Financial Planning 101 with Julius #9

Someone Called Me Old Today. Is That Age Discrimination?

This Story May Change Someone’s Life, Least of all Grasshopper

Someone called me old today. Actually, he said, “I’m not going to argue with someone old enough to be my grandfather.”

Hey, where’d he get my age???

Ok, young whippersnapper, or should I call you Grasshopper? Let me share something with you that will change your life.

This has been on my heart anyway. Can you use a bit of advice that will change your financial life forever? If you are young enough to be my grandson, then listen up!

By the way, my oldest grandchild is 3-years-old, and she hasn’t quite figured out the typewriter yet, so I must assume you are a tad bit older than she is. That’s just for conversation purposes. Now, to the point.

I want you to go to Fidelity.com or whatever brokerage firm you prefer. I have no affiliation with them or with Calculator.net.

Once you open a free account with Fidelity, open an index fund. I own the Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund (FBGRX). Grasshopper, are you listening? I want you to automatically invest as much as you possibly can without it influencing your gas money and your lunch money. You are going to open the account with $0.00. Your minimum monthly investment amount should be $100 — but do as much as you can.

What will this earn you?

Google the fund I mentioned earlier. You will see the 5-day, 1 month, 6-month, Year-to-date, 1 year, 5 year, and max earnings. We are going to be on the low end of projections because projections get pretty wild.

Go to calculator.net. Scroll down to the investment calculator. Click. Use the following properties:

Starting amount-$0.00; Years to invest-40; interest rate of return-12%; compounded-annually; additional contribution-$100 per month. Contribution at the-beginning of the-month. Click the green calculate button. When you turn my age, that’s how much you will have. You’re welcome!

Now, did you notice that the Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund Year to Date interest rate was 24.08%? Hmmmm. But you don’t want to save money for 40 years, right! Listen Grasshopper, you are going to be doing something for the next 40 years. You might as well take advantage of that time.

One hundred dollars won’t break you and your employment earnings will increase over the next 40 years anyway. And if you are anything like me, you’ll probably be contributing more than $1,700 a month across your investment accounts. But what do whippersnappers know?

Bitcoin and Real Estate

But you want to purchase real estate and Bitcoin, right? Go ahead. How would $100 stop you from doing that? You have to learn about them first anyway. I’ve already taught you about this.

So, what are your other excuses?

Listen up, 42 years ago, I was a kid just like you. I worked and had no obligations whatsoever. If someone had told me to stash $100 in an interest-bearing account, I would have surpassed the million-dollar mark a long time ago. I can’t change the past, but I can change your future and the future of anyone who is willing to take advice from someone who can look back over the past 40 years and only wish I knew then what I know now.

I’m at that age today where I could see the results of my investments, had I started back then. I didn’t start then because I didn’t have the knowledge. Grasshopper, don’t look back 40 years from now and have to live with the regret that you met someone on Medium who gave you life-altering advice that you didn’t take.

PS, let’s say that you don’t end up with $1 million. Well, how much is enough Grasshopper? You know that old saying about shooting for the moon and landing among the stars, right?

One final bit of advice. Create projections with savings $300 a month or more for 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 years, earning 15%, 20%, 25%. The tools are now at your fingertips. If you take advantage of this information, I can guarantee you this will change your life. What are you doing with $100 today? Dinner for two?

About the Author

Julius Evans has a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College, Newport, RI; a Master of Arts degree in Strategic Communication and Leadership from Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ; a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from City University, Bellevue, WA, and an Associate of Arts Degree in Liberal Studies from Central Texas College, Killeen, Texas. He is a 1985 graduate of the Defense Information School (DINFOS) of Print and Electronic Journalism and Advanced Public Affairs. DINFOS was relocated from Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indianapolis, IN, to its current location at Fort George Meade, MD.

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