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Old 05-31-2019, 04:39 PM   #61
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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.
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Old 06-01-2019, 06:23 AM   #62
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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.
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Old 06-01-2019, 06:34 AM   #63
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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.
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Old 06-01-2019, 08:45 AM   #64
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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.
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Old 06-02-2019, 12:08 AM   #65
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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.
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Old 06-02-2019, 09:56 AM   #66
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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.
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Old 06-02-2019, 10:08 AM   #67
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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.”
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Old 06-02-2019, 11:09 AM   #68
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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.
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