# Age When You Started Investing?



## relk19 (Mar 13, 2014)

I am curious what age people on this forum got started in investing? A quick search turned up nothing, so my apologies if this has been brought up before.

My story. My dad got me set up with a TFSA and mutual funds when I was 18, and did all my investing (by telling me what to buy) up until about a year ago. I am 24 now, and have learned enough over the last year or so that I can confidently make decisions on investments, balance my portfolio, etc... Still run questionables by the old man first, but I make most decisions on my own now.

So for me, started when I was 18, was not making my own decisions until 24.

So lets hear em!


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## OptsyEagle (Nov 29, 2009)

In my first year in college (age 18) I said to myself: I know I am going to become rich, but exactly how does one do this. I had heard that some people do well in real estate, others in the stock market, most starting a business. As I thought about this, I was in a book store and saw a book "How to buy stocks" or something like that. Everything in it was pretty complicated, but the mutual fund section seemed simple enough. I then noticed an ad for the Templeton Growth Fund in the Financial Post. Did some compounding interest calculations that were just mind boggling when you can use age 18 as a starting point.

So presto, the next day I requested an application and started saving $50 every month. 

As an aside. I saved a total of about $3,600 in that fund. Started saving in it in 1986 till about 1990 and then left it. I sold that fund in the mid 2000s for over $12,000, but in 1990 it had made no money at all. Went through the great crash of 1987 and the recession in 1990 and was a little disappointed that I was about even. About 15 years later, it had quadrupled.


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## Xoron (Jun 22, 2010)

When I got my first real job at 23. If you consider buying high priced mutual funds and taking big losses on Nortel stocks "investing".

Seriously started investing (ie dumping the funds and going mostly indexing) a few years later.


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## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

I started when I was 18 but that was mutual funds and the yearly visit to my bank advisor ahem product pusher selling high mer.
It wasnt until about 3 yrs ago I started looking into exactly what I was investing in and how the industry works ect I started getting really intersted,i also crossed a threshold of a amt invested that fee's make/made a difference.
In the process I have found I truly enjoy investing and find it fulfills me intellectually and I also like the solo aspect of it(you live and dye by your own decisions and are only accountable to yourself)I like the process of ''engineering'' the complete portfolio/asset allocation ect ect/weightings ect ect.


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## Causalien (Apr 4, 2009)

14


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

My uncle was a penny mining stock investor so I'd say I started learning at about 18. I started investing in RRSPs at about 22 and individual stocks at about 26.


Cheers


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## Barwelle (Feb 23, 2011)

My parents put the baby bonus cheques into mutual funds, for education, so technically there's been investing through my whole life...

Me personally, I took control once I got my first full time, non-seasonal job after college. I was 21. Started contributing 5% of gross income to ING Streetwise mutual funds.

Now I've got a couch potato portfolio using TD e-series funds for regular contributions, transferring to ETFs once my balance in TD gets up to an arbitrary amount. Played with stocks for a while but I was spending too much time on it for very little gain. If I could make any gains.


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

I can't remember exactly. I know I bought a GIC and some Canada Savings Bonds while in high school, not sure if that counts as investing. At some point during university I saw an ad on the wall at my local Canada Trust saying one of their mutual funds had returned 21% in the prior year and I thought that sounded amazing, so I opened an RRSP and started investing $25 a month.


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

Spudd said:


> I can't remember exactly. I know I bought a GIC and some Canada Savings Bonds while in high school, not sure if that counts as investing ...


 ... if it does, then my investing age drops to about 16 as I bought a bunch of the mis-priced 19.5% CSBs.


Cheers


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## pnky (Jul 16, 2012)

21


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## ITConsultant (Mar 5, 2014)

I wasn't allowed to invest under my name until I was 18 but I started buying mutual funds in trust to me when I was 12 or 13. I'm pretty sure I was the only one in my grade 8 class interested in investing, lol.

I only buy stocks now.


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## Ag Driver (Dec 13, 2012)

Savings account as far back as I can remember at 1.75% -- Gone are the days.
Held my first GIC at age 10 with a whopping 8% on $500 for a 1 year cashable!!! -- Gone are the days.
TFSA opened immediately when they first came out -- Age 20
Bought my first stock at 23 -- Dividend Stocks that I still hold today. 
Started Indexing at 24 -- TD eSeries Couch Potatoe
Bought my house at 25 -- I consider real estate an investment ... but leave this can of worms un-opened please  

I still dabble in HISA's and GIC's. I have never purchased an individual Bond or Mutual Fund in my life aside from eSeries index's.


