Who I Am

I am a software developer. By day I write code, debug systems, and ship products. By night — and on weekends, and during lunch breaks — I research investments, track my portfolio, and try to make my money work as hard as I do.

I started investing in 2022, right when everything felt uncertain. War at home, inflation everywhere, markets swinging. Most people would say that was the worst time to start. I think it was the most honest time to start — because there was no illusion that investing is easy or guaranteed.

Why Stack & Grow Exists

When I began my DCA (dollar-cost averaging) journey, I looked for resources that showed real numbers. Not hypothetical backtests. Not “if you had invested $10,000 in Amazon in 1997” nonsense. I wanted to see someone putting actual money in, month after month, and sharing what happened — the gains, the losses, the boring months where nothing moved.

I could not find that, so I decided to build it myself.

Stack & Grow is my attempt to document a real investing journey from the ground up. Every number you see on this site comes from my actual portfolio. When I say a strategy worked or did not work, I am speaking from experience, not theory.

The Approach

I keep things data-driven and straightforward. No hype, no clickbait, no “this one stock will 10x” garbage. Here is what you can expect:

  • Honest reviews of brokers, platforms, and tools I actually use. If something is bad, I will say it is bad, even if they offer a generous affiliate program.
  • Practical guides that walk you through real decisions — how to start DCA, how to pick an ETF, how to handle taxes as a non-US investor. Things I had to figure out the hard way.
  • Real portfolio updates with actual screenshots and numbers. You will see my wins and my mistakes.

I believe that most beginner investing content is either too vague to be useful or too complicated to be accessible. I aim for the middle ground — specific enough to act on, simple enough to understand.

How This Site Makes Money

I will be upfront about this: some links on this site are affiliate links. That means if you sign up for a broker or service through my link, I may earn a small commission. This costs you nothing extra. It is how I keep the site running without paywalls or ads cluttering every page.

That said, my recommendations are my own. I will never recommend a product just because it pays well. Every tool and platform I suggest is something I use or have thoroughly tested. You can read the full details on my affiliate disclosure page.

What I Am Not

I am not a financial advisor. I am not a guru. I do not have a course to sell you. I am a developer who got tired of vague investing advice and decided to share what actually happens when you invest real money, consistently, over time.

If that sounds useful to you, stick around. Check out the guides to get started, read my reviews before picking a platform, and follow along as I document this journey — one monthly investment at a time.