What made you interested in (serious) investing - besides the obvious?

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I want to be right.  

wrong domain for that? I like how howard marks puts it - Extraordinary performance comes only from correct non-consensus forecasts, but non-consensus forecasts are hard to make, hard to make correctly and hard to act on

Yes and no, sometimes the idea is that a sector should boom, so you need to pick the winners inside the sector, or basically get lucky if not everyone knows.

Financial independence has been the over arching motivation for me. This is what I would say is true freedom.

well said!

Not sure if you are aware of the environmental factors. Like education, family planning, sth like that. It’s more the crossover between the background and borne personality tho. At least it’s my own experience

Liquidity. In any other business, It takes time to find a buyer/seller and getting the cash in hand. In markets, I can buy and sell in a click of a button.

So I can acquire enough wealth to allow our children to live life without having to deal with all the bullshit associated with working.

Kind motivation but unfortunately it’s not a steady path. Everyone needs to face their own challenges, but you can do something for them to be able to make their choices. That’s something more important.

Challenges do not have to come from making money.

Agreed!

terrible idea, man. in the words of bill gates, you want to give them enough that they can afford to do anything but not enough that they can afford to do nothing. nothing's worse than trust fund kids who never had to learn the value of work or self-sufficiency. quickest way to DESTROY your kids tbh.

I am already ahead of the curve on work ethic and education. I simply won’t let them not work but it will be a gift. While I consider myself decently successful I don’t want them to have to deal with the garbage for most of their life like I have. Being in corporate America has shown me it’s all about profits while finding ways to lowball most of the workforce.

The fear of not having financial security, the rug pulled out from me, having little to no options (money gives freedom, like with leaving a marriage, always protecting yourself regardless, living your life regardless how your spouse treats you / enslaves you in various ways not just financially...), and poverty in older (or any age)... starving.

Ah sorry to hear that :(

Its alright, I feel wiser

Its alright, I feel wiser

Once I actually figured out to do it, when I was in my early 20s, I seen everyone eles doing it but it just seemed so confusing to me at the time. Now its a literal breeze. My Roth is maxed and invested for the year, my standard brokerage has about $6k in positions as well.

to control my anxiey/fear - my parents never discussed money with me, as such in my 20s I was extremely fearful. In my 30's I changed that.

The idea of gaining more money and free without having to work a second job interested me

- My savings in U.S. dollars depreciating every year - Corporations having more and more cost savings from technological advancements, which benefits shareholders, not customers.

I'm an engineer. I like solving problems and working through puzzles. Investing is kind of like a giant puzzle with real risk and reward.

yes I find that angle interesting, but unlike hard science where there's one correct answer and instant validation, investing works on good judgement and conviction where nobody known what the future holds and we've to be patient to see things unfold

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Besides the financial obvious? I love the complexity, the min-maxing, the multi-path way to "win", and the 'snowball effect' (i.e., compounding). You did say *besides the obvious* \- so I don't want to sound too blase, but I always loved playing what lots of people jokingly call "spreadsheet games". I.e., I've bought/played every edition of Out of the Park Baseball (an MLB team management sim) that gets deep into the weeds of org management (payrolls, scouting, ticket prices, roster management, et al) and getting to the point where I could literally build a juggernaut that would win 120 games a year. Ditto a lot of the complicated world builder titles from the Paradox game studio (Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron/WW2, Victoria, Stellaris, etc). I *loved* finding all the nooks and crannies to "min-max" -- getting to the point of winning at the highest difficulty levels by finding *just the right* seams to exploit and hit the 'snowball' effect. Of course - real money, not a game! Now 7-8 years in (not counting the prior \~15-20 years of standard 401k/IRA saving/investment)? I make sure to continually measure and reassess -- basically, "If I can't beat the S&P? I've just got an expensive hobby and I should buy a Railroad Tycoon type trading game". So far, so good! But my love of "spreadsheet games" has served me well: Swim the complexity. Continually learn what works for me and what doesn't. Always measure and reassess based on results.

Love that!

I grew up lower middle class. There was no way I dreamed off where I am today. It was only possible through investing to live a better life.

What's your best advice?

Save and invest first, and then spend. Don’t cut to the bone when saving. Live life!

