My first serious brush with markets was Forex around university age. It went badly enough to put me off for years. Later I dabbled with crypto, learned another set of lessons, and eventually found my way toward the slower, simpler world of ETFs, Stocks and Shares ISAs, automated deposits and compounding.
This site is the guide I wish I'd had before all that. I document what I actually do with my own money: the ETFs I hold, the automated deposits I make, the platform features I use, the mistakes I made, and the questions I still ask, then explain the ideas behind it in plain English.
Why "The Compound Engine"?
Compound engines were the Victorian breakthrough that made steam power efficient: the same steam, used twice, doing more work. That's investing done well: the same money working, then its returns working too. Build the engine once, keep feeding it, let it run.
What I do now
My current approach is deliberately less exciting than where I started. I use Trading 212 as my main platform, focus new investing through a Stocks and Shares ISA, and use Pies and AutoInvest so the process happens without me trying to time the perfect day.
I still have a higher-risk tech theme in the portfolio because it reflects decisions I made as a beginner and sectors I am interested in. But the direction of travel is simplicity: broader ETFs, fewer moving parts, and a long-term plan linked to financial flexibility and the mortgage.
The journey so far
The Forex mistake
My first serious brush with markets went badly enough to put me off for years.
Lesson: speed is not the same thing as progress.
The crypto dabble
I came back through Bitcoin and crypto, then learned how easy it is to confuse volatility with a plan.
Lesson: if I cannot explain it clearly, I should slow down.
The first ETF step
I started moving toward stocks, shares and ETFs, while learning that account wrappers matter.
Lesson: understand the ISA before obsessing over the fund.
The engine
ETFs in a Stocks and Shares ISA, automated deposits, and a process I can actually stick with.
Who this is for
This is for people who are intelligent enough to know they should learn, but new enough that phrases like ETF, ISA, accumulating, FX fee and diversification still need translating. If you want someone to tell you the "best" thing to buy, this is not that site. If you want to see how one ordinary investor thinks it through, you are in the right place.
The rules this site follows
Questions, corrections, or just want to say hello? Get in touch.