My S&S diary - investing from February 2026

LL_USS

After sitting to learn about investing into the stock market, I finally jumped in. The 6th of February 2026.

I am writing the diary for myself to remember the journey. I could see that I, probably the same as others, tend to only feel comfortable to tell others about what we do, when we are doing fine with S&S, and choose to tell the bits that we want to share. Will I disclose all the steps of my S&S journey, all the emotions associated with them here? I don't know. Let's see….

I am a very cautious person, scared of losing money, particaly because I come from little money background. I do have a full-time job, which I do fine at (just fine, far from great). I have made more money for me and the children from property (all just for the main residence and moving up, with the help of my parents). Then I started to have my Lifetime ISAs a few years before. Before 6 Feb, the pot was about 40K, and as I already own a house, this pot is for retirement. I can't access the pot to spend till about 14 years later. I always left the fund as cash LISAs, earning something like 1% interest with Skipton in early days, then the interest rates got better in more recent years. Earmarking this pot for some "safe" investments, I have tried to learnt about S&S, from literally everywhere- this MSF, asking some people I know here privately, reading Moneyweek, watching youtube videos, joining a group of friends who are investing too, keeping a comprehensive system of notes…. It has been about two whole years since I started to learn about S&S.

As I already have property and cash savings, I intended to stick to the book, investing in the most diversified basket fund on Dodl (the only platform that allowed transferring cash LISAs into Stocks and Shares S&S): The World Index All Caps. But then i was told even this one is US-heavy (like 60%), but we are worried about US from all time high…. and the AI doubt….. So I decided to choose have each regions separately.

And then I jumped in. What a milestone for a risk-adversed person like me…..
(dinner time - to be continued after)
I just put down notes as I can find time but will write up in full later on.

WARNINGS: there's also a bit of trading included and I am just trying it out for my own reasons (and I understand I may lose all the money in the trading pot)

LL_USS

Friends came over for a chat - too late when it finished so no progress with the diary last night
This is where I'll put in the notes of the S&S experience up till the weekend of Middle East bombing.

Starting with Dodl - which areas and how much (mostly mutual funds, some ETFs)

Should I dump all the 40K in, in one go, or dripping in with dollar cost averaging method?

First stock I bought at about 9am on Friday 6 Feb: Microsoft (MSFT) - 17 shares for £4,979.27 (including FX charge of 0.35%- quite expensive. FX charge is 0.15% on Trading 212 T212. But no transaction fees on Dodl). Reasons for purchase: I would need something for the US market but SP500 was already all time high and with the concern of AI. I searched for MSFT to see the price vs. company performance good. After 11am I also ordered 1K HSBC World Index (the WI option available on Dodl), and £200 ishares Physical Gold. I did not realise Dodl collects bulk orders at 10am. So the requests were moved to the next day. I then cancelled WI, realising I had planned for separate regions.

The market was closed at the weekend, so on Monday 8 Feb I ordered Emerging Markets (which went through soon after 11am). Gold went through too - but I realised it was not partial share, and I had to estimate the unit price and ordered 4 shares more. Other areas: Vanguard FTSE 100 UK, Fidelity Japan, £500 each - which was in progress later in the day but only arrived on 9 Feb.

12 Feb: bought £1K Vanguard Europe excluding UK

13 Feb: bought 12 more shares of gold

16 Feb: tried a little bit of SP500, 21 shares for just under £260

17 Feb: bought 5 more shares of gold

23 Feb: a bit more of Japan and EM - really just dripping trying to feel how much each time - not too strict on the ratio between regions yet.

24 Feb: sold 28 shares of gold just to get about £100 profit - really only to feel what it was like to sell.

25 Feb: £500 more for each existing regions (Japan, UK, EU) but not EM this time as I had bought quite a bit of EM.

Dodl too slow? Tried a bit on Trading 212 to learn of the process a bit more (limit buy for example, and buy instantly for ETFs. How easily to move from investing to trading….
Just followed my group chat, tried NOW, ib1t just a bit to know what trading is like - only £1K in total to "play". I was told gold and gold producers move differently - so I bought a little bit of SGLN. Everything on both platforms was still up. Then SGLN started to be red - panic, I sold - lost £20 (to later know if I left it for a couple of days I would make £30 profit instead). Also tried limit sell orders for bitcoin ETC ib1t and NOW share. NOW went through lower than my limit sell price - I guess when it touched the request price, the sell order was executed but the price was so volatile that it jumped back down right away. Only a small profit. Some profit with ib1t bitcoin too - but i was happy as I was using T212 to learn techniques, and only put in a small amount of money for each share or stock.

Decision: Maintain Dodl as what I apply from the book, long term investment that is not to be accessed till about 15 years later - and T212 as something to try a bit of trading (with the mind I could lose all of the money there but I can experience this myself). I remember my son when talking to an American couple on a boat trip in Capri, he was mesmerised with the idea of working as a day trader - well, let me try it out for him on a small scale.