I think I needed to hear this more than you could imagine ;p

For me it wasn't really about making money back. I became interested because investing helped me think in a way about money, risk and decisions that last a longer time. I became interested in the part where you learn about companies and try to figure out why some grow instantly while others take time. There is a feeling when you can see past the price and really know what you are getting. I wonder how much of investing for people is about the numbers and the profits, versus just liking the part where you learn and look at things closely.

Curiosity about why prices move, mostly. I came at it from the mechanics rather than the returns. Wanting to know who is on the other side of a trade and why they are willing to take it turned out to be a more durable interest than wanting the money was.

behavioral side of it... i get it - I like the psychology aspect too I wrote a whole piece on substack but man only if I could share it here, the automod keeps removing it

Splits are a particularly interesting case study.... If you have a dollar bill, it's worth the same as having 4 quarters. Nonetheless, lots of studies showing an inflationary aspect to post-split pricing that goes *beyond* the fact that successful companies split because it juices liquidity. I find it particularly interesting now that fractional shares are pretty much table stakes for most brokerages. Nonetheless - retail investors still prefer a $25 stock to a $100 stock. It's not *purely* psychological - liquidity has value and healthy companies do split (and of course, if you ever land on a reverse split? 99% of the time, get out of dodge because we're talking a struggler trying to avoid delisting) -- but translating dollars to shares still has a "learning hump" element.

Knowing it’s my only possible path to retirement

Financial freedom and to leave my kids something. Spend money on what’s important for you to live a happy fulfilling life. invest the rest.

i had children. it was no longer "have enough money for when i can no longer work" it was "have enough money for myself after successfully launching 2 well-adjusted people who were secure and got to have some fun, and leave a little something to further stabilize them in adulthood after i'm no longer there to offer support". My parents are not a financial burden on me. I never want to be a financial burden on my children. Life was easier for baby boomers than my old Millennial ass; i'm sure it will be harder for my children than it has been for me. aggressive frugality and boring long-term investing is one way I can help offset that struggle they will face. Suddenly it was not "have rent money" it was "afford a home that will allow my future adult children the ability to move home if that's what they need to stabilize their lives" it was no longer "keep my car working until it doesn't then buy another car I can afford" the car suddenly needed to be big enough to accommodate car seats. childcare and healthcare and higher education costs are absolutely out of control, but children deserve enrichment and supports and care when they're sick. They didn't ask to be here. I asked for that. So, I have to figure out how to make money, how to save that money, and then I have to preserve that money in the face of inflation and spiraling costs.

I don't want to work till I die.

Because most banks, credit unions, or CDs, don't offer that great of a return on your investment.

Because most banks, credit unions, or CDs, don't offer that great of a return on your investment.

What are your investments?

Mostly stocks (mostly Mag 7 stocks) and one ETF (VTI).

Wanting to retire

Im analytical so find it very fun. Started on YouTube. There’s some brilliant investors on there and lots of entertaining shows, just don’t get too swept up.

eh... which youtuber/investor do you like? I find most of them subpar

InvestAnswers is very knowledgeable. He helped me make tons of money back in the day

Because most banks, credit unions, or CDs, don't offer that great of a return on your investment.

Because most banks, credit unions, or CDs, don't offer that great of a return on your investment.

Because most banks, credit unions, or CDs, don't offer that great of a return on your investment.

Boredom. Like I was just bored somewhat with all my current hobbie at the time. Friend introduced me to robinhood. I was always kinda interested in stock investing cause apparently people made money there. But once I started dabbling in it and getting deeper into it, it sorta became like a game. Like a RPG. Looking at the stats of possible stocks and predicting performance and what not. I found that fun and took up a lot of my free time.

If I didn’t who would?

Making some money. Then I look at the money I made, watching the government steal it via inflation, so I set out to do what needs to be done to mitigate the left and make stealing from me more difficult. 

2008 Financial Crash. I opened my brokerage account when Citi Bank went under a $1 or close to it and Ford was close to $1 too.

did you hold those?

Yes, I started my investment life with those. Traded few times and made some money. Do not hold them now.

