How did you first learn about investing?

[pacergal]

Learned about saving from my folks. As I got older, talked more with my dad about stocks and investing. Did a great, deeper dive after lurking on bogleheads and here for several years before joining this forum. Still learn something new from members here all the time!

 

[kgtest]

Around 1998/1999 when I was a Senior in high school. The .com run-up. I had been doing all of this volunteering to score $$ for a big high school band trip over to Europe. I remember collecting newspapers and pop cans that somehow got turned into $$$. I had been slaving away for almost a year until one day my dad came home and said "I just paid off your band trip."

I was like what do you mean? Don't I have to keep collecting these newspapers and pop cans like my other band mates? He said nope, don't waste your time, I just paid off your trip for you.

I was enamored and he explained how he bought a semi-conductor stock (computer chip) I think it was like 3dFx or NVidia or something like that and it shot through the roof so he cashed out enough to pay the trip off ~$2000 at the time.

He had always had a rental property but I never really knew the mechanics of it all until I was in my 20s. Then, we went in together on a 6 plex when I was about 24. I didn't have a college degree, but I owned a 6 plex and always thought it was neat.

That 6 plex was A LOT of work. I turned to the internet to see if there was an easier way. Low and behold ER.org...some time around 2007 I found this forum. Someone was kind enough to point out that a 25/26 year old need not hold bond funds...that is when I learned about the different "phases" of FIRE...accumulation, and SWR etc.

I was sitting in a target date fund stricken with fear of doing something wrong when I married my wife. Once we were married her mom refused to continue to manage her money and was pushing her to do it on her own. She was not interested at all and when she let me login to poke around I was overcome with envy. She had 2x the amount of $$ saved and I had always made more $$ in the 6 years I knew her.

That was an eye opener that her mom self managing had done better than my target date fund. I hit the books, talked to an FA, some friends, family and basically went 'all in' on the DIY side of the house. For the past 10 year's we have been enjoying beating the market on a consistent basis and I am certain we have the foundation we need to propel us into ER.

My only regret, not investing sooner. Not being frugal sooner. My biggest assist Marrying the love of my life.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Pop and I would watch Rukheyser together. He was funny and Dutch to boot. I learned that there are a lot of fakes in the business.

Later read Money and decided to invest in Mutual Shares. Not one of my better decisions.

Found Forbes September edition with their Honor Role. Discovered that first place changed a lot but the S&P 500 was usually in 2nd place. The light went on.

Later, I figured that I could do better on my own. I was wrong.

 

[Chuckanut]

Luis Rukeyser and Wall Street Week. I remember seeing John Templeton during the October crash of 20% in one day. I knew I would be a disciple of his, except that I would do it with no-load funds.

I also read a book on investing using mutual funds written by a lady who was an FA. It was very good, though she was very big on loaded funds as one might expect. It was her chart showing the average CD rates after taxes versus inflation that made me realize my 'guaranteed' investments were guaranteed to lose buying power. She taught me to think in terms of loaves of bread rather than dollars.

 

[target2019]

What was your introduction to the wonderful world under the buttonwood tree?

As for getting an introduction to saving and compounding, that was learned in early years of grammar school. I recall a bank distributing coin cards where you could save dimes, and hopefully take them to the branch one day, and open a savings account. I did do that, with very ordinary results. I also recall my mom supporting any dime saving effort. Her authority came from time spent gathering coal along the railroad tracks.

1. In my first job out of college, I set up an IRA. I am not exactly sure who inspired that move. Maybe some combination of parents and manager at the job itself.
2. Next leap was a SEP-IRA so that I could put aside more self-employment profit. Teacher on that point was my oldest brother, who also taught me about tax preparation and business accounting.
3. Final investing tutorial came together as I entered a job, very late in the game, and had mysterious mounds of money to set aside for a rapid retire plan. I would give credit there to John Bogle and a few posters on BH who walked me through basic principles of asset allocation, etc.

As for "equity investing" I really became aware when my IRA growth fund went splat after 2000. That was an a$$-kicking inspiration to read books, learn about portfolio asset allocation, etc.

For individual stocks, that happened over the period 2005-2015. If I can remember, I'll make another post just on that facet.

 

[TDub]

Around 1998/1999 when I was a Senior in high school. The .com run-up. I had been doing all of this volunteering to score $$ for a big high school band trip over to Europe. I remember collecting newspapers and pop cans that somehow got turned into $$$. I had been slaving away for almost a year until one day my dad came home and said "I just paid off your band trip."

