Can you make 10 good sound decisions over time leaving it all in?
How many millionaires do you know who have become wealthy by investing in savings accounts? I rest my case. — Robert G. Allen
I bet most of you would answer YES! Good, so read on and I’ll tell you a 10 step, 5 day or 5 year plan to make a million.
For the longest time, I wanted to dabble in the stock market. In my 20’s, not one person in my circle knew how to play. So, my focus remained on other things, like partying, and, well…. let’s get back to the plan. A decade later, I got more serious, creating a “play” portfolio and tracking it.
Many choices I made showed big increases, soon I wanted to know more. It had become clear that my capacity for seeing trends existed. After all, I had managed businesses, multiple times actually, now all I needed was a stake, some savings, a little cash, the plot thickened….
For the purposes of this story,
I’d like you to begin with $2,000 bucks. Don’t get excited, we’re just pretending, but, I’m very serious. It’s the amount my first mentor suggested. Start saving now, no kidding, whoever said “it takes money to make money” was right, at least for this example.
The next step is to call a brokerage and open a trading account. This is very easy and there are many benefits you will learn later.
I will tell you the secret to getting rich on Wall Street. You try to be greedy when others are fearful. And you try to be fearful when others are greedy. — Warren Buffett
For me, I knew it was very important to get started, that is how I learn. It’s a practicality thing for me, normally I find answers because the information is needed for the next step. I’m assuming most of you know the premise of stocks, you buy a stock at a low price and hopefully sell it later at a higher price. Later is relative, it could mean in a few minutes.
Let’s look at a timely example in the next paragraph…..
This first chart makes me feel a little ill, it’s for AutoZone, and I’ll tell you why. if you look in the top left corner of the image you can see that the stock closed on Friday at $844.32. In January of 2006 when I first traded the symbol it was at 95.00. I got in and out as an uneducated trader and never got back in. The stock has grown by nearly 900% in 12 years. Let’s do the math…
$2,000 divided by $95.00 which was the price then equals 21 shares. 21 shares x 844.32 = $17,775.
I’m calling this the first double as AutoZone has nearly doubled in the past 6 months.
Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune. — Jim Rohn
So, imagine, easy gain, you just have to find 9 more. Can you dream about what happens on the next double? You now have $4,000, and you invest it in the next stock, got any ideas? Maybe I do……oh yes, I know the one you have heard of, how about this……
So, let’s look at Netflix. I also pulled $3,000 out of Netflix in 2014, big mistake. The chart left shows them trading at $166.54 in August of 2017 and guess what, right, just 17 months later, they are trading at $339.10!
You decide to call your broker or get online and push the sell button, it’s close enough, I’m calling it your second double! You now have nearly $8,000 dollars and you just started this program. You have been in a for a year and a half, have just made two stock picks and have quadrupled your money. Now, it’s likely that you are jumping ahead, right? But, let me slow you down, it’s all about decisions, slow is fast!
Many people detour here and go do something a little foolish like, buy a car! If you wanna be a millionaire in this story, you can’t do that! But I’ll tell you what you can buy…maybe a safe would be in order because you’re going to need it.
Buy when everyone else is selling and hold until everyone else is buying. That’s not just a catchy slogan. It’s the very essence of successful investing. — J. Paul Getty
Alright, so if you have been paying attention, you likely have some questions. One might be where to find these companies? How to know what will happen in the future? And, possibly others, it can get complicated, so start with what you know. Do you make solar panels? Do you work in a restaurant? What kind of mobile device do you carry?
Third Trade $8,000 doubles to $16,000, Adobe from $127.70 to $247.51 in 22 months.
I’ve shown you it’s possible, let’s look at the math for the next few trades. It’s about to get more interesting! Staying all in and doubling each time your trades can grow to…
#4 $32,000
#5 $64,000
#6 $128,000
#7 $256,000
#8 $512,000
It’s just like upgrading your computer memory, one action, doubles the capability. Well, sort of like.
As you can see, your next trade makes you a millionaire and it’s only your 9th transaction…
Where is the investment you ask, well, let me go see….
How about Amazon? The chart looks very similar to Adobe.
Your $512,000 invested in Amazon on February 24th of 2017 would be worth $1,024,000 today!
An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. — Benjamin Franklin
So you are now a millionaire on only your 9th trade!
What could you do with trade number 10? What amazed me about this knowledge after finally acquiring it was the availability of the American Dream. If I would simply stop complaining and looking for what is wrong, allocate some funds, do some research, and take action, amazing things can occur.
And at this level, you no longer have to stay all in, you can buy say a house, or an island before placing your next trade. I’ll let you decide what to do with number 10 now that you are a millionaire. One good place to start your research is with a subscription to the Investors Business Daily.
Cheers, Christopher
© Christopher Boswell 2019. All Rights Reserved.