Being able to take care of myself when I get old

Just understanding the math, realizing the earlier you build a strong capital foundation, the greater the benefit down the line. Just have to have patience especially the first few years and not freak out when it’s volatile or a bad year.

I think it is just a good way to practice delayed gratification and shows a level of maturity/discipline that can carry over to other parts of your life.

true!

I like money and I want more of it.

Independence plus the opportunity to build something and make it work. It's a mental challenge.

My parents didn't have much money when I was young but they avoided debt and saved up to gradually improve their life bit by bit. So I learned from them how to live frugally, and save money, but I also developed a deep desire to have more than them and build wealth so I could enjoy a bit more luxury and not have to worry as much about money. I first learned about investing on a short highschool field trip to a local stock broker and a project where we followed some stock tickers in the news paper for a few weeks (late 80s, pre-internet). Later when I graduated from college and actually started earning money I went to the library and read a few books on investing and started calculating how much money I could grow in the next 10 years. I liked the results so I started investing a bit each paycheck. It was the late 90s so I experienced a few 20-30% annual return years which was enough to hook me before the 2001 recession.

Had a wise old man tell me: “You want your money to work for you, not work for your money” I heard that as a kid and it made sense. Then I had a job as a bank teller and the course for Banking 101 really drove home the “magic of compounding”. I realized with lower interest rates the only way to accelerate that process would be the stock market. Then reading “A random walk down Wall St” drove home that beating the index is almost impossible. So I should invest in low cost index funds. It’s all been working so far.

I have a hard time spending money and would rather save for the future.  I also thinking about how I couldn't have bought my house if my uncle hadn't left me some money. I save so my kids will have similar financial support.

Maybe a slightly different perspective, but can't afford not to. How many employers out there (over the past 5 years) have handed out 9+% cost of living increases? People say "yeah, well, inflation rate is now down to 4%, and sometimes my employer gives me a 4% merit". .. and you never hear the news say 9% RATE is different than your purchasing power. Our purchasing power has eroded over 27%. (Bureau of labor statistics) We are to the point where you can't save yourself into prosperity(by sitting on cash). This year you go out less, next year you sell one of the two cars, the next year you don't go on vacation.... But ultimately - it's not gonna be enough. Somehow you have to generate returns on what you have to keep your purchasing power. HYSA means you're only falling behind a few percent a year- but your still falling behind. Prices aren't likely to fall 20-30%. Houses are less affordable - yet to investors, they don't care- it's an investment with an annualized return over and above appreciation. The "K" shaped economy is a real thing, and it'll be harder, and harder, and harder to maintain if you didn't take the upward sloping trek 5 years ago.

Honestly I was working with a younger guy at a warehouse and he showed me his Robinhood account… it had like 25,000$ in it. I literally thought it was fake money but he explained he got into weed stocks early and made a good amount of money . I’ve been hooked ever since. I’ll be honest I’m a little down overall but I have never been so disciplined as I am now to make sure I invest. I have a total of around 38,000/ 45,000 depending on the day of my investments .

I've loved tech and futurology since I was a kid. I've always wanted to invest in things I think will be the future. I took a waymo for the first time last year and started investing (starting with Google)

I want to be able to retire while my mind and body are somewhat functional still.

My father taught me and my sister about investing from a young age. It's always been something I internalized as something to do in order to be successful. Every generation in my family has been more successful and learning about business is part of that. My elementary school also had a program where students could form a "business" making and selling sweets which included investing in stock that was used to fund it and then paid out at the end.

It's intellectually interesting. Following the news and trying to understand how the world works between economics, politics, geopolitics, technology, energy etc.

Hypothese testing in the real world. Took me a while to realise this, but I work as scientist and researcher and essentially investing has similar framework.

It's the only way to create wealth

Honestly, getting pulled down the gold / bitcoin rabbit holes.  That got me excited to save my pennies and follow market news. And that lead me to realizing I needed an actual financial / investment strategy.

I like this game, and like watching numbers grow.

A family of mine that I’m close to got me into it. He’s a little older. From the money side, I think it was realizing that people became wealthy from investments, more so than from their career.