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

I got started at age 18 when my father gave me $1500 worth of FTS stock which was 29 years ago.About a year later I bought my first $1000 in RSP and I took a bank loan for it .For first 5-10 years we would budget in the rsp loans but then we got to a point we could put the cash in and did not get a loan.


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## fraser (May 15, 2010)

I got started in my early teens. I got a paper route. My grandfather told me that he would give me 25 cents for every dollar that I saved. It would be based on my bank balance or CSB's in late December (at that time one could buy a $50. savings bond).

I quickly realized, even at that age, that saving/investing provided better returns than consumption!


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## Jon_Snow (May 20, 2009)

I had some GIC's going in my mid-20's...but I think I was 32 before I bought my first stock. Just ten years ago. I still feel very much a newb. :tongue-new:


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## SkyFall (Jun 19, 2012)

bought my first stock at 18 y/o it was GE


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## Josh (Jan 15, 2014)

Stocks at 20
Bought two condos at 21
I'm 25 now.


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

22, back in 1982 and the beginning of a career where I could afford to save and invest.


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## jcgd (Oct 30, 2011)

I started anti investing at 18. Dug myself $20k into the hole. Started digging out at 22 with debt repayment and RRSP contributions. Bought my first stock, BNS, when I was 23. 

I'm doing pretty good now, all things considered.


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## Ethan (Aug 8, 2010)

I bought my first mutual fund at 13, the Fidelity Focus Technology Mutual fund, which lost most of its value in the tech crash a few years later.

I bought my first stock at 14, which was WestJet at it's IPO. It did a little better than the mutual fund.


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## atrp2biz (Sep 22, 2010)

Back when I was in grade 10, I vividly remember browsing Coles book store and coming across this book titled "Exploring Options" which was published by the Globe and Mail. It was a relatively thin book (about 100 pages or so) which introduced me to the world of options. It went through the greeks and the various strategies. I couldn't put the book down. It was not until I took calculus that I really started to appreciate the greeks.

My first stock was Yogen Fruz. My second stock was AMZN--wish I still had that one.


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## savvybuck (Feb 12, 2014)

RBull said:


> 22, back in 1982 and the beginning of a career where I could afford to save and invest.


You must be a multi millionaire given the 1980s bull run heh


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

19


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

savvybuck said:


> You must be a multi millionaire given the 1980s bull run heh


LOL at the "Bull" part. Still working on the multi part!


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## Sherlock (Apr 18, 2010)

27 - that was when I finally paid off my student loans and became debt free. Prior to that I was throwing every last dollar at the loans.


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## hboy43 (May 10, 2009)

Hi:

I was always surrounded by newspapers. I started delivering the Montreal Gazette at age 9 and soon started delivering the G&M too. Plus my Dad had the Ottawa Citizen and the Toronto Star in the house too. So I found myself reading the business pages at a very young age. I cannot say for sure but likely had CSBs at younger than 20. Bought first stock Redpath Sugar about age 20 and bought first house at 22.

hboy43


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

With urging from my savvy older siblings and parents, I bought my first CSB at 9. I understood the concept of interest and more important I remember being explained that I would have double the money when it matured. Unfortunely, when it matured, I went shopping with it or bought slurped or something equally stupid. Then didn't do anything in terms of investing and just got into debt.

Started contributing to my rrsps at 21 when I graduated school and got my first career job. Have made monthly contributions since then. Started gambling in individual stocks at 22 and kept on losing for years as I wa really gambling. Fortunately, my monthly contributions have grown into an okay little egg but now where near the projects. I went through the dot com bust when I first started and then 2008.


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## liquidfinance (Jan 28, 2011)

I had wanted to invest in stocks from around the age of 18 but lack of funds made it difficult to get started.
In 2008 I was in Iraq and this was a bit of a turning point for my finances. 

1) I had split from my long time girlfriend at the time. 
2) As I was going to be away for the year I cut every unnecessary expense. 
3) I rented out a room from my house to gain some extra income as it would be empty. 

Up until this point I was pretty much living pay to pay. 

Then I had some reasonable cash savings accumulated 2009 and it was finally in 2010 where I began investing in stocks, age 29


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## travelgeek (Nov 29, 2009)

It was my grade 11 economics teacher who taught us the power of compound interest, both from the credit and investing aspect. From that lecture, I started off with gic's, then mutual funds, and then stocks.


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## Westerncanada (Nov 11, 2013)

travelgeek said:


> It was my grade 11 economics teacher who taught us the power of compound interest, both from the credit and investing aspect. From that lecture, I started off with gic's, then mutual funds, and then stocks.


One of my biggest regrets in life.. was not starting the process in grade school... 

