March 2025 was nothing short of a disaster under Trump’s 2nd full month as president. Tariff man and his threats of economic destruction reigned supreme in March and everything came crashing down.
If you haven’t already read my posts before, I achieved Financial independence back in late 2020 early 2021 with a portfolio of roughly $1.3m invested in mainly ETFs. This ballooned to $1.7m during the peak of the markets in early 2022 before coming back down to Earth later in 2022. The portfolio has since regained new all time highs as markets rally beyond the previous highs.
This post will be part of a monthly series of portfolio updates that summarizes how my portfolio performed, what trades I executed, what my monthly expenses were, and my general outlook on the economy/markets. This is by no means financial advice so do not look look at me for sage advice. I make stupid trades and make even worse losses quite frequently.
This is simply the performance of my portfolio and how it has performed on a month to month basis.
Monthly Highlights – March 2025
- Net worth is below $2m as of March 2025 Month end
- -$150k for the month
- Stayed in Cape Town for half of the month before going to the Seychelles for the other half of March.
Market Moves
| 3/31/2025 | 2/28/2025 | % Change | |
| Dow Jones | 42,002 | 43,841 | -4.38% |
| S&P 500 | 5,612 | 5,955 | -6.11% |
| Nasdaq | 17,299 | 18,847 | -8.95% |
What is in my portfolio?
My portfolio is quite simple and straight forward. I have my holdings primarily spread out between a few ETFs, fixed income, and various single name stocks.
ETFs
Again, my primary holdings are in a few ETFs. My primary holdings are in VTI, VGT, and VCR. I’ve always been a big proponent of big tech and have been heavily invested in the Nasdaq for over a decade. This has paid off very well for me given the massive bull market of the 2010s and is essentially what allowed me to FIRE so quickly.
I used to hold more dividend generating stocks as I was really into this type of investing at a period of time. I currently do not have many dividend specific ETFs as I prefer growth more than income. This kind of goes against the ethos of financial independence but I have enough money coming in from other sources that I don’t need to focus so much on consistent income from my investments.
I added to my ETF positions in March 2025 as the markets crashed from its all time highs. These are always historically the best times to purchase stocks.
Single name stocks
Some of the single name stocks I own are the following
- RDDT
- ANET
- TEM
- NFLX
- RITM
- ASML
- ARES
These single name stocks make up less than 5% of my total portfolio. I tend to not buy much single name stocks anymore as there’s no point to take on unnecessary risks when I’m already so diversified with my ETFs.
Real Estate
I currently own no real estate. I used to own property in the US but have sold it in 2022 before rates started rising. I am not a big fan of real estate. While it definitely can be a good investment, I don’t think it beats investing in the markets. In addition, real estate is highly illiquid with high transaction costs that few people consider.
Finally, as someone that travels around the world and does not like to be tied down to one location, real estate doesn’t make sense as managing it from afar creates a bunch of headaches. I much prefer to have my money liquid and in the stock market.
Fixed Income
I also purchased I-Bonds in 2022 at the height of inflation peak when I-Bonds were paying 9.5%. The rates have come down significantly since then as inflation itself has come down and I no longer bother with I-Bonds.
In the recent high interest rate environment, I had allocated a small portion of my portfolio to fixed income products, specifically purchasing treasury bills with 3-6 month expiry. These were paying out 5.5% which was a great guaranteed income generator. In recent months on the back of anticipated FED rate cuts, this rate was always going to come down which meant stocks should increase.
Well the FED cut rates for the first time since COVID in Sep 2024 which means treasury bill returns will be decreasing for the foreseeable future. My last treasury bill expired in July 2024 and that cash was used to buy the market. I suspect I will not buy any fixed income products for the foreseeable future.
Market Commentary – March 2025
March 2025 was a continuation of the downtrend that began at the end of February. Markets crashed to new lows and erased all of Trump’s election gains and more. Markets attempted to stage a comeback nearer to the end of March before failing and testing the lows again. Trump’s tariffs are going full steam
S&P and Nasdaq all entered into correction territory down more than 10% from the highs with no end in sight. Nasdaq is down more than 15% from its high almost approaching bear market territory.