Seeing my family, friends, their families and everyone in my community struggling and living in poverty. Crime, drugs, violence, a lot of it (if not all) caused by money problems. I did not want to live my whole life like that and be an addict for life. I learned very early that money can solve all of your problems (most of them anyway) and that if I had enough money I would never have to worry about basic necessities and live however I please. I had this epiphany when I was 17 and started seriously saving all of the money from my job at the time and it worked out very well. I don’t worry about money anymore.

FIRE. Financially independent Retire Early

I'm young and have what I need. A stable job and a good gaming PC. So all the rest of my money can be invested and I don't care about it anymore. I like knowing that I'm lucky to be in this position and my money will have decades to grow.

Grew tired of living check to check. Straight up

Post covid bull runs from the once in a life time level of liquidity injection. Same reason I told anyone with a job to buy in 2021. Writing was on the wall. Once in a lifetime rates with once in a lifetime liquidity.

Watching my first invested $100K explode. That was extremely exciting.

I didnt wanna be a slave all my life

I was so poor in early 20's I swore I'd do whatever it took to be "wealthy"

Grew up poor. Looked for common denominators of wealthy people I could emulate. Settled on learning about stocks/investing. Went to the library and read everything interesting I could find about it. Turned 18 and opened a brokerage account with money I got from cashing some bonds in that my grandparents gave me as a baby. Used that starting amount to learn how and what I wanted to invest in.

I was 19yo living on $300 welfare in expensive Hawaii. I got what I call “Poor PTSD” and started working to never have to worry about money again. Today, I’m 45yo, still only holding a GED and have just over $2 million, a $600k house and a pension starting at 55yo. Good luck to everyone!

The challenge. I like seeing something in the world different from everyone else and then using it build an investable thesis. It's awesome when it works out profitably.

I HATE working. YouTube taught me everything like most things I have to learn. Experienced the power of compound growth pre-investing through HYSA. Grew that to 165k before I knew anything about stock market. Took me 21 months to build to 100k invested. I’m bound and determined to live life on my terms someday and not answer to any boss.

Not that deep. I had money for the first time in my life. I had friends who I thought were dopes who were in the market. Who knew being smart doesn’t really help much? But in 4 years I’ve gone from never hearing of NVDA (I was already in Apple, Amazon & Google) to now fully captivated with the future of AI stocks. It’s fun drama.

Financial independence and peace of mind for my retirement. I always think long-term.

Aside from the money, im currently in college looking to go into either something investment related or finance. Investing for me is a great way to learn more about my future career path while also making it fun. (It also gives me something to write/talk about when someone asks me abt my hobbies lol)

i just love money.

It clicked with me that poor people use emotion as their currency. They accumulate anxiety, rage, fear, anger... I don't like that. I like chill. Money in my bank account relaxes me a lot. I can chill.

Just the ability to grow my networth on paper and see growth that’s truly astounding even though it seems like I’ve got little categories all working away in the background without much insight other than monthly moves. Paying off debt, saving for anything in the future, and having goals reached and surpassed just leads to such an improvement in quality of life that’s been amazing. I’m always in best health, best faith, and best finances when I get my act together and put myself on the right path making all the right choices.

Too much money in my checking account

I want to spend more time with my kids I’m not here forever 😭 I don’t want to spend the entire day software engineering

Analytically minded, enjoy working alone, interested in brands, marketing, and businesses, pattern recognition, naturally contrarian, and understanding of psychology. In group settings a lot of time the contrarian ideas and general narratives prevail. With investing, you can profit while getting to express your true ideas that often go against the general consensus. It’s rewarding.

Easy returns. It’s actually not that hard if you don’t move your trades around constantly. I’ve only been investing for about three years. I’m doing a dividend snowball. Handful of ETF’s with solid records going back a ways. My portfolio invests more money back into the account from its returns than my measly 10% a month I put in already. It’s just really easy money.

I researched "trickle down" economics and found out the easiest way to enjoy my share of the wealth is by buying into the companies I envied.

Needed to secure my self-sufficiency as an adult + a dislike of being forced to work

Get out of poverty.

I could ask AI heaps of questions on what I saw in graphs and it could write pinescript for strategies from my continual questioning. It gives back testing which gives personal judgement.

My parents losing their house

Loved learning about businesses and companies and heard from a video of Warren Buffett that you can make a lot of money from that so i got into investing