Verdict of Dodl platform - does it work well for me? (add details here later)

LL_USS

After 25 Feb, I paused a few days after having invested about 6.6K into the regions (UK, EU, EM, Japan) + 5K for MSFT. I tried to plan a schedule of dripping more money into each fund. Also realised I had not bought Pacific excluding Japan.

Middle East happened at the weekend - the news said "so that it had less impact on the stock markets and to leave time to buffer the shock".

I had just sold Gold. Unlike other friends who had invested longer and knew to add in other metals, oil, energy… I had nothing to hedge. There was nothing I could do.

Week commencing 2 March 2026.

Bought more for Dodl (twice as much of areas stocks vs from the beginning). Now Pacific area also in the mix. I thought the prices were cheap (to later realise they were only about the same level as a month before).

Silly moves with T212 - trading and emotions running high…

2 March: 1K purchase of EM, looking cheap. Nose dive soon after in the day.

3 March: moving 1K from saving to "save" EM - bought another 1K - still down down down, tried a bit more. Yep, text book pattern proven. Seeing ishares Japan IJPH cheap there too - bought 1K.

Now I would have to ride out the whole 3K just to get back the money I put in.

At the weekend 7-8 March - should I still buy more areas stocks? Did put down the plan for all areas.

LL_USS

Now the diary is up to date….

Morning of 9 March 2026. I decided to sit still not buying any more, 15K left in my Dodl pot intact as cash.

First thing to see on BBC news: "Stock markets slump as oil prices surge….."… "Oil price passes $100 a barrel for first time since 2022…" ….

Quickly check the prices as I was still in bed. Yes it seems all double digit increases. WisdomTree Brent Crude Oil BRNG LSE "only increases by 6.39%" at close last Friday…. I still have some money in regular saving in Natwest (about 1K)…. should I still try to buy a bit….

No I need this buffer money for instant shortage of funds on my daily expenses….

No… "stick to your principle" - I tell myself and put the phone away. Sit tight and see the damage on my Dodl LISAs account as UK market opens at 8am.

Or should I not look, not read news - all will pass - as the book says about how to deal with market volatility….

Or should I buy more as the stocks I should buy more anyway, are cheaper…….

No, "leave your computer, put the phone down, and get on with your daily routine" - I tell myself.

Still I can't help peeping at the phone just before 8:00am - T212, ishares EM (which I topped up here and how have to double deal with this, both on Dodl and T212). 8:00. nothing happens. Still p3,508 as when the market closed on Friday. Time seems to lag on for so long

8:03 it jumps to p3,474. The downtrend does continue. I should not look really. But I also want to learn about how market reacts (just keep a note next to me: DON'T do anything)

I got to term that the market is going down - and it will take a while to get back to normal.

8:30, still keeping my daily routine, then I got a message on the group chat of friends who are working out investment together. Someone's news: they bought WisdomTree Brent Crude Oil last minutes last Friday, gaining over 30% in value. Can't help thinking "I planned that too, but I did not want to buy when emotions were high. It was already expensive but I knew it would increase further….". I could have sold the EM, balanced the loss with the gain from another one and got all the 3K to do what I wanted - why did I not do that…."

No. "Keep your head straight, this is what trading is always like - and you're not trading, well learning for fun a bit but you already had it set in your mind that even my friends only made the money because they put A LOT of money in. It could be a loss too…. Don't even think about it". I tell myself

Drawing a deep breath, I get back to finishing my morning exercises….

Just told my friends in the investing group chat: there is no feeling like feeling when your investment is down. Something is pulled in your heart - however much you have prepared (and at the end of the day, it's not a big down - yet!)

Got 700 out from my regular saving account. Put in a limit order of 8 BRNG (oil) at P5,809. Before 3:30 pm, the limit buy goes through - price is still going down a bit further. Still a necessary buy I thought - the war could escalate further, I don't want to miss out on something that can hedge my investments.

InvesterJones

Why are you checking so often? You've got a plan to invest for retirement - the weakest point to achieving that is our own behaviour. Talk of selling/buying based on recent news is not sticking to a plan.

Set up the investment - lump sum, or a regular payment, then check it in 6 months to a year.

LL_USS

I know, @InvesterJones

I am just curious wanting to see what happens with my own eyes rather than just hearing all the summaries from people on forums, youtube channels etc. First time investor and unfortunately my level of curiosity is too high for my own good :-).

LL_USS

10 March 2026

Morning: My terrible new habit of waking up just after 2am (as the result for US shares are updated on Dodl) came to an end. I only checked Dodl at about 6. MSFT keeps the price, but weaker USD, making the green number a bit smaller. Before 7am, my last load of Pacific ex Japan fund which I order Friday 6/3 finally went through. £1.4K, 3.18 shares. So the unit price of 440.41 is indeed lower (27 Feb: price of 469.36, then further decreasing most of the time, a tiny up last Thurday, then down again).

