What Acorns Taught Me About Passive Growth
- Silivere Bakomeza
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Written by Silivere Bakomeza, Founder of BakoInvest
Most people think you have to hustle 24/7 to get rich.
They believe if you’re not actively doing something—watching stocks, flipping real estate, trading crypto—you’re falling behind.
But that belief is broken.
Because real wealth?
It often grows quietly in the background.
That’s what Acorns taught me.
Yes, I’m a conviction investor. I publicly invest $50 every weekday into one stock—MicroStrategy ($MSTR).
But before I built that high-conviction strategy, I had to understand something most people miss:
Passive growth isn’t just possible—it’s powerful.
And Acorns was one of the first tools that showed me how.
Active Hustle vs. Passive Systems
I used to believe money only came from effort.
Work more hours. Start more businesses. Take on more risk.
And to some extent, that’s true—you do need to show up.
But money grows in two ways:
What you do
What your money does after you’ve set it up properly
Acorns helped me understand #2.
It’s a tool that turns everyday transactions into wealth.
You don’t chase it. You don’t time the market.
You just let it work—passively, consistently, and automatically.
What Is Passive Growth, Really?
Passive growth is when your money keeps working without you actively managing it.
Examples:
A business that runs on systems
A rental property with a manager
Dividends reinvested automatically
A portfolio that grows while you sleep
It’s what happens when time + consistency + automation collide.
And Acorns makes that accessible to anyone.
What Acorns Taught Me (That No One Talks About)
Acorns taught me five core lessons about passive growth:
1. You Don’t Need Big Money to Start
When I first used Acorns, I didn’t have thousands to throw into the market.
I had bills. I had debt. I had life.
But Acorns proved that even a few cents at a time could start the journey.
Swipe your card for $3.10?
Acorns rounds up $0.90 and invests it.
That might sound like nothing.
But over time? That “nothing” becomes something—because the habit is what matters more than the amount.
2. Time Is More Powerful Than Skill
You can be the smartest stock picker in the world…
But if you never actually invest consistently, you’ll get beat by someone who started early with a simple strategy.
Acorns showed me the magic of starting early and letting time compound.
You don’t need to study charts.
You don’t need to “beat the market.”
You just need to stay in it—and let time work.
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best? Open your Acorns account today.
3. Automation Builds Wealth Faster Than Motivation
Let’s be honest: most people struggle with discipline.
Motivation fades. Life gets busy. Emergencies pop up.
And when that happens, we stop investing.
But Acorns is automatic.
Once it’s set up, your money is working behind the scenes—no motivation required.
It’s wealth-building that doesn’t rely on willpower.
That’s a game changer.
4. Simplicity Wins
Acorns doesn’t give you 100 choices.
It gives you a clean, easy-to-understand system:
It invests your spare change
It builds a risk-adjusted ETF portfolio for you
It rebalances automatically
It lets you set recurring deposits
It includes options for retirement and investing for kids
No guesswork. No overthinking. Just results.
This is what passive investing was meant to look like.
5. You Can Start Small and Scale Later
I’m not saying Acorns is where you’ll end your investing journey.
But it’s one of the best places to start.
Once the habit is built, you can scale up.
You can move into other strategies. You can increase your contributions. You can even build conviction portfolios like mine.
But if you never start, you never grow.
Acorns helps people start.
How Acorns Works (Quick Recap)
Here’s the breakdown:
Round-Ups: Every purchase gets rounded up and the spare change is invested.
Recurring Deposits: Set it and forget it—weekly, biweekly, or monthly.
Smart Portfolios: You’re placed in one of five ETF portfolios based on your risk level.
Auto-Rebalancing: Keeps your investments aligned to your plan.
Acorns Later: Retirement accounts (IRA)
Acorns Early: Investment accounts for your children
Acorns Checking: Optional banking tools to simplify your finances
It’s a full ecosystem for long-term, automated growth.
The Five Acorns Portfolios (And Who They’re For)
Acorns builds your portfolio based on your age, goals, and comfort with risk.
There are five options:
1. Conservative
Focus: Stability
Mostly bonds
Best for retirees or very risk-averse investors
2. Moderately Conservative
Focus: Stability with slight growth
More bonds than stocks
Good for people cautious about market swings
3. Moderate
Focus: Balanced growth
50/50 stocks and bonds
Great for most beginners and mid-term goals
4. Moderately Aggressive
Focus: Growth over time
Mostly stocks
Ideal for long-term investors with 10–20 year horizons
5. Aggressive
Focus: Max growth
Nearly all stocks
Perfect for young investors who can handle some volatility
Who Should Use Acorns?
Honestly? Almost everyone.
Beginners who don’t know where to start
Busy parents who don’t have time to watch markets
Side hustlers who want wealth without micromanaging
Anyone who’s tried and failed to stay consistent
If you’ve ever said:
“I want to invest, but I don’t want to make a mistake…”
Acorns is for you.
And if you’re a parent—Acorns Early lets you start building passive growth for your kids now.
Start investing for your family today with Acorn
That’s one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned:
Real legacy isn’t just about what you leave—it’s about what you start early.
What I Still Love About It Today
Even as someone who’s now deep into a high-conviction strategy, I still respect what Acorns stands for:
Simplicity
Consistency
Discipline
Automation
Long-term thinking
It’s what most people need before they try to get fancy.
Because until you have those five traits in place, you don’t need to gamble—you need a system.
The One Mistake You Can’t Afford to Make
Waiting.
That’s the killer.
The market doesn’t wait for you. Inflation doesn’t wait for you. Retirement doesn’t wait for you.
You can always tweak your strategy later.
But the cost of doing nothing now? That adds up fast.
Acorns gives you a starting line that’s so easy, it removes every excuse.
And once you start, you’ll learn. You’ll grow. And eventually, you’ll start making money while you sleep—because you’ll have systems in place.
Ready to Let Your Money Work for You?
Open your Acorns account now and start building wealth automatically:
Let this be the first step in building passive growth for you—and your family.
You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to start.
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