Happy Anniversary.

No, I didn’t secretly get married on this date. Ten years ago on this very day as a sophomore in college I walked into an Olde Discount Stockbrokers office and made my first ever stock purchase. And I believe it was a Tuesday as well. I had passed by the office several times previously scoping it out and I really wanted to get my hands on the research reports they had just inside the front door. Remember this was before online trading and research really blew up. I know it is incredibly dorky to say but that was a very memorable day in the history of my life. That day I pretty much put all the money I had ever saved up to that point into three stocks, Coke, Pepsi, and Johnson & Johnson. $1500 each. I believe it was the first semester of my sophomore year that I had this kinda grumpy old professor for Accounting who for some reason I want to say looked a lot like Bob S. from the SEC. He was the first person that ever talked about stocks and stock analysis. He was always talking up the big multi-nationals like Coke and Gillette. He made us do a fundamental analysis report on Ann Taylor Stores. After that I was hooked and switched my major from Management to Finance. The next semester I bought those stocks and paid $41.75 per trade in commissions but it only took me 6 more months to wise up and open an Etrade account and buy my first stock online. I still hold the original shares of PEP and JNJ but sold all the Coke only to buy some new shares a couple years ago. They all turned out to be very good purchases, especially the JNJ. The current dividend yield on those original JNJ shares is something like 6 or 7% per year now. Those days in my early finance classes are the only times I can remember that I was ever excited and interested in going to class. So it’s been ten years and I have to say that the excitement level isn’t quite the same but I’m certainly not bored of it like all the other subjects. I just remembered that it was also at about that time that I switched from grabbing the Sports section first to the Business section. And I still do.

I find it interesting that the accounting professor was one of a handful of people that had a big influence on a major decision about the direction my life would take yet I never saw him again after that semester was finished. I wonder if I've ever influence a someone's major life decision?

My recommendation for this week is that you all refer all your friends and family to Waterford Financial Management for investment services! ;o) Seriously though, my recommendation is that you go check out the Green Festival at McCormick Place this weekend. It is cheap and should be quite interesting. Free bike valet too.

Have a good week.