Sep 7, 2026 · 30 min
A new homeowner tests the limits of her investing plan
4 months into investing: My full portfolio update
Jessica’s portfolio update shows how buying a home, combining finances, and adding leverage can reshape an early investor’s strategy.
- 1A portfolio above $8,000 now spans broad-market, thematic, individual-stock, and geared investments.
- 2Buying a home shifted Jessica’s savings toward mortgage offsets and made cash-flow flexibility more important.
- 3The hosts argue that a strong core portfolio should come before expanding riskier satellite positions.
Don't miss
Jessica asks whether beginners should use geared ETFs, prompting a discussion of leverage, volatility, goals, and time horizon.
The brief
Jessica Killen returns for a four-month portfolio review after buying a home and a dog, changing her savings system and combining some finances with her partner.
Her portfolio has passed $8,000, but its mix raises harder questions: how much should sit in broad-market core holdings, and how much belongs in geared ETFs, themes, or individual stocks?
The hosts explain that geared ETFs magnify both returns and volatility, while different purchase dates can make a geared position look worse than an ungeared one without a fair like-for-like comparison.
Jessica’s questions about weekly versus monthly investing lead to a less dramatic answer: consistency matters, but investing available lump sums sooner generally gives money more time in the market.
The clearest advice is also the simplest: build a substantial core first, keep the system manageable, and add satellite bets only when the thesis and risk fit.