sizable war chest. Managed well, this could generate the kind of returns that outpace a modest pension pot. Consistent investing and smart compounding could pave the path to a million-pound net worth.

For now, the focus is on exercising financial discipline, managing risk, and making purposeful, high-value investments. The journey is just beginning.


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