16 years I can't get back
16 years I can't get back
Promise me you'll learn from my mistakes.
Editor’s note: Today is the two-year anniversary of my investing journey.
I opened my brokerage account on Sept. 23, 2022. I purchased my first three stocks — minuscule stakes in Southwest Airlines, FuboTV and Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises — on this day two years ago.
But the stock market originally captured my attention 16 years ago. I shared my intention to take up investing in an email to my mother, Dr. Alberta Mayberry, in October 2008. I was one month shy of turning 26. I was three years into a job at my previous employer in Oklahoma City.
I had the right idea at the right time. But I didn’t see it through. I know now it’s because I never truly educated myself. I pulled my small stake fairly quickly. I couldn’t stomach market volatility back then. I can’t help but to wonder where we’d be today if I stuck with it.
Sixteen years later, I’m sold. This time, I’m not stopping.
The past few days I've been telling one of our business reporters that I'm going to invest in Chesapeake Energy's stock. I'm dead serious about this. It's time I start making my money work for me. I'm also going to look into CDs and go talk to HR about a 401K. (There was a time when I couldn't care less about a 401K. That day was yesterday. Today I do. Tomorrow I take action.)
Chesapeake is an Oklahoma City based natural gas company. (The founder and CEO is one of the majority owners of the Thunder. Go figure.) Like every other company in America, its stock has taken a beating, falling from a high of $74.00 on July 2 to $23.40 on Oct. 6.
I have no inside info on this company but am acting on faith and faith alone. (I do plan to research the stock market and learn the ins and outs.) I've seen the growth of an already hugely successful company expand even more in the three years I've been here. I think the owner of the company (the part owner) is a savvy businessman and has a vision to keep his company profitable. (Although the business reporter informs me he's lost $950 million in this tailspin).
My plan is to invest $1,000 of my savings into the company's stock. I'm seriously considering jumping to $2,000. I want to see if it gets any lower before getting in and staying in.
The time is now.
I don't think it's a coincidence that on the same day that I discussed this with the business reporter (for the second time), I got home and read Mark Cuban's (Dallas Mavericks owner) blog at 3 in the morning and stumbled across some advice. It's as if he was speaking directly to me.
"The time will come. It may come quickly, it may take years and years. But it will come. The nature of our country’s business infrastructure is that it is destined to be boom and bust. Booms are when the smart people sell. Busts are when rich people started on their path to wealth."
Wish me luck.
Love,
-Darnell-
