Lessons Learned
My Investment Journey
The full story — from investing, to dividends, to compounding, to cashing out.
Teaches · Big-picture portfolio results
Chapter 05 · 9 sections5 of 6
Rizzology.art / Money Rizz / Some Investment Choices
My First Investment Journey
From tiny paychecks to big results.
A financial literacy module by Rizzology.art — real investments, real results, real lessons.
Section
· 01My money grew over time.
Small investments can become something bigger.
Total Invested
$502.00
Stock Sale Value
$735.48
Dividends
$11.84
SWVXX Earnings
+$50.50
Total Profit
+$295.82
Annual Growth
10.8%
$502$502.00$797.82
That means the money grew by learning, patience, ownership, and time.
This is a learning example, not investment advice.
Section
· 02How it actually played out
Swipe to walk through it
- Step 1
I started investing
I used small amounts of money to begin learning.
- Step 2
I owned pieces of companies
When you buy a stock or ETF, you own a tiny piece.
- Step 3
Tiny paychecks
Some investments paid dividends.
- Step 4
Some investments grew a lot
Certain companies and funds performed very well.
- Step 5
Some investments lost money
Not every investment wins.
- Step 6
Compounding worked
Growth built on previous growth.
- Step 7
I learned something
Learning may become more valuable than the dollars.
Section
· 03The investments, one by one
Tap a card to open it
- AI growthTech companiesHigh upsideMore volatility
The Numbers
- Amount
- $50.00
- Purchased
- 2/22/2022
- Buy price
- $353
- Sale price
- $705
- Final value
- $99.86
- Result
- +$49.86
What It Is
QQQ is an ETF that holds many large innovative technology companies.
Why It Moved
AI growth, strong technology performance, and large company earnings growth lifted prices.
Lesson Learned
Owning many innovative companies can create strong growth — and bigger swings.
- Broad marketDiversificationS&P 500 exposureLong-term growth
- Broad marketDiversificationS&P 500 exposureLong-term growth
- Broad marketDiversificationS&P 500 exposureLong-term growth
- Inflation pressureSlower growthHigher costsPrice matters
- Strong brandInnovationLoyal customersEcosystem
- Streaming costsInvestor expectationsSlower growthFamous brand, tough period
- Travel marketplaceHigh expectationsVolatile growth stockRisk matters
- Membership modelLoyal customersStrong executionSteady demand
- Lower riskInterest incomeCompoundingStability
Section
· 04Tiny Paychecks
Dividends arrive while you sleep
A dividend is money some companies pay you because you own a piece of the company. It is like a tiny paycheck for being an owner.
Total
$11.84
Return
2.36%
~ Yearly
~1%
- +$1.75QQQQQ
- +$4.20IVIVV
- +$2.85IVIVV
- +$1.75MKMKC
- +$0.32AAAAPL
- +$0.55DIDIS
- $0.00ABABNB
- +$0.42COCOST
Dividends were helpful, but most of the money came from growth.
Section
· 05Risk Meter
Slide to see the tradeoff
Risk does not always mean bad. It means the value can move up or down more. Higher-risk investments can grow faster, but they can also fall harder.
SafeSpicy
Risk Level
Moderate
Examples: IVV
Diversification helped balance the whole portfolio.
Section
· 06Winners & Losers
Ranked by return on investment
Biggest Winner
QQQ
Strongest Stock
COST
Largest Loss
MKC
Safest Growth
SWVXX
Broad Market Lesson
IVV
- 1QQQ+99.7%
- 2COST+95.5%
- 3AAPL+79.5%
- 4IVV+73.7%
- 5IVV+70.1%
- 6IVV+29.8%
- 7SWVXX+19.1%
- 8ABNB-20.6%
- 9DIS-26.4%
- 10MKC-51.5%
You do not need every investment to win. The winners can help carry the portfolio, and the losers can teach important lessons.
Section
· 07Quiz Mode
Question 1 of 6
What is an ETF?
Section
· 08Investment Poster Gallery
Printable learning posters from my first investment journey.
These posters turn real investment results into simple visual lessons about growth, risk, dividends, compounding, and patience.
Want the poster version? These are printable visual summaries of the lessons.
- Dividends
Tiny Paychecks from Owning Stocks
How dividends work and how small payments can add up over time.
Teaches · Dividends
- Compounding
You Invested. You Waited. Now You're Cashing Out.
How a money market fund can grow through interest and compounding.
Teaches · Compounding and lower-risk growth
- ETF
What Is QQQ?
How QQQ gave exposure to innovative tech companies and why it performed strongly.
Teaches · ETFs, technology growth, risk and reward
- ETF
Let's Talk About IVV
How IVV tracks the S&P 500 and gives broad exposure to large U.S. companies.
Teaches · Index investing and diversification
- Stock Spotlight
Investment Spotlight: COST
Why Costco performed strongly and what the investment taught.
Teaches · Business quality, loyal customers, long-term growth
- Stock Spotlight
Investment Spotlight: AAPL
How Apple's brand, ecosystem, and innovation helped drive performance.
Teaches · Brand strength and innovation
- Risk
Investment Spotlight: ABNB
Why Airbnb was an exciting growth company but underperformed during this period.
Teaches · Growth expectations and volatility
- Lessons Learned
Investment Spotlight: DIS
How a famous company can still have a difficult investment period.
Teaches · Expectations, business challenges, and price matters
Section
· 09What I Learned
Eight takeaways
- 01
Start small
Even small investments can teach big lessons.
- 02
Be patient
Time gave the investments a chance to grow.
- 03
Diversify
Not every investment moved the same way.
- 04
Risk matters
More risk can mean more upside and more downside.
- 05
Compounding works
Growth can build on itself.
- 06
Some investments win
QQQ, COST, AAPL, and IVV performed strongly.
- 07
Some investments lose
MKC, DIS, and ABNB showed that investing includes mistakes and hard lessons.
- 08
Learning is the real return
Understanding what happened may be more valuable than the dollars.
“The best investment I can keep making is in my future.”