Who would have thunk that robo investing would deliver real returns over 10 years. Not many take robo investing seriously. It often looks stupid and less sophisticated to many
Not me. I wasn’t out here thinking I was Warren Buffett or some finance genius. I just downloaded some random apps that seemed legit and thought alright cool I’ll try this out. And I started. With no master plan. Just consistency.
And then?
This is my cumulative return over roughly ten years of robo investing.
Nothing fancy. Just consistency.
Flat lines create wealth with one simple input. Consistency.
Look at how flat it was for years. Boring as hell. Nothing exciting. Nothing to share. And then suddenly it starts bending upward. My returns didn’t happen because I was strategic. They happened because I didn’t quit.
And this can happen for anyone who decides to be consistent.
A lot of people underestimate robo investing.
When I started, the returns weren’t impressive at first. It looked like nothing was happening. But I kept putting money in. And the ease of tracking everything made me increase my contributions over time.
I always set everything on aggressive.
That matters. If you have time on your side, give your money room to grow. And if I died early, then at least I tried to get the highest possible returns. That was my thinking.
After a decade of this I realized something. Robo investing actually works. It builds real returns. The longer you stay in, the more you benefit.
People love to act like robo investing is for people who don’t know anything. And while that might be true, it also works for people who just want to be hands off and still grow their money. You just have to choose legit apps. Do your due diligence. And then let it run.
There were years where I invested 20 to 50 percent of my income. The only way I made that possible was by keeping my expenses low. Really low. I did not want to touch my investments even when things got tight. If income dipped. If I overspent. If I made financial mistakes. I still found a way to invest.
And yes you will lose money. That is part of the process. Some people panic when they see a negative number or a drop in returns. If you can chill and stay unemotional you will win at the game of investing. When it drops. Cool. When it rises. Cool. Same energy both ways. Because the long term trend is up if you keep going.
Look at Warren Buffett. He started investing at age 11. But almost all his wealth came after he was 50. That is the power of time. Consistency is the cheat code everyone ignores.
I have been in the gym for over 20 years. Never fell off. Not once. The results now look obvious — even when I take time away from the gym to rest my body. But the results came from showing up when it wasn’t exciting. Same thing with investing. It is never about hype. It is about habit.
When I first started I didn’t know what I was doing. Sure I learned some things young. But I still don’t know much financial jargon. I still don’t read or understand every chart perfectly. I still make financial mistakes. But it does not matter. Because I keep investing.
Time and consistency do the heavy lifting. Not perfection.
Most people overthink investing. They want the perfect timing. The perfect asset. The perfect app. The perfect crypto moment. They want to feel like a genius before they even start.
The only thing that actually matters is staying consistent.
Anyone can be good for a couple months. Who keeps going for a decade or more, though? That is where the wealth lives.
And if you only have 5 to 10 years of investing time. That is still enough to change everything. Would you rather have 10 years of growth or nothing because you hesitated and felt you didn’t have enough time?
And if all you can invest is 5 dollars a week. Start there. If you don’t know where to find 5 dollars then look harder. Check the ground. Cut one tiny expense. Ask someone for a dollar. Just begin. Because once you see growth you will want to put in more. Watching wealth build gets addictive (in a good way).
You start realizing oh this works. Let me go harder.
I am not a financial expert. I didn’t study finance. Half the time I still don’t know what I’m doing. But consistency keeps paying me. You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room. You just have to show up longer than everyone else.
If you want a better future but you don’t know where to start. Start anyway. Look into robo investing. Pick something that matches your risk tolerance. And then let it run quietly while you live your life.
We have automated wealth building sitting in our phones. And most people are doing nothing with it. Don’t be one of them.
Start. And don’t stop.
Your chart will speak for you later.
Though I’ve been investing for almost 20 years, I’m not a financial advisor or expert. Always do your own research and seek objective guidance from multiple financial professionals before making decisions with your life and money. This article was originally published at destinyh.com.