Well, last minute bought Crude Oil on my play pot at peak of course shows text-book results now. Panic buying with the crowd (well, crowd of inexperienced traders) almost at peak. Then an U-turn on politician's statement that "the war will end soon", and EU's plan to use reserved oil - that's it, a real U-turn for oil price. How text-book is this. We do NOT have a crystal ball.

Price down to around p5,300 from what I bought, about p5,800. It serves me right. Put limit sell at just to break even, not knowing it would ever reach there again. Eeek, I may have to hold this for a long time to wait to just get back the money 😯.

Afternoon: Confession of a stockaholic below (T212 play pot): 3 silly panic purchases/ fixes after the market shifted; the Novo one was from earlier day on T212, seeing they still could have potential comeback with their weight-loss pills.

For the sake of satisfying my curiosity, I am checking my volunteer contribution (Defined Contribution) pot with USS. 4/3 it went down about 2% compared to before the conflict in Iran, today (10/3) still down a bit more but almost insignificant.

Areas indexes (Dodl long-term pot) - all still in red at the moment.

n15h

@LL_USS good to hear you've taken the plunge to start investing and hopefully it does well for you. However investing and trading is more than just money. It's also about mindset and patience - things that I didn't learn from a book or youtube videos, but from experience.

When I first started trading, I over-estimated my abilities and thought I was great at reading the markets to make profits. Those quick profits were wiped out by trading outside of my risk tolerance and acting on impulse to news to buy/sell stocks. These were painful lessons but from this experience, it helped me to learn more about how mature my mindset and thinking needs to be for trading and investing. Apart from that, the other good thing was that my trading pot was a pot of money I was willing to lose 100% and not worry about - and I never put in any more money since.

This whole experience taught me that trading and investing are 2 very different things. Investing should be for the long term and the investments should be set up in a way that they are within your risk tolerance levels and avoids you needing to react impulsively and emotionally. They should be left alone to work and compound in the background without needing to be checked daily. On the other hand, trading is for the short term and for me, it's to be done with funds you are willing to lose 100% off and not worry about.

I've since been investing via my pension and LISA, and I won't be accessing until age 60 (20 years away). So I know that's for the future and they are set up with world tracker funds. That's helped my mindset as they are not individual stocks/shares holdings and I don't have to worry about looking at them daily. The only thing I review is their performance once or twice a year and if any re-balancing is required.

The only trading that happens now is when my monthly pension / LISA contributions are auto-invested. That gives me peace of mind to focus time and energy on other things that matter as it's all happening in the background rather than looking at the news/markets every 5 minutes and acting on impulse.

We all are on different paths, and I just wanted to share some knowledge as I know what it's like when taking those first steps to investing/trading - all learnt from experience (some good, some bad) that I could never have learnt from a book or videos.

All the best with your journey.

LL_USS

@n15h thank you so much for such a well-consided message, and for your kind wish. All the best to you too.

I have not mentioned above yet (still trying to find time to add more details in there so I'll remember my journey from the early days), but my fun pot was only £1K when I started. It stands at £4.6K now before I know it - I kept adding more money in to try to fix some decisions I made, oopsie daisy 😅 - most of what I bought are still in the red.

I am happy I am doing this though - I am curious and I don't listen - I want to see how this works, trading or investing, with my own eyes. I want to keep the notes for myself, and for my children when they need to make their own investments in the near future (I am lucky I have a DB pension, but their generation will mostly have DC pension/ SIPP, for which they should learn the basics of investments).

Let's see how it goes. It may end up to be an expensive lesson for me here, but I'd rather have it than just being told "do this" and "don't do that".

n15h

@LL_USS thank you - it's certainly been a fun and educating journey for 10+ years now and I look forward to what the next 20 years brings. I completely agree that financial/investing education is certainly helpful especially when learning from someone more experienced. No doubt what you are doing will certainly be beneficial to your children when they start their own investment journey.

Be curious, experiment, and enjoy the journey - just avoid the trap of trying to recover losses by adding more of your hard-earned money into the fun pot. I never withdrew my profits from my fun pot and instead used them to recover losses (wrong move on my part but I was a novice at the time - they could have paid for a nice holiday to somewhere sunny!).

Apologies if my previous post came across as "do this" and "do that" - it certainly wasn't the intention and I've edited it as it was more about sharing some of my experiences that may help yours.

LL_USS

@n15h I did not mean to say you told me what to do at all. It was a warm and considerate message, and I am thankful for that.

I need to dash off to a meeting now but will smile about this during the day I suppose.

PS: I don't use money that I cannot afford to lose - will think more about your note of how to use the "profits" from trading - if I ever make anything substantial to put in my excel sheet 😅