However, I guess one of my greatest regret's is going to be my daughters biggest asset as I have her in the bank every two-three weeks (She's 7) and she has sizable chunk of money to start and i'm doing everything in my power to get her used to and educated about how strong compound interest can be. 

If you think about the simple math on how much even a small investment per month can grow over the course of 50 years..

It's quite alarming.


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## Taraz (Nov 24, 2013)

Westerncanada said:


> One of my biggest regrets in life.. was not starting the process in grade school...
> 
> However, I guess one of my greatest regret's is going to be my daughters biggest asset as I have her in the bank every two-three weeks (She's 7) and she has sizable chunk of money to start and i'm doing everything in my power to get her used to and educated about how strong compound interest can be.
> 
> ...


You're not worried about attribution rules? (I'm assuming you gave her this money?)


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## Westerncanada (Nov 11, 2013)

Taraz said:


> You're not worried about attribution rules? (I'm assuming you gave her this money?)


I currently do a bi weekly transfer to her.. at this point my name is on her account as she's a minor so all of the earnings currently would still fall to me until she's 18. Not a huge concern, at that time she would begin her own tax's etc.. my position is more focused on having her comfortable with the banking process and giving her as much education as I can about money. I know sometimes kids will do the opposite of what their parents want.. but at this point i know I grew up with zero education and had to find my way through it on my own in my 20's.. i wish i had someone I looked up to giving me the road map at an early age so I was setup for success at least..


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## Taraz (Nov 24, 2013)

Westerncanada said:


> I currently do a bi weekly transfer to her.. at this point my name is on her account as she's a minor so all of the earnings currently would still fall to me until she's 18. Not a huge concern, at that time she would begin her own tax's etc.. my position is more focused on having her comfortable with the banking process and giving her as much education as I can about money. I know sometimes kids will do the opposite of what their parents want.. but at this point i know I grew up with zero education and had to find my way through it on my own in my 20's.. i wish i had someone I looked up to giving me the road map at an early age so I was setup for success at least..


My little one is still a baby, but as soon as he's old enough, the plan is to get him to start his own small business. (I've seen farmer's market handicrafts sell for exorbitant prices.) It's illegal to employ someone under 12 here, but as far as I can tell, there are no rules against them being self-employed selling something they've made. Also, business loans (if required) are exempt from attribution rules, and any business income could then be invested without attribution concerns. Of course, there's also the benefit of a lower tax bracket and the under-18 CPP exemption.


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## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

I think it would be worth it to keep it under wraps(if its not a resp or maybe even that)
I don't have children(maybe if i did i would think different)but i think there would value keeping it a secret before adulthood ie:sit the daughter down after her studies/married/1st house/child ect and than let her in on it(teach her of course)
At 18 teenagers might be inclined to think short term and use that nest egg for god knows what,wait until beyond 18 when the value of money is well known.


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## Taraz (Nov 24, 2013)

donald said:


> I think it would be worth it to keep it under wraps(if its not a resp or maybe even that)
> I don't have children(maybe if i did i would think different)but i think there would value keeping it a secret before adulthood ie:sit the daughter down after her studies/married/1st house/child ect and than let her in on it(teach her of course)
> At 18 teenagers might be inclined to think short term and use that nest egg for god knows what,wait until beyond 18 when the value of money is well known.


Yeah, speaking from personal experience, they might spend it on something stupid, like a degree that they won't use. :upset:


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

We are doing our very to teach out two little ones finances. 

What I have found is my kids though with the same upbringing and parents , are profoundly different in personality.

My oldest yesterday decided to change banks in order to earn more interest. She is trying to negotiate I should pay her interest for the money in her piggy because I don't take her to the bank as much. 

My youngest was practicing her sharing skills with her play mates as she started giving them money.

I think we will have to teach the lessons in two different ways. Hopefully they will both learn the lessons. As I have said before, I had a really good financial upbringing however, the approach I was taught never reason aged with me. I understood all the fundamentals, but just didn't choose to follow. I was very rebellious so my family 'lecturing ' me I just rebelled more. That is my youngest. 

The best we can hope for is that things will sink in sooner than later.


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## Sherlock (Apr 18, 2010)

If you start an investment portfolio for your kids when they are young, how do you know they aren't just going to spend that money on something stupid like a new sports car?


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

^you don't know how your kids will turn out for finances or anything else. I do think as a parent, if you are involved with your kids lives and understand them, then they have a better chance of turning out how you hope. Also, you see the signs I think. I could be wrong, as my oldest is only 8 so we have to go through the crazy teens still.

I can already see that my oldest is currently a saver. She insisted on taking her money to the bank so she isn't tempted with the treat days at her school. She hardly ever wants to spend her money and we talk about purchases and decisions.

