Bitcoin & Growth Margin Strategy (Checklist)
Here is a clean, printable, one-page checklist you can literally save, print, or keep pinned in Notes. This is written to be mechanical — so you don’t improvise under stress. ⸻ 📋 LEVERAGE-NEUTRAL INVESTING CHECKLIST (Income-covered margin for growth + BTC accumulation) ⸻ 🎯 PORTFOLIO STRUCTURE (TARGETS) • ☐ Growth ETFs + BTC: ~80% • ☐ Covered-call income ETFs: ~20% • Hard cap: 25% • Floor: 15% • ☐ Optional cash buffer: 0–5% ⸻ 💳 MARGIN RULES (NON-NEGOTIABLE) • ☐ Target LTV: ≤ 20% • ☐ Hard max LTV: 30% (never exceed) • ☐ Margin used only to buy assets • ☐ Margin never used for living expenses • ☐ Margin deployed only during drawdowns ⸻ 💰 INCOME COVERAGE RULE Calculate monthly or quarterly: Income ÷ Margin Interest • ☐ ≥1.5× → OK to operate • ☐ 1.2–1.5× → Pause new borrowing • ☐ <1.2× for 2 months → Stop borrowing (do not sell) ⸻ 📉 DRAW DOWN BUY RULES (MECHANICAL) 🟦 Growth ETFs (PRIMARY – 60–70% of margin use) • ☐ –20% from high → deploy ~15% of margin • ☐ –30% → deploy ~15% • ☐ –40% → deploy ~15% • ☐ –50%+ → deploy 15–25% Rules: • ☐ Broad index ETFs only • ☐ Never average up • ☐ Stop if income rule violated ⸻ 🟠 BTC (SECONDARY – max 30–40% of margin use) • ☐ –25% from ATH → deploy ~10% • ☐ –35% → deploy ~10% • ☐ –45% → deploy ~10% • ☐ –60%+ → optional 5–10% Rules: • ☐ BTC buys come after growth ETF buys • ☐ BTC never exceeds 40% of margin exposure • ☐ BTC never counted as safety or income ⸻ 🛑 AUTOMATIC STOP CONDITIONS • ☐ LTV > 25% → BTC buys paused • ☐ LTV > 28% → All margin paused • ☐ Income < 1.2× interest → Pause borrowing • ☐ Volatility collapse + falling income → Pause, don’t sell ⸻ 🔁 REBALANCE RULES Review annually or if limits breached: • ☐ Income sleeve >25% → Trim to growth or cash • ☐ Income sleeve <15% → Add modestly • ☐ If income coverage >2.2× → Trim income ETFs ⸻ 🧠 BEHAVIOR RULES (MOST IMPORTANT) • ☐ No emotional buys • ☐ No “use all margin” thinking • ☐ No panic selling • ☐ Boring = working • ☐ Survival > optimization ⸻ 🧾 CORE PRINCIPLES (READ THIS IN DRAWDOWNS)