Yongqi’s Story

Yongqi is a full-time PhD student with no debt who lives with a roommate in New Jersey. He accumulates savings and makes larger sum deposits at different intervals throughout the year. Yongqi is focused on investing for the long-term.

Diary Entry 30, July 2026

Steady Contributions, Strategic Patience

Yongqi, who is now 24, has a long-term goal of financial independence that remains unchanged, but his short-term priorities have sharpened. As he works toward completing his PhD, he is now focused on saving for a future home down payment while continuing to build wealth steadily.

He spends about an hour per week on investing—reading financial news, analyzing prices, and occasionally reviewing his strategy with AI tools. In recent months, he has increased investments in ETFs and select individual stocks, including Coinbase, based on perceived long-term growth potential.

When I first started to invest in specifically trading stocks, I tend to tweet pretty frequently because I liked the excitement of trading and earning a little bit of money. But gradually I realized like, I cannot put too much time on this because I have work to do. Um, so it’s becoming a pretty stable strategy. And I’m holding most of my stocks for a very, very long time.”

Although he does not currently have a traditional retirement account, his goal of long-term savings is central to  his journey and drives his retail investing strategy. Yongqi maintains approximately $10,000 in emergency savings and continues investing exclusively through one platform, prioritizing consistency over complexity.

The Shift from Excitement to Discipline

Earlier in his journey, Yongqi was drawn to the speed and excitement of active trading. Over time, that mindset has shifted toward discipline and balance. Today, he approaches investing with a clearer framework: pay off high-interest debt first, invest intentionally, and keep spending limited to essentials.

Yongqi recently acquired around $20,000 in credit card debt after having no debt previously, a temporary balance he expects to pay off quickly. Rather than viewing it as a setback, he saw repayment as a strategic decision, noting that if interest rates on debt exceed expected investment returns, repayment becomes the move he favors. That logic temporarily limited how much he could invest, but it reinforced his belief in structured financial decision-making.

I’m more optimistic. I would say because… my stock choices are the safe choices. I don’t usually take risks or buy really, really risky assets. Secondly, uh, I tend to save regularly and put money into my stock account regularly. So I think at least from that source, I’m basically guaranteed to have an increase in assets.”

His portfolio now reflects a more deliberate allocation: roughly 70% in stocks and 30% in cash, with diversified exposure across sectors such as technology, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, and index ETFs. He reviews his allocation quarterly and has gradually moved away from higher-risk small companies toward more stable index funds and industries he understands well.

Balancing Opportunity and Uncertainty

Market fluctuations have continued to test Yongqi’s confidence. While most of his portfolio remains stable, a significant drop in one of his investments created a moment of uncertainty. Instead of reacting emotionally, Yongqi leaned into his long-term philosophy. Yongqi says about one particular stock:

Even though I see a significant drop from the last month, I’m not only not withdrawing any funds, but instead I’m investing more in this company because I think the operation of the company is healthy… in the long run, it’s gonna come back.”

He has also wrestled with questions about timing, occasionally holding off on reallocating funds when cash is tight or waiting for a more favorable market entry point. One of his investments dropped nearly 50%, leaving him unsure whether to sell or continue holding. Still, he views losses as a normal part of investing rather than a signal to panic.

Outside influences from colleagues, news coverage, and broader economic shifts occasionally shape his decisions, but he relies most heavily on his own research into company fundamentals and analyst expectations.

Confident, But Calculated

Today, Yongqi describes himself as cautiously optimistic. He feels positive about investing overall and continues to see it as a powerful incentive to set money aside rather than spend it. He has grown more comfortable accepting that no strategy eliminates risk entirely. While he uses AI tools for summaries and technical analysis, he does not rely on them fully, noting that independent verification remains critical.

Right now the AI tools are pretty good at searching on the internet so they can integrate the news … and make some basic analysis on the news, which saves my time to search for the news. That’s good. I think some caveats are it would sometimes hallucinate. So that may not guarantee the accuracy of the information. But in general, I think they’re really helpful.”

Even when returns are slower than expected, he maintains confidence that steady contributions and long-term thinking will outweigh short-term volatility.

Building Freedom on His Terms

Yongqi’s ambitions extend beyond returns. He hopes to build at least $1 million in assets within the next decade. Not just for personal independence, but to secure the future of his eventual family, including education and healthcare needs.

He plans to continue investing for life, refining his knowledge along the way. While he acknowledges he has never taken formal investing classes, he trusts the system he has built: disciplined research, thoughtful risk management, and consistent contributions. What once began as curiosity has matured into conviction. For Yongqi, investing is no longer about speed. It’s about stability, independence, and designing a future that he controls.