I was like what do you mean? Don't I have to keep collecting these newspapers and pop cans like my other band mates? He said nope, don't waste your time, I just paid off your trip for you.

I was enamored and he explained how he bought a semi-conductor stock (computer chip) I think it was like 3dFx or NVidia or something like that and it shot through the roof so he cashed out enough to pay the trip off ~$2000 at the time.

He had always had a rental property but I never really knew the mechanics of it all until I was in my 20s. Then, we went in together on a 6 plex when I was about 24. I didn't have a college degree, but I owned a 6 plex and always thought it was neat.

That 6 plex was A LOT of work. I turned to the internet to see if there was an easier way. Low and behold ER.org...some time around 2007 I found this forum. Someone was kind enough to point out that a 25/26 year old need not hold bond funds...that is when I learned about the different "phases" of FIRE...accumulation, and SWR etc.

I was sitting in a target date fund stricken with fear of doing something wrong when I married my wife. Once we were married her mom refused to continue to manage her money and was pushing her to do it on her own. She was not interested at all and when she let me login to poke around I was overcome with envy. She had 2x the amount of $$ saved and I had always made more $$ in the 6 years I knew her.

That was an eye opener that her mom self managing had done better than my target date fund. I hit the books, talked to an FA, some friends, family and basically went 'all in' on the DIY side of the house. For the past 10 year's we have been enjoying beating the market on a consistent basis and I am certain we have the foundation we need to propel us into ER.

My only regret, not investing sooner. Not being frugal sooner. My biggest assist Marrying the love of my life.

Great post [emoji4]

 

[COZICAN]

I really got interested once my 401K started growing back in the early 90's. Started making a little more money and thought I was rich (was far from it). Went to Edward Jones to DCA $200 month into UPS as I thought it was up and coming. He talked me into a mutual fund that I can still say to this day but could no way spell. Subscribed to Money then IBD and started dabbling. Was quickly DCAing $800 month at Edward Jones while still maxing my 401K. Then.......the internet!!!! I quickly learned about fees and mutual funds and started investing on my own. While not the sharpest knife in the drawer we've saved over 1M while still living a pretty wild lifestyle with boats, bikes, vacations etc. I have more money than (almost) anybody I know personally and am a bit proud of where we are financially. But I will say that I have learned a ton on this board in a very short time about topics I had never considered before considering FIRE. It could easily happen today but I know 59.5 is my magic number and the number I set my heart on 25+ years ago when I saw my 401K balance go 5 figures!

 

[Pointby2]

Went to business school and took a class in investing. Didn't have the means to invest until a decade later though. Don't know if it helped me that much due to the timing, but I was excited to be an investor when the time came, unlike the rest of my family who are all pretty much terrified of the market in any form.

 

[jebmke]

Random Walk was just out and required reading in one of my undergrad econ courses.

 

[MBAustin]

Another vote for Kiplinger and Louis Rukeyser - watched Wall Street Week with my dad many Friday nights. We also played this game regularly at the kitchen table when I was in jr. high:

Stocks and Bonds

Although IRL he didn't invest in individual stocks but stuck to mutual funds, playing the game gave him plenty of opportunity to educate me on the principles of investing. We already had LBYM down pat so the combination got me well grounded.

 

[brett]

When I got my first paper route (think that I was 12 or 13) my grandfather made me an offer at Christmas. For every dollar that I saved and put in the bank during the year he would give me 25 cents. I started to save and purchased my first $50. bond that year. And there were others. I cut the coupons off each year. That was the start.

He was a thrifty/canny Scot immigrant who wanted to pass on the virtues of working hard, saving, investing, and education. It worked.

 

[Jamie1101]

My family did not understand investing. Dad came of age in the depression, so he really did not trust banks outside of a checking account. He was a "keep it under the mattress" kind of saver. I on the other hand, inherited I think all the Scottish genes and was able to save and accumulate money. In the mid 1970's there was not that much information for the average person floating around. Elliot Janeway was the "investment guru" in the newspaper for the commoner. His advice was to buy Life Insurance and all you could afford. I was in my early 20's and had some extra money so I took that advice and got insurance. After a year or so of making those payments every month I began to do research on my own. I was a single male with no plans to ever marry. What did I need a big payout life insurance for? I informed my sisters they could be the beneficiarys of this huge policy if they made the payments. Of course they said no. I later learned Janeway was a spokesperson for the Insurance Industry.