I guess the markets were surprised that Trump would go through with his tariffs and sold off aggressively. I’m not sure why markets didn’t buy into it because all Trump knows is to put on tariffs for no reason. The scary part this time around is he has nothing to lose. During his first term, he wanted to juice up the economy and stock market so he could win a second term.
This time around, he already won the election without much worry for re-election which means he can do whatever he wants as he pursues his authoritarian agenda. My worst fear from Trump’s second presidency is that he no longer cares about the stock market because he lied enough to win and now he can do whatever he wants without any buyer’s remorse.
Tariffs are here to stay I’m afraid and probably only going to get worse. The orange two-face president even said on TV that he more or less doesn’t care about the stock market anymore whereas he wouldn’t shut up every time markets made a new all time high during his first term.
On top of that, inflation has picked up because I mean, what do you think happens when there are aggressive tariffs on the chopping board? Economic growth will diminish, trade will reduce, and the dollar will likely weaken. I would really love to hear the opinions of all the imposter syndrome Trump voters who chose him because he is “good for the economy” when in reality, they just wanted to vote for someone that is bigoted and divisive.
I’m not very bullish for the short to medium term. I really don’t see any catalyst for bullish momentum unless the FED lowers rates or Trump eases off on Tariffs. This sell off is completely caused by one person and has nothing really to do with fundamentals changing. I can see a scenario where his tariffs aren’t as bad as markets have priced in which could lead to a sort of relief rally in April, which has historically been a very positive month.
Anything is possible unfortunately in these times.
Market Value of Portfolio
Here is a history of my portfolio value. As you can see, it’s moved in line with the markets as should be the case since most of my holdings are in ETFs that track the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.
| Ticker | Quantity | Market Value |
| VGT | 1500 | $813,570 |
| VTI | 2080 | $571,667 |
| VCR | 400 | $130,204 |
| VDC | 300 | $65,646 |
| TQQQ | 1000 | $57,300 |
| FBGRX | 400 | $78,800 |
| VHT | 250 | $66,183 |
| ARES | 100 | $14,661 |
| RITM | 2500 | $28,625 |
| ANET | 35 | $2,712 |
| ASML | 50 | $33,132 |
| Total Stocks | $1,862,499 |
In total, my portfolio crashed down to levels I haven’t seen since middle of 2024. I am very heavy tech weighted in my portfolio which has served me well in the last decade and more but I am definitely feeling the pain now!
Trades executed for the month of March 2025
March 2025 was an active month of trading for me. Markets crashed and I bought the dip but it seems the dip get dipping more. Well you can’t win them all and in the end, DCA is still the way to go.
I’m still very happy I sold Tesla back in December 2024 as it’s crashed down well below my sell price of $285.
I’ve bought more VGT and IGM on the dip. I
Summary of stock and ETF purchases
| Ticker | Transaction | Quantity |
| VGT | Buy | 20 |
| IGM | Sell Apr 21 $95 Put | 2 |
| Buy | 100 |
Portfolio withdrawals and expenses
Withdrawals from my portfolio is an important part of the financial independence ethos. The 4% withdrawal rate rule is one of the main concepts of the FIRE movement which I try to adhere to. Generally, I prefer to sell from my portfolio when markets are near or at all time highs to capture, and only when I actually need the cash.
For the month of March 2025, I stayed in Cape Town for the beginning part of the month before flying off to the Seychelles for a few weeks in paradise! We visited the main islands of Mahe, Praslin, and La Digue which were absolutely stunning.
I made no withdrawals from the portfolio as I had enough cash coming in from my blog as well as leftover cash from other sources. My blog generates money every month to the tune of $5k or more and I cover exactly how I earn money from blogging in other posts.
My March 2025 Blog Earnings
I always give a run down on my monthly blogging income on these monthly portfolio reports because this is about my blog after all. My blog generates quite a lot of money from many years of hard work that it is a huge supplement to my FIRE portfolio.
