From the time I was 5 years old to about age 18, I had an uncle that would buy me shares of stocks every year for birthdays and Christmas.
DuPont Stock Certificate
He was pretty good at it. By the time of the start of my junior year, the portfolio was worth about $15,000. Unfortunately, I was short on cash for my final college years, so I cashed in most the stocks so that I could paid for my remaining years of college. I still had some money left over, so I put the remaining cash in a savings account that I would mostly use up for rent.
Lately, I’ve been wondering how much that money would be worth if I just left it alone. By my calculations, it should have worth more than $30,000, and maybe even close to $40,000.
Even though the money went to good use, it was nice know that I had that money. Some days, I play devil’s advocate and regret using it, always asking “what if”…
I think it was great of my uncle to be so generous and wise. I’ve taken my uncle’s lead and investing small amounts of money in the stock market for my kids and a 529 program. Hopefully, they will be more wise with their money than I was.
– D