The little one is impulsive and spent her money quickly and is very charming and managed to get her sister to lend her money.

The saving grace is that I Hope the 'Stanford Marshmellow experiment' proves true. As both have pretty good self control,


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

LOL. Good "goo" control indeed necessary with marshmallows. Bet they have good self control too


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## rossco12 (Dec 4, 2013)

I started buying individual stocks at 19. PTM.TO was my first stock and it jumped 40% the next day, total fluke. I'm 21 now and I like to mess with intraday stuff alongside my longer term holdings within the TFSA and RRSP. 

I often think about my new found fiscal self control. I was raised by very successful yet incredibly frugal parents, particularly dad. None of those little kids rides at the mall, 4 or 5 restaurant meals a year, no allowance, no random new toys or gifts, no cell phone in high school. He would drive to the Okanogan (BC) and buy a deep freeze full of fresh unsprayed potatoes and carrots, buy a whole grass fed beef at the auction and get it cut up, pick blackberries and make jam or freeze them, and with the meat and eggs from chickens we raised that represented the majority of our food for a year. Running the chicken business myself and selling eggs was my source from the ages of 10-12. As soon as I was old enough to understand it, he was explaining the downfalls of consumer debt to me on a nearly daily basis. When my teenage years brought the urge to buy the cool vehicle, I received zero support for the purchase of anything that was fast, big, "useless", or otherwise expensive. Although I spent every penny I made through high school, I never took on debt and somehow it all sank in, I've saved and invested pretty hard for the last few years.


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## alingva (Aug 17, 2013)

My answer to your question (Age When You Started Investing?) is "yesterday"


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## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

Still a lot of value though Tara even in studies you might not ultimately use.
I don't have post secondary(trade,lucky to work under a family member after HS,but just made it in time to not need a ticket because i built a network)
But if i had a kid i would push them into post studies!Life is hard,even harder if you play russian roulette with out some type of degree.
Sum of all parts type thing.(you are where you are because of your yesterdays/yester-years)


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## Causalien (Apr 4, 2009)

Plugging Along: I think your youngest is actually learning the most important lesson about money. Paying someone to do her dirty deeds. Or how money attracts gold diggers.


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## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

+1 caus
I think one of the biggest tell tale signs a youngest can be successful is a touch of being a rebel,esp if the kid naturally has leadership abilities(but does not go down the wrong road,which can be the case)
If you have a child who is the ''leader'' of his friends and kids naturally follow that is a sure sign imo a child has innate leadership skills.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Causalien said:


> Plugging Along: I think your youngest is actually learning the most important lesson about money. Paying someone to do her dirty deeds. Or how money attracts gold diggers.


Well money isn't just about getting people to do your dirty deeds. Isn't it really just an exchange. I see nothing wrong with using money to pay someone for the things you don't want to do so you have time to the things you want. For me personally, I DETEST cleaning and have always hired a housekeeper even in my tiny apartment. Literally, that is a dirty deed, but that is how life goes. Money is strictly a way to exchange services. As for gold digging, I have been teaching them to make their own gold. We talk about sharing and generosity over accumulation of wealth. Despite how important money was in my family growing up (because we didn't have that much), it was far worse to be greedy and non hospitable. 

Donald: interesting that you talk about the rebellious side. I remember getting neighborhood kids to help me clean because I wasn't allowed out until my room was clean. They wanted to play with me so much, they did what I asked. That being said I still knew that if I wanted to keep them as friends I had to offer something up too.


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## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

That's not really rebellious pluggin lol(just meant you were popular)
I knew a guy i went to junior high/hs with(i am sure we all know this ''guy'')
He is sitting in prison right now but i always thought that if he ever directed his pursuits in productive ways he would of went far!he obviously failed in life and made bad choices but from a complete non bias,looking at it from a pure business standpoint he was a wiz.
I am talking about a drug dealer,he had a enterprise and a system like he was running a corporation with employees ect(he was,it was just illegal)
You know the guy i am talking about-had a entourage and others doing his ''work''(the guy was mis-guided and know the general public look at him as a loser,i agree)
But he had characteristics and traits of a leader(for lack of a better word)
Not much difference than gladwell explaining drug dealers in his book(can't remember what it is called)


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## Dave (Apr 5, 2009)

Started at age 16 with high MER mutual funds that were being pushed to my parents by the salesman coming to our house for their RRSP. That was right before the 2000 hype and crash. I lost my shirt but learned a lot.


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## Money We Have (Mar 20, 2014)

I started making RRSP contributions in my early 20's but I don't know if I would call that investing since I really had no idea what I was doing and just bought whatever the bank told me.

I got serious about investing in my late 20's when I started to learn for myself how to invest


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