Posts

Stepping Away for Now

by Henrik Bacilieri I’ve written dozens of posts on this blog—some excited, some uncertain, some proud, some reflective. But this one feels different. Heavier, maybe. More personal. I’m stepping away from the blog for the foreseeable future. This decision hasn’t come lightly, and I owe it to you—whether you’ve read every post or just a few minutes of one—to explain why. Life Behind the Curtain The last few months have brought a mix of incredible highs and unexpected challenges. On paper, things look amazing—my portfolio has grown well past $8 million under management, my real estate journey is maturing, crypto has been strong, and I’ve even found someone special I’m building with. But success doesn’t inoculate you from struggle. I’ve been going through some personal issues that have made it hard to write, to share, to even show up publicly the way I used to. These challenges are deeply personal—rooted in identity, privacy, pressure, and the weight of rapid growth. As a result...
Read more

The Emotional Win: Watching Someone Hit Their First Big Milestone

by Henrik Bacilieri Some victories don’t show up in your own account balance—but they hit you just as deeply. This month, I witnessed a moment that reminded me exactly why I do this: one of my earliest clients hit their first $100,000 in savings . Not net worth. Not inherited. Not won. Saved. To some, that number might not sound huge. But if you’ve ever climbed from paycheck-to-paycheck stress into six-figure security, you know what it really means. It means stability , control , and for the first time in your life— options . From Skeptic to Steward This client came to me two years ago, nervous, unsure, and incredibly skeptical of finance in general. Like many people I meet, they’d been burned by debt, distracted by short-term wins, and overwhelmed by the jargon. We didn’t start with stocks or crypto. We started with a notebook and a pen. We wrote down their income, their debt, their habits. We created a system that made sense to them—not to some guru or spreadsheet. They au...
Read more

Exploring Real Estate: The Tangible Side of Wealth

by Henrik Bacilieri For the last few years, I’ve spent a lot of time in the abstract world—stocks, ETFs, crypto, digital wallets, screen time, spreadsheets. But lately, something’s been pulling at me from the other end of the spectrum: Real estate. The physical. The grounded. The brick-and-mortar. It’s not a flashy pivot. I’m not about to become a house-flipping YouTuber. But it’s been on my radar more seriously in the last six months, and now I’m finally carving out time, capital, and brain space to pursue it. Here’s how I’m approaching it—and why it matters for where I’m headed next. Why Real Estate? Simple. Stability and scale. The more my financial life grows, the more I crave balance. Real estate offers a sense of permanence that stocks or crypto can’t. You can’t log in and watch a property value fluctuate every second. You can’t panic-sell a duplex. You can’t misplace it in a cold wallet. It forces a slower, more thoughtful kind of growth. Plus, real estate gives me the...
Read more

Crypto Is Quietly Turning Me Into a Millionaire

by Henrik Bacilieri If someone had told the 24-year-old version of me—just off the plane from Sicily, living in my uncle’s basement in Ohio—that one day I’d be watching a crypto portfolio inch toward a million-dollar valuation, I would’ve laughed. But here we are. It hasn’t been flashy. It hasn’t been smooth. And I still hesitate to even say it out loud, because I know how volatile this space can be. But right now, today— my crypto portfolio is worth just over $980,000 . It feels surreal. Not because I didn’t believe in crypto, but because this journey started from such a humble, curious place. And now it’s shaping my future in ways I couldn’t have imagined. From Curiosity to Conviction Back in late 2015, I started dipping my toes in. Not because everyone was doing it—most people I knew were skeptical or flat-out dismissive—but because I was genuinely intrigued by the idea of decentralized value . Bitcoin was the first thing I looked at, but Ethereum quickly caught my eye for i...
Read more

A Painful Loss: The Client I Couldn't Secure

by Henrik Bacilieri Some blog entries feel easy to write—like milestones I’m proud to document. This one isn’t like that. I’ve learned to celebrate the wins and sit with the losses. And this month, I had to sit with one that stung deeply: I lost a major investor. A client who, on paper, seemed like a perfect fit. They were ready to commit seven figures for long-term asset growth, they liked my approach, and we had aligned goals. But I couldn’t close. And the reason? Something most people never think twice about. Photosensitive Epilepsy: The Unseen Barrier For those who don’t know, I have photosensitive epilepsy . It means flashing lights, screen flickers, or rapid video transitions can trigger seizures. I’ve learned to manage it carefully over the years—no video games, strict screen filters, no late-night scrolling marathons. But one place it still hits hard? Video conferencing. With all the tools we now rely on—Zoom, FaceTime, Teams—video calls are the default for long-distan...
Read more

Spending on a Budget: How I Approach the Holidays with Intention

by Henrik Bacilieri December used to be the month I feared most—financially, emotionally, and energetically. Back in Sicily, the holidays were loud and warm, full of food, family, and last-minute gift buying that stretched wallets and nerves. When I moved to the States and started earning my own money, I realized just how easy it was to fall into the trap of spending to prove love , or buying for the sake of tradition , not intention. But as I’ve grown—both in the world of finance and in my personal values—I’ve come to view December as a powerful mirror. A time that reflects what we prioritize, how we budget, and who we choose to show up for (and how). Here’s how I’m navigating this season now. 1. Setting a Cap: The Budget Is the Boundary Let’s start with what most people avoid: a clear spending limit . I set a holiday budget at the end of November. Not a “let’s see how it goes” number, but a firm ceiling—broken down into categories: Family gifts Travel (if any) Hostin...
Read more

Turning 28: Slowing Down to Take Stock

by Henrik Bacilieri I turn 28 today. And this year, unlike others, I’m not marking the day by working through it, brushing it aside, or pretending it’s just another moment to keep grinding. I’ve done that before. Too many times. But this birthday feels different—not because I’ve “made it” or reached some final destination, but because I’m finally aware of how far I’ve come and how much there still is to process, appreciate, and refine. From Humble Beginnings to Heavy Responsibility It’s strange looking back. A few years ago, I was living with my uncle in Ohio, just trying to find direction. I was reading books on finance I barely understood, sitting in on conversations I didn’t feel qualified to join, and wondering if I’d ever be taken seriously in this field. Now, I’m managing over $8 million in client portfolios, fielding calls I used to dream about, and helping people navigate serious financial decisions—decisions that affect their kids, their future, their legacy. But the...
Read more