I stopped making payments. That insurance guy was nearly in tears with his manager trying to keep me on board. They told me if I made another years payments I would get back some $200.00. I'm no genius but when i pointed out that to pay basically $1,000.00 to get a refund of $200.00 vs just walking away and losing some 500.00 was a no-brainer to me. It was an expensive lesson but has served me well.

After the 1980's recession 401's began and so did my saving and investing. That early investing has given me such a foundation for my retirement. I can honestly say that to not have to worry about money is one of the greatest joys.

Fidelity handles my pension and investments. I'm still aggressive in investing with 70% stock and 30% bonds. I have my accounts managed through my "Fidelity guys". I don't have the time to research and trade on my own. It is nice to know those investments are there but I don't need that money to live off. It could all disappear tomorrow and not affect my everyday life.

I keep a spreadsheet of my investments and outlays that I update monthly. Many times that monthly checking on the Fidelity site for my numbers is the only oversight I'll do.

I enjoy life in ways that usually don't involve large outlays of money. But if I do want to splurge I'll do it.

 

[Taxman59]

My DM's father was CEO of an industrial company, and he had significant stock in the company. He made gifts of the stock to his children and grandchildren. The stock paid for private school (our public schools were awful) and 1 year of college in the '70s. My DFs grandfather had significant stock in an insurance company, which was left to his grandchildren. Needless to say, stock and market discussions were held often (I remember when the DOW "plunged" 30 points in the early 70s!). The knowledge that I acquired from those dinner table discussions and reading the WSJ and Value Line got me comfortable with an allocation of 70+ % (even up to 100% at times) in equities knowing that the market will go up and down on any given day, month and sometimes year, but over the long term, the market will rise. That being said, I also became aware the the "market" and and individual stock are not the same. The market can go up and your "prized stock" can go into the dumpster at the same time.

We weren't rich, my father was definitely middle class, they just had well to do parents.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

I should add that Bill Bernstein, Paul Merriman and later the Coffeehouse Investor were early influences. Scott Burns alerted me to the danger of the Tax Torpedo. Thanks, Scott! FireCalc was critical to my success as well.

 

[JohnYaker]

Jane Bryant Quinn's book "Making the Most of Your Money" was a major influence on me around 1991. I half-way bought into broad-market index fund investing then but Jack Bogle's book "Common Sense on Mutual Funds" (1999?) had me fully converted. Continued to look for validation and contrary fact-based information since then, but still staying the course.


Now retired more than 10 years now in paradise.

 

[RIGM]

It’s interesting that many got inspiration from seemingly small and mundane events. That reminds us that we can inspire in simple ways.

Several memories for me:
1. 5th grade teacher had us track a stock (late 1960s). I tracked IBM.

2. My father bought an HP-65, the first magnetic card-programmable handheld calculator, for $795 in 1974 or 75. One pre-programmed magnetic strip was for financial calculations. I was amazed at the power of compounding growth when I ran future value calculations.

3. My dad was a doctor who commented: “Your Grandfather [also doctor] probably lost more money in 1974 than most people make in a lifetime.” And separately he said, “If I’d only saved throughout the years, I’d have a heck of a lot by now.” He was a spender, as evidenced by the HP purchase, and others.

4. My MBA classes in the mid 1980s likely had some impact, but I don’t recall specific events there.

When my father passed away early, age 56, in 1982, from lung cancer, I received $25,000 from the estate. Just out of college (no debt), I spent half of it on a used Corvette, and invested the other half in stocks. I still regret the car purchase, not only for the lost financial opportunity for compounding growth, but also because the car was an utterly unreliable piece of junk, as so many were back then.

Much later, I repeated my grandfather’s experience in the dot com bubble, but stayed invested, and later stayed invested in 2008. It all turned out OK in the long run.

 

[RIGM]

One more thought: I just attended my niece’s wedding where I commented to the bride and groom in a private moment, “Your grandfather suggested to me years ago that I should be a saver. You have two professional salaries and a great 401k plan. Please consider saving at least 20% of your income. You can still have balance, but don’t ignore the saving.”

 

[LOL!]

When I was about age 12 I was a voracious reader. I read all the books on the bookshelf in the den including "Securities Analysis" by Graham and Dodd. Ever since, I wanted to make money the easy way: By investing in stocks.