I will definitely continue (investing) because first I don’t see an urgent need to use all my money, so I still keep most of my money in the investment platform. Second, I’m making good returns, so I’m keeping that and I think I’ll probably keep investing for my whole life.”

Diary Entry 2, June 2025

Shifting From Speed to Strategy

Yongqi, 23, has grown more confident in his long-term approach to investing. Once drawn to the fast pace approach of day trading, he used to spend two to three hours per week managing his portfolio. Now, he focuses on strategies that allow him to build wealth steadily over time. While he checks his accounts daily, this shift allows him to be more balanced and analytical, and as a result, he spends less than an hour a week managing his portfolio.

When I first started off, I did a lot of day trades and high-frequency trading… Now I tend to hold stocks for a long time and focus on their actual values instead of the daily fluctuations.”

Learning Through Tools and Trends

His curiosity continues to shape his journey. Before investing real money, Yongqi practiced with virtual trading platforms, and today he still leans on financial websites, AI summaries, and news outlets to inform his decisions. While he sometimes feels the information available isn’t enough, he invests when he trusts the company’s fundamentals. He avoids strategies he finds overly complex or risky, such as options trading, preferring the stability of long-term value.

Yongqi’s new goal is to achieve at least a 10% annual return, compared to his previous goal of 20% just a few months ago. He has a longer-term ambition of outperforming the Nasdaq index over the next two decades. He looks to policies, investor strategies, and market trends for guidance, always refining his approach while keeping risks in check.

Weathering Short-Term Fluctuations 

Currently, he is waiting out short-term fluctuations in the market, as, Yongqi experienced a dip in his portfolio from $70,680 to $67,575 in May 2025. Regardless, he remains positive about his overall prospects. He sees fluctuations as part of the process and emphasizes that patience, not speed, is what will bring him closer to his goal of  financial freedom.

I think the hardest part is to overcome the fear of the risk of losing money, because stock markets can be affected by multiple factors, for example, notice to government policy. And another great example is Covid. So, there’s a lot of unforeseeable risk factors […]”

Leaning on a Steady Foundation 

By shifting from high-frequency trades to long-term investing, Yongqi has found an approach that suits both his lifestyle as a PhD student and his ambitions for the future. His focus on strategy over speed, combined with a willingness to learn from new tools, has made him confident that steady, thoughtful investing will bring him closer to his long-term goals.

Diary Entry 1, March 2025

Learning Through Curiosity and Technology

Yongqi, 23, is an experienced investor focusing on long-term strategies that will enable him to save and have extra income. He spends two to three hours per week monitoring his portfolio, market news, and account activity.

Yongqi has leveraged a variety of educational resources to inform his decisions, from financial news and educational websites to AI tools that help analyze trends and save time. This blend of curiosity and technology keeps him learning and refining his approach.

Finding His Pace in the Market

Investing is not a new concept for Yongqi. He began investing three years ago while working toward his PhD in neuroscience, although his family has dabbled in investing vehicles before. When he started, Yongqi opened an investing account as his main trading platform while holding other “cash accounts” that hold lower interest rates. 

At first, he was drawn to the excitement of day trading, making quick moves for small gains. Over time, he realized the pace was too intense to sustain and shifted his focus toward steady, long-term investments. 

Today, he adds to his portfolio whenever extra money is available, focusing on stable, lower-risk options. Living off his school stipend and investment returns as income sources, he describes himself as a “saver,” has no debt, and has a roommate. Because of his lifestyle choices, he tends to make large sum investment deposits a few times a year ranging  from $3,000-$10,000. He also keeps an emergency fund of around $10,000 and plans to open a retirement account after graduation when he begins his career. 

While he is content with his current strategy, Yongqi recognizes he often feels information is insufficient to make a decision. However, he invests if he believes the company will not fail, focusing on its fundamental health before pooling funds into any opportunity. His views on the market are positive, showcasing his trust in the U.S. economy due to its long and successful track record.

I found the stock market has been pretty strong for a few decades in the U.S. So it wasn’t likely that I would start to invest and immediately lose money.”

Building Toward Financial Freedom

While his long-term goal is financial freedom, in the short term, Yongqi is aiming for a 20% return on his investments each year. He believes that balancing risk with careful planning is the key to growing wealth over time. His balance reflects an approach to grow his finances when he is able to do so by contributing $3,000-$10,000 at a time. This strategy  has built  with more than $67,000 in investments to date. 

I’ve learned to just control risk. So setting thresholds for risk control [helped me feel better about investing for the long term].”

Yongqi’s Investment Account Balance