I Stopped Chasing Tips and Finally Built a Strategy That Makes Sense

For a year, my investing strategy looked like this:

• See a tip on YouTube or Reddit

• Panic that I was “missing out”

• Buy in

• Watch it drop

• Sell for a loss

• Repeat

I wasn’t investing. I was reacting.

And it wasn’t just costing me money. It was destroying my confidence.

I didn’t know what I owned. I didn’t know why I bought it. All I knew was that everyone else seemed to be making smarter decisions — and I was stuck.

Until I did something different.

I stopped trying to outsmart the market… and focused on outsmarting my emotions.

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🟥 The Week That Broke Me

It was a typical week in the market:

• A hot new YouTuber said to buy Palantir

• Reddit was hyped on SoFi

• One tweet thread said “If you’re not in Tesla by now, you’re too late”

So I bought all three.

By the end of the week:

• PLTR: -8%

• SOFI: -12%

• TSLA: down slightly, then flat

I had no conviction. No reason to hold. And I sold two of them at a loss.

Then I sat down and wrote one sentence in my notes app:

“If you can’t explain why you bought it — you shouldn’t own it.”

That was the turning point.

🟨 Why Tips Are So Addictive (And So Dangerous)

Chasing tips feels like action. It feels like learning. It feels like you’re doing something smart.

But really, it’s just copying without context.

Here’s what I realized:

• Most people on YouTube aren’t experts — they’re entertainers

• Reddit rewards speed and novelty, not wisdom

• Even smart people give terrible advice when their incentives are attention-based

The real problem wasn’t the tips. It was that I didn’t have a framework to filter them.

🧠 I Needed a System, Not a Stock Pick

So I searched:

“How to build an investing strategy that doesn’t rely on tips”

That led me to ChatGPT. And then toStockEducation.com

Instead of asking “what stock should I buy?” I asked:

• “What should a beginner portfolio look like for long-term stability?”

• “What does it mean to be diversified across sectors?”

• “How do I know if a stock fits my risk tolerance?”

The answers weren’t perfect. But they helped me create something I never had before:

A process.

📚 The Questions That Replaced My Tips

Here are the questions I now ask every time I consider a new asset:

1. What role does this play in my portfolio?

   • Is it core (like an ETF)?

   • Is it satellite (like a growth stock)?

   • Is it income-producing (like a dividend payer)?

2. What’s the downside risk?

   • Would I be okay holding it through a 20% drop?

   • How volatile has it been historically?

3. Is this consistent with my strategy?

   • Or am I just excited by hype?

These questions stopped me from buying 90% of what I used to chase.

🛠️ My Pre-Strategy vs Post-Strategy Mindset

I didn’t become a genius. I just stopped behaving like a gambler and started thinking like a builder.

📈 Building a Strategy That Made Sense (Finally)

Once I committed to quitting stock tips cold turkey, I gave myself 3 rules:

1. Every position must have a purpose

2. No buying anything I don’t understand

3. Only adjust my portfolio once a month — max

That structure freed me.

Instead of spending 10 hours watching finance videos every week, I spent 30 minutes once a week asking better questions — and learning faster.

🧱 My New Portfolio Structure

Here’s the portfolio I built after filtering everything through ChatGPT and testing it with StockEducation.com:

This was the first time I could:

• Explain what each asset did

• Know what I’d do if it went down

• Actually feel comfortable not touching it for 6+ months

💸 What Happened Over the Next 90 Days

The market went sideways. Then dipped. Then rebounded a bit.

Here’s how my new portfolio performed:

More importantly:

• I stopped checking my brokerage app daily

• I stopped second-guessing myself

• I felt in control — for the first time ever

🧠 What I Learned From Quitting Tips

1. Most Investing Noise Is Entertainment

YouTube thumbnails are built to trigger emotion. Emotion has no place in a long-term strategy.

2. Conviction Comes From Process, Not Hype

When you know what your portfolio is doing — and why it’s structured that way — you don’t panic when it’s down 2%.

You add. Or you wait. But you don’t exit.

3. You Can’t Outperform If You’re Always Resetting

Every time I chased a new stock, I reset my compounding.

Since I stopped chasing, I’ve held my core assets for 3+ months. And they’re finally starting to snowball.

🛠️ Tools That Helped Me Build My Strategy

Here’s the exact toolkit I used:

I didn’t need 10 tools. I just needed 2–3 that actually helped me understand my money.

🔁 What I’d Tell Anyone Still Chasing Tips

You’re not dumb. You’re just missing a strategy.

Here’s a better path:

• Step 1: Pick your core ETF. SCHD, VTI, or VOO all work.

• Step 2: Choose 1 sector ETF (XLV, XLU, XLP = good starting points)

• Step 3: Add 1 dividend stock you can explain to a friend

• Step 4: Hold. Learn. Adjust quarterly.

🔵 Want to Stop Guessing and Start Investing Strategically?

Here’s how to build what I built — without wasting months on tips:

✅ Step 1: Take the Free Quiz

👉 Go toStockEducation.com

Answer a few questions. Get a custom investing plan based on:

• Risk comfort

• Time horizon

• Style (growth, income, or balanced)

✅ Step 2: Simulate and Learn

Use their tools to:

• Compare ETFs

• Visualize diversification

• Track dividends and rebalancing

• Run backtests to see how your portfolio holds up during crashes

You’ll learn more in 30 minutes of simulation than you will in 10 hours of video.

✅ Step 3: Build Something You Can Stick With

Don’t aim for perfect. Aim for sustainable.

If you can explain what you own — and why — you’ve already won.