My full 2024 blog earnings report has finally been released via my post in the links above. I made a total of $72k from blogging in 2024 which was an absolute monstrous and record year. 2024 was the last hurrah for traditional blogging and the last of the good days before the major Google algorithm changes.
I earn money from blogging primarily from ads and sponsorships. My ads are managed by Mediavine which I joined in May 2024. In addition to Mediavine advertisements, I also earn money from Affiliate programs, sponsorships, and travel planning. More details on these things in my how to make money blogging posts. Here is a breakdown of my monthly earnings.
| Category | Amount Earned ($) |
|---|---|
| Mediavine Ads | $2,000 |
| Sponsorships | $3,400 |
| Affiliate Programs | $450 |
| Travel Planning | $100 |
| Grand Total | $5,950 |
Blogging income has gone down precipitously going into 2025 but March 2025 earnings increased MoM. After the disastrous Google algorithm updates that I talk about extensively in my 2024 blog earnings report, the effects are still pronounced. I’m not sure what happened in March but my traffic picked up a bit. I attribute this to simply luck of the draw but I don’t suspect the greater landscape of Google has changed.
The entire world is shifting towards AI and a more video based world. People are relying less and less on traditional Google searches for the content they want. Traffic therefore will continue to trend down and earnings as well.
I suspect the era of small time blogging like myself is over. Google will double down on their AI dreams and favoritism for big websites like Reddit which they have partnerships with. Sad times, but that is the inevitable path of capitalism!
Will you continue to blog on another platform?
I’m still blogging on this one! Just been really busy with traveling that I haven’t been able to write updates as much as I hope!
“I would really love to hear the opinions of all the imposter syndrome Trump voters who chose him because he is “good for the economy” when in reality, they just wanted to vote for someone that is as bigoted and racist as they are.”
Nice, you just called 80 million Americans bigots and racists. Are you honestly telling me that you think Kamala, who was the absolute dumbest Democratic candidate ever, or Biden, who didn’t even know where he was most of the time, were more qualified?
Oh, but your tech-heavy portfolio is crashing. Tech has been going virtually straight up for over a decade, did you think this would continue for another decade? Sector rotation is very normal in the markets and Tech was never going to continue making the gains it was. The market has been very frothy for the last two years now and was due for a good pullback. This would have happened no matter who was President, as Presidents, politicians, or news don’t control the market. Surely, you would have learned this by now.
Johnny, I’m a big fan bro, but your TDS is really turning me off. Your rants sounds like an unhinged Liberal who’s completely blinded by partisanship and devoid of any critical thinking whatsoever. I know you’re better than this, so don’t be one of those people.
Trump does a bigger plan, believe it or not, and the Tariffs are one part of this agenda. There is a good video explaining it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ts5wJ6OfzA. This will all take time to play out so let’s too how it goes.
Btw, I bet you and many others think “everyone” is against Trump. Well, the data doesn’t support this notion. See here: 1) https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/16/politics/cnn-poll-democrats/index.html and here 2) https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14455729/donald-trump-poll-approval-congree.html
Hey mate thanks for your comment. I had always wondered if any of my readers actually read my portfolio update posts.
I don’t think this is a normal “pullback” from stretched valuations as you said. Markets have had multiple gap down days with zero bounces. There is no sector rotation like you say as everything is down across the board. This market crash is completely self inflicted and has nothing to do with fundamentals. You’re telling me if he just kept his mouth shut the markets would crash 15-20% in a matter of days with probably more to go? I don’t think so. It’s like fixing something that was never broken by breaking it and seeing what happens.
And yes I am liberal and always have been especially on the social side. I never liked trump even before 2015 and have always thought of him as a terrible human being that craves division, egoism, and hyper individualism. I run a travel blog and these are literally the complete opposite traits that I believe in.
Do I think everyone is against trump? For sure not. I learned my lesson after 2016. I’m not stupid and understand the US is the most divisive it’s ever been. But it doesn’t mean I can’t despise the guy and his lackeys. Do I like Kamala and the Dems? In the two party system I have to choose one or no one so I would choose them. If that makes me an unhinged liberal devoid of critical thinking then so be it.