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# Paging My Inner Gekko
- URL: https://www.never2late2hustle.com/paging-my-inner-gekko/
- Published: 2026-09-08T22:44:34.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-10T01:41:42.000Z
- Description: Before the hustle, my investing "strategy" was one autopilot 401k and a tiny and aimless brokerage account. Then I got greedy...in a good way.
- Author: Sidehustle Steve
- Tags: The Results

For most of my career save for a couple dumb decisions I made in my twenties, I have invested passively (and lightly) into my 401k. Truth be told, it took getting old before I realized I was getting old and needed money to not have to work forever. My 401k was set to autopilot in one "set-it-and-forget-it" fund targeted to a retirement date and that was about it. 

During the early part of COVID in March 2020, I opened a brokerage account (with companies like Fidelity, Schwab, or Robinhood where you can buy and sell stocks) with $5\. Five and a half years later, at the time my hustle began, I had grown it to $2385 mostly with deposits as opposed to any sort of positive growth (I've invested in some real stinkers). So, my 401k and $2385 in a (taxable) brokerage account is what I was working with. 

If you read my first post ([here](https://www.never2late2hustle.com/two-chatbots-questionable-spicy-food-advice-and-60/)), you know my first month's side hustle earnings in November of 2025 totaled $59.81\. Over time, I am going to track what has happened to that money, what got added to it, where I hope it is going, and how I intend to get there. It starts here (btw, if you're interested, you can see the average return over different periods of time [here](https://dqydj.com/sp-500-historical-return-calculator/?ref=never2late2hustle.com); I'm going with about 10% and the below assumes $59.81 every month – it'll change):

Actual, to date

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Projected, Jun 2041

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Assumed return 8% 

Actual (from sheet) Projected to Jun 2041 

Loading live sheet…