A book, conversation, podcast, a personal epiphany… anything!
If you are interested in mine, I wrote a blog about it here: My first investment
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I was reading an article on Business Insider way back and they had something about Warren Buffet. Basically I liked the sound of making money through investing and got hooked!
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My parents had always taught us about finance and investing. So once I started working full time, I started investing in stocks.
My parents taught me by showing me what not to do. They never saved, let alone invested with a long-term view. So as soon as I started making money for myself, I started dedicating a portion of my income to saving, and later, investing, mainly in ETFs. Being part of the FIRE community has really helped to boost my motivation as I’ve grown older.
I started getting interested in investing when I was about 10 years old. I just saw most people work a 9-5 job until they were old enough to retire (generally in their 60’s) and for the most part, they seemed miserable all the time - after all who wants to work at a job they don’t like, just to retire when they are too old to enjoy it?
That is what started to make me look into “passive income”, but I didn’t properly understand it until I was about 16 or 17.
My parents have always invested, so I learned a lot from them, but they are still falling into the trap of working full time forever, mostly due to lifestyle inflation. Their income went up, but so did their expenses, which is what keeps them working at their job now that they are used to these luxuries (but at least they are lucky enough not to have a job they hate - unlike most people I know).
That is when I really started to look into investing and started seeking out as much inforation as I could find. I read/research investing-related content for a minimum of 2-3 hours a day on average and have done that since I was about 17 years old (I am 21 now). I am also trying to keep my expenses as low as possible until my passive income covers my living expenses. This should help stop me from falling into the trap of working full time forever as my investments are my main focus, not my job.
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Thats awesome Tony! Starting as young as you did is going to give you a huge advantage going forward.
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Yeah respect. Very mature mindset for someone in their early 20s.
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My parents always invested, mainy in property and term deposits. When I was younger approimatley 14 or 15 I asked a friend of the family and neighbour what the stock market section of The Age newspaper (broadsheet version pre-internet) meant and he explained it to me. Everytime I visietd my neighbour I would grab The Age, as we did not buy The Age at home and checked the prices of a couple of stocks that I had my eye on and recognised. The I’d calculate how much I would have made or lost if I invested $50 last week or month etc. It facinated me that I could make money for doing nothing. I did’t occur to me or bother me that I could also loose money! I also liked the idea of ‘owning’ a small part of some big names. Shortly after I started working and earning some $$$$ I purchased a Commsec share pack from the bank you needed to physically go to the bank back then and they issued you with a nice looking certificate for the stocks you purchased. I still own one of these stocks today and year on year it continues to provide great returns. I still love the idea of investing especially when you get it right!
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I wish you could still get the stock certificates. It would be cool to keep the first ever stock I bought.
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This didn’t get me started on my investing journey, but it’s an awesome starting point for those learning about the economy and its various cycles: How The Economic Machine Works by Ray Dalio - YouTube
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I’d gotten a (small) bonus from work in my late 20s and didn’t really know what to do with it.
Nobody I knew owned shares, and investing was always presented to me as something that only people born rich did - like “oh yeah don’t even think about it until you have at least $50K to throw away and wearing a tuxedo is part of everyday life” until I realised the minimum buy on the ASX was $500 and online brokers were pretty cheap. I thought I’d give it a try and bought some shares in Virgin Blue. Managed to double my money and have been dabbling ever since, but only really got serious about it 3 or 4 years ago.
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My interest in shares stated at about 9-10 on a chairlift with my father who dragged out a copy of the Australian from under his parker and suddenly Queensland Mines was associated with potentially another 2 weeks skiing - I was hooked. In those days my father was a trader. By the time I went onto the market I decided to become an investor. The tax rules were simple - No CGT existed if you held the share for 12 months the gain was yours for taking the risk. It was a no brainer for me.
My first investments were at 16. It was August 1976, high energy prices and inflation had eaten my bank balance away so I needed a different strategy. With my life savings of $3,000 I bought 4 stocks Ampol Petroleum, Beneficial Finance, Cadbury Schweppes and TNT. I wrote my investments in a ledger book (this is pre-PC).
I can remember at one point buying CBC Bank and being annoyed that I had to buy a duty stamp to bank the cheque for the Dividend. because they were in another state. After 1966 (decimal currency - having just got a grip on pounds, shillings and pence), 1970 (Metric having just learned the imperial system only to do it all again) it was just another reason to be disappointed with governments - an opinion I’ve held on to 60 years.
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The fact you started investing shortly after the decimal system took over, and you’re now tracking your portfolio using Navexa, is amazing. We’re grateful to be part of your journey.
“Suddenly Queensland Mines was associated with potentially another 2 weeks skiing” is a brilliant way of illustrating your lightbulb moment.
Thanks for sharing, Mike!
That was my father that inspired me… He invested in Queensland Mines I was just the sidekick beneficiary of his wisdom… But even at that age about 9-10 - not working (I always saw how hard my father worked) and being able to go skiing by owning Queensland Mines fascinated me. At that point I did not know what Qld Mines did, what a share was or a stock market. I just made the association of what I wanted to do - Skiing - could be done with holding this thing - Qld Mines. I just need to know more… I played the Australian Stock Market Board game (I still have it), tried paper trading a few times but could not get excited by it till I put my own money up … The journey from Qld Mines to putting my hard saved in the market was about 6 years… I was still only 16 when I made my first purchase. I guess its the old adage of celebrating a win… In my Fathers case his celebration effectively launched my desire to also enter the market… I’ve always celebrated a win which reminds me of that chairlift ride at Thredbo with my Dad.
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