success stories

[sublime99]

I would like to hear some success stories from your investing, I am brand new to the game and everyone keeps telling me how risky it is or how they lost money.
I need some motivational stories!

[bjl584]

CAT

Bought in in the upper 30's. Rose to over 100. Sitting around 90 now.

Nearly tripled my initial investment and have been collecting a 2% dividend along the way.

[disneysteve]

As was mentioned in your IRA thread, how safe or risky your investments are totally depends on how you choose to invest. As a general rule, higher risk brings higher returns OVER TIME. I emphasize "over time" because short term, higher risk often brings bigger swings in value. Just look at the Dow Jones Industrial Average the past couple of months: up 250 points one day, down 170 points the next day, up 80 points the next day and so on. Lots of volatility. But then look at the DJIA today vs where it stood 5 or 10 or 20 years ago. The long term trend is generally upward.

This is why you will hear people recommend different types of investments depending on your time horizon. If you are saving to buy a new car next year, you want to put that money somewhere different than if you are saving to retire in 35 years.

[disneysteve]

Sorry, I didn't answer your question for personal success stories.

I am 47. I started investing right after we got married in 1992. Our first investment was a growth stock mutual fund and we signed up to automatically invest $50/month. We later increased that amount and still later added other accounts and funds. Now 19 years later, we have a portfolio that topped the half-million dollar mark this year. We invest at least 25% of our gross annual income and I believe we are on track for a comfortable retirement.

[YLTL_Dan]

Slow and steady

I would like to hear some success stories from your investing, I am brand new to the game and everyone keeps telling me how risky it is or how they lost money.
I need some motivational stories!

Welcome to the investing world! The most important thing to remember is you're here to run a marathon and not a sprint. The two most important elements in long term investing are consistent contributions and time.

I started investing in 2004 and have been fortunate enough to take my 401k over 6 figures. This is the best way to invest (consistently). I've tried many other day trading strategies, and each time I lose money because I get greedy. Try to ignore CNBC and other stock market news because it will drive you crazy.

Remember: pace car, not race car!

[GREENBACK]

Long, slow, boring mutual funds are most likely to succeed for you. I started investing about 12 yrs. ago and am very satisfied to be well into 6 figures from the small gains over time. It's not dazzling win the lottery type "success" but I'll take it since I doubt I'll win the lottery anyway and I'm not risk averse enough to buy individual stocks. Your mileage may vary though

[bennkar]

I've had good buys and some stinkers, but overall its been good. Some of the latest great buys would be WAB @ $38 in 2010 (recently in the mid 60's) and KO @ $55 in 2010 (recently in the high 60's and has been generating over 3% dividend). But really you shouldn't worry about day to day gains, that's like gambling and there are better places for that. On the slow and steady path I have been buying D on occassion, and my latest dividend was over $86 and has probably doubled my money over the past decade. I also have a DRIP set up with Kelloggs (monthly purchases), so far the stock price hasn't really moved in the 4 years I have been buying, but that's ok, long term it should do good, and the divdends are starting to build up.

[Safiyah]

The pattern in effect most of the time with these penny stocks is that you will lose money on 99% of the stocks. But, some people made a lot by seeing two guys building something of the guys garage and investing in their penny stock which went by the name of Hewett-Packard. So yes you can make big money. But the odds are better at a Las Vegas crap table.

[poorgradstudent]

I started investing in mutual funds about 3 years ago right after I graduated college. Since I am in graduate school, I haven't been able to put a whole lot in every month, but I am happy to be making gains and feel I am on the right track. This forum has been very helpful in my learning process.

As far as individual stocks, I own a few, but don't really plan on touching them anytime soon. The only sock I have sold recently was Apple, which I bought for around $80 a share sometime in late 2006 and sold for around $360/share. I'm sure some think I should have held onto it, but I'm pretty happy with the return on my investment. I also think the competitors are starting to catch up to Apple, but we'll see what happens.

[disneysteve]

Here's another piece of our story. My wife got a part-time job 4 years ago. As soon as she was eligible, she signed up for the 401k plan and started having 50% of her salary go into the account (50% was the maximum they'd allow). She didn't think it was that big of a deal since she earns so little but between her own contributions and the company match, as of 9/30, her account was up to $20,000. It adds up quickly over time. If she quit tomorrow and didn't put another penny into that account, with a 7% return she'll have over $78,000 when she's 65. If she continues to work and add to it, she'll have a lot more.

[GREENBACK]

It adds up quickly over time. If she quit tomorrow and didn't put another penny into that account, with a 7% return she'll have over $78,000 when she's 65. If she continues to work and add to it, she'll have a lot more.

This is the slow and boring aspect of investing that can be quite exciting in the end