incomestead

Author

Stefano Starkel

Founder who built and exited an eCommerce brand and a SaaS. Runs a leveraged, multi-strategy portfolio as a one-man family office, and builds Incomestead.

Jul 2026

“I'm Diversified” Is the Most Dangerous Sentence in a Seven-Figure Portfolio

Owning a lot of stocks feels like diversification. It often isn't. How to tell if your book is spread across real strategies — or one bet in disguise.

Jul 2026

Why Margin Dread Is a Governance Problem, Not a Risk Problem

The fear of margin isn't fear of a number — it's holding one you can't govern. Zones, a cadence, and a persistence rule give the dread nowhere to live.

Jul 2026

Realized vs. Mark-to-Market Income: Why Counting Premium You Haven't Booked Lies to You

Option premium isn't income until one of three things happens: expiry, buyback, or assignment. Counting it before then inflates a yield you haven't earned.

Jul 2026

The 30% Rule: The Wealthy's Own Benchmark for Safe Leverage

How much margin is safe? The practitioner benchmark: keep your loan under ~30% of assets — the top of the Clear zone, not a line you creep up to.

Jul 2026

Is Margin Gambling? No — But Here's the Exact Dose That Is

Margin isn't gambling — it's borrowing against assets you already own. The risk lives entirely in the dose. Here's how to measure yours in two minutes and read it as a calm four-state gauge.

Jul 2026

Strategy Allocation: Build the Incomestead Stack, Then Actually Govern It

I allocate by strategy, not just by asset, then measure the drift weekly. The Incomestead Stack — why an unmeasured target is a wish, and how to govern it.

Jul 2026

Do I Need Portfolio Governance? 12 Honest Answers to the Reasons Investors Skip It

I’ve used most of these twelve reasons to skip governance myself. Here’s the honest answer to each — and why the layer above picking is what saves you.

Jul 2026

Portfolio Governance: The Layer Above Strategy That Family Offices Run and Solo Investors Skip

A strategy is what you intend; a process is what you run every week. The governance layer above strategy that family offices keep and solo investors skip.

Jul 2026

How Much Margin Is Too Much? Governing Leverage Before It Governs You

I run a leveraged book myself. Safe margin isn't a number you set once — it's a level you govern. The four zones, and why the weeks you skip matter most.