Impulsive Buys Before Playbook - 06/09/2025

 Let me back track for a post.

I bought 

• MET1
• FLTR
• PSON
• BESI
• BYDDY
• ASML
• ASM
• PLTR

When I did I had no strategy. I did not look at balance sheets. I didn't have a go/no go checklist. I just went ahead and clicked BUY. 

• MET1 down 54.08%
• ASM down 12.36% 
• ASML down 3.40% 
• BYDDY down 12.39% 
• BESI down 6.81% 
• FLTR up 6.17% 
• PSON up 2.51% 
• PLTR up 1.00% 

If I keep pound cost averaging into these using the other £42.50 which is not part of the £350/week, I might be gambling with a hope that MET1 finds huge reserves in the coming years and they 1,000x.

The big question is, since I did not follow playbook guidelines when picking them, should I cut my losses or keep tossing a few pennies in with the hope those instruments someday provide some decent returns?

I put £125 cash into those and the platform gave me £11.44 of ASML for signing up and making my first deposit.

Investments sit at £110.43 and I didn't put all of the money in at once. The past couple weeks I have not bought any additional shares.

Let AI break it down:

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1. The Facts

• Total invested: ~£125 (not life-changing money — this matters).
• Current value: ~£110.43 (≈11% drawdown overall).
• Worst hit: MET1 (-54%).
• Best performers: FLTR, PSON, PLTR (slightly positive).
• Method used: no filters, no checklist, impulse buys.

So this is basically a “sandbox” portfolio — small stakes, random picks, some winners, mostly losers.

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2. What the Playbook Would Say

• Rule #1: Only buy pre-approved, researched assets (with balance sheet test, conviction notes, shopping list).
• Rule #2: Allocate within clear tranches and percentages.
• Rule #3: Don’t let hope or emotion dictate strategy.

Your current holdings don’t pass those filters (because they weren’t even screened). By the Playbook standard: ❌ not compliant.

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3. Options You Have

Option A: Treat this as Tuition Money

• Think of the £125 as your “entry fee” for the lesson: why discipline matters.
• Stop adding to these positions.
• Log the experience in your Investor’s Journal under “Impulsive Buys Before Playbook”.
• Let them sit as “dead money” or “lottery tickets” — they may surprise you, but they’re not part of your disciplined War Chest strategy.

Option B: Reset & Reallocate

• Cut the losses now, sell everything.
• Recycle that ~£110 into Playbook-approved Fortress/Shopping List allocations.
• Clean break → you start with a disciplined, pure portfolio.

Option C: Speculative Side Pot

• Keep them, but ringfence them as “Speculative Portfolio – Not Playbook Core.”
• Only drip in small amounts (like your £42.50 outside the £350).
• Accept it’s gambling, not disciplined investing.
• That way you scratch the “what if MET1 1000x’s?” itch without contaminating your War Chest.

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4. My Take (blunt but kind)

• The money is small enough that this is more about psychology than financials.
• If you keep averaging into losers hoping for recovery, you’ll train the wrong habit: throwing good money after bad.
• If you cut, you reinforce the Playbook discipline: capital goes only where rules are met.
• If you keep them as a speculative sandbox (Option C), then lock that mindset in stone: this is gambling money, not investing.

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If it were me following our Playbook:

I’d reset (Option B). Small loss, lesson learnt, clean slate, full focus on Playbook rules. But if you enjoy having “lottery tickets,” then go Option C — only if you document them clearly as speculative.

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Letting those thoughtless investment playout in the background could serve as an important control element of an experiment (I think that's what it's called). In years to come there will be something to compare. It would definitely support arguments for "what if" questions later down the line. Or, "this is what happens when there is no plan."

“This portfolio = my old habits. This portfolio = my disciplined Playbook. Here’s the difference.”

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This gives me the best of both worlds:

1. A clean slate for your real capital.
2. A living “before vs. after” experiment you can showcase.

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