Amelia’s Story

Amelia,* 46, is a teacher living with her husband and children in Maryland. As a beginner investor, she meets with her partner every month to review their finances and accounts.

Diary Entry 3, July 2026

Balancing Growth and Stability

Amelia,* 46, has become more intentional in her investing approach and closely aligned with her family’s long-term goals. Living with her partner and caring for their young child while supporting a daughter in college, Amelia continues to invest consistently, typically once a month. 

As a household, Amelia* and her partner meet monthly to review their expenses and check their investment account, and revisit retirement planning twice a year. In addition to her investment account, Amelia* maintains approximately $5,000 in liquid emergency savings and around $50,000 in a 403(b), reinforcing her broader sense of financial stability.

I feel somewhat optimistic at this point, just looking at everything happening with the economy. We did see a little bit of losses, but now it’s kind of come back in the retirement accounts and our investing account. We have not had any big losses. Um, we are on track for our savings for this year, and we are looking to put more money on paying down our mortgage at the end of the year.”

Hesitation Meets Measured Confidence

At the beginning of Amelia’s* investing journey, uncertainty and fear played a central role in her mindset. She worried about volatility, second-guessed her decisions, and often questioned whether she had enough knowledge to make sound choices.

Today, while she still considers herself relatively new to investing, her mindset and habits have shifted. She understands that the market fluctuates and has become more comfortable with the ups and downs. Rather than checking her account frequently, she intentionally limits how often she looks at it, reflecting growing trust in her strategy.

Navigating Market Volatility and Competing Priorities

Market downturns have tested that trust throughout her journey. Amelia* saw both her investment account and retirement savings dip, which initially brought back familiar anxiety. However, instead of making reactive changes, she and her partner chose to stay the course.

Over time, the accounts rebounded, reinforcing her understanding that short-term declines are part of long-term investing.

I have had losses. I have not had a negative balance. And it’s frustrating, but I understand that’s part of the long term way of investing. So it’s not always going to be positive or it’s not always going to be gains. I know there’s going to be ups and downs, and having that expectation helps me to handle those times.”

At the same time, Amelia* continues to balance investing with near-term financial goals. She plans to purchase a vehicle in cash to avoid taking on debt. Her goals for home-related expenses, which was to pay additional principal in an effort to reduce the mortgage interest, has evolved to the desire of fully paying off her home in the next 5-8 years. These evolving, competing priorities require careful allocation of funds between investing and saving.

Investing for Flexibility

Today, Amelia* views investing as one component of a broader financial ecosystem. Her investment accounts provide a different kind of security than retirement accounts, noting that they feel more accessible and flexible, if needed. She describes her savings and investments as a form of stability— a financial cushion that allows her to feel more at ease.

Rather than chasing high-risk opportunities, Amelia* is focused on steady, consistent progress. She continues investing monthly and has not made withdrawals from her accounts.

I kind of chose the level of risk that I’m okay with, and then I just kind of let the account sit and put in what I can, when I can. For my 403(b), I try to put in as much as I get in an employer match. For [my retail investing platform] that’s been a little bit different. Every month we put chunks into it at a time. Whereas my 403(b) sum of money, my money per pay is deposited and I don’t even think about it.”

Building a Foundation for the Future

Looking forward, Amelia* hopes her investments will give her greater flexibility, including the possibility of reducing work hours or retiring earlier than expected within the next decade. While her goals have evolved, her motivation remains consistent: creating choices for herself and her family. Investing is no longer defined by fear. Instead, it represents a pathway toward independence and long-term stability.

Amelia’s* journey reflects a shift from uncertainty to grounded confidence, and is a reminder that trust, experience, and intentional planning can reshape how newer investors navigate risk over time.

I do plan to continue. I look at investing again as a long term plan. So I plan to invest at least until I am ready to retire. And that would be hopefully in the next 5 to 10 years. But I also plan to keep investing in my retirement as long as I’m comfortable and have what I need. So I think that this is just the start of a long term journey.”

Diary Entry 2, June 2025

A Change of Heart

Amelia*, 45, is hesitant about her investment decisions despite the positive outlook she expressed in February. She now spends about 30 minutes to one hour per week on investing, increasing her activities from once a month. 

Cautious and Steady

Amelia is taking a cautious and steady approach to her investments,which is consistent with when she initially started. Although she was interested in the topic, she delayed her decision to start because she was afraid of the risks involved. Eventually, she was encouraged to do so after hearing her partner’s first-hand experience with investing online.

Amelia found the initial step to be a challenge, as she did not know what would happen after she signed up, linked her accounts, and started investing money. However, when she started tracking her “cash reserves” account and seeing some growth, Amelia felt safer about the opportunity. She knows she can access the almost $18,000 in accumulated liquid savings and cash reserves when needed without penalties. She eventually found the investing process easy and appreciated the flexibility it provided.

Now Amelia relies on news outlets, current events, and the stock market to inform her investing strategy. She still considers herself a beginner at investing, but she does understand concepts in asset diversification like value-storing vehicles and balancing high-reward investments with more stable ones. While understanding these concepts, she hasn’t taken the steps to diversify her investment options yet, because she feels like she needs more knowledge and experience. She also sees investments as risky when she does not have enough information about the company or faces high market volatility driven by news or rumors. 

Amelia believes one can never have enough information to make a perfect or sound investment decision; so she’s focused on gaining more knowledge and resources, including relying on her partner’s research and instincts.

I trust him, and so far our strategy has been working.”

With her partner’s advice, Amelia explores market trends, compares retirement and investment accounts, sets financial goals, and allocates money to best support their plan. She hopes to ultimately have enough money to stop working and live comfortably with the savings she accumulates over time—a goal that has not changed since she began investing.

Market Downturn Leads to Fears

While Amelia is moving forward in her progress, the impact on the market resurfaced the same fears she held in the beginning. She paused making deposits into her investment portfolio since the downturn began, following the advice to not make emotional decisions during any market volatility. In contrast, Amelia sold and moved a few stocks as a result. She also signed up for a medium to moderate level risk portfolio, but has not picked any stocks and bonds yet. Amelia says this event has impacted her financially and emotionally. Her biggest concern is her retirement and investments, seeing the numbers drop by 10% in her portfolio (from $33,500 to $31,100), caused by tariff shocks back in April.  

I’m unsure of what this year and change will mean—if I need to be more conservative, or use funds for other things. It’s a little scary to not know [if] I’m going to be as prepared as I have felt in the past.”

A Sliver of Hope

Amelia has not lost all hope. Her portfolio has since bounced back from the loss with an overall account balance increase from $28,267 to $39,621 since February. While she is more conservative in her investments, Amelia’s views on the market have shifted, knowing she can trust long-term market growth despite the ups and downs. She plans to keep her current strategy by focusing on long-term goals while taking some moderate risks after she learns from others with more experience. For now, Amelia is limiting large deposits into her account as she continues to focus on paying off her mortgage and doing repairs to her home.

We’re just going to let this ride and know that there are ups and downs and we have to weather those storms and just stay the course and hope that it works out in the end.”

Diary Entry 1, March 2025

A Better Future for Her Children

With $1,000 deposited recently into her new joint general cash account in addition to existing investment accounts, Amelia is setting her sights on one goal: gaining the financial freedom she needs for a better life, and by extension a better future for her children. She hopes to set aside enough money that will allow her to pursue a lifestyle where she is no longer tied to work. Her additional savings will also help pay down her private mortgage insurance payments.

I look at investments as a way to set aside money to put towards my future, to be financially secure…to not have to work full time, and to work only if I want to, and to give me the freedom to do what I want with my life.”

Work In Progress

Her investments are a work in progress. Amelia understands that market changes may inform her investing decisions, but she is optimistic that despite market volatility that may occur, it will not have a major impact on her investments or cause her to stop investing altogether.

She is focused on long-term growth rather than short-term fluctuations.

Thinking Positively Toward the Future

Amelia’s outlook on her investments is positive. She is still getting her feet wet after two years of investing but is happy with her investment accounts, knowing it will help her achieve her goal.

I feel like it’s a good investment in myself, and it’s helping me to have goals for the future.”

*”Amelia” is a pseudonym used at the request of the individual to protect her privacy. Some personal details have been modified or omitted to maintain confidentiality while preserving the authenticity of her experience.

AMELIA’S INVESTMENT ACCOUNTS BALANCE