What Pedro says

Posted at 8:02 on Monday January 23, 2006 | Filed Under Miscellaneous

From Pedro L., a reader:

...I was going to send you an e-mail when I had more time but like you always say, do it now and don't wait later.

I am a 20 year old college student in NJ. I come from a low-income immigrant family. I have lived here for the past 14 years of so. When I was in high school I was always told to invest, even by people who didn't. No one ever explained how to go about it in any way. So, as soon as I turned 18 I hit the books. (I'm a history and education major and I am very good with computers) I studied day and night. In March of 2004 I became a shareholder. I find the same problems you write about in my peers. They think they're too young?!? They don't have money?!? (These kids' families are WAY better off than my family) I have always given them advice and they have never seem t! o follow it.

The internet has so much garbage out there and so do investing books. Your blog is great, it actually tells you what to do unlike investing books that tell fictional stories about fictional characters and fictional money. Your site has everything I have learned in one website. I keep learning and learning more. I am proud to have a $5,000 portfolio as we speak. My peers have better cars and uhhh other things but they're already 2 years behind!

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Comments (11)

1.: Keep up the good work, Pedro (and Ramit). Unfortunately, you'll continue to encounter hypocrites, naysayers, and big spenders, but when it comes to important things like owning your own home, sending your kids to college, or retiring comfortably, you'll kick their butts.

Posted by Milind at January 23, 2006 08:42 AM

2.: Congratualtions to Pedro. I would like to point out that a lot of international students who come here to study and then go on to make a living, face the same situation as Pedro's peers. Some dont even know the value of investing and to some, not knowing what to invest and where to invest brings along its own hurdles. I am sure Ramit's website would be of great help to them. I wrote a small piece on my blog specifically targetted at savings by non-residents. Hope the readers check it out and offer suggestions.

http://wanderingindianmonk.blogspot.com/2006/01/investing-options-for-non-residents-in.html

Posted by Sripathi at January 23, 2006 08:50 AM

3.: Let's have a three cheers for upward mobility!

Posted by david at January 23, 2006 12:00 PM

4.: Congratulations Pedro. it's good to see that you started early. Although I haven't actually opened my investment account, I have been doing a lot of research and I will start my retirement portfolio April 1st of this year, that way my contributions will go toward the 2004 year.

Like Miling said, when it will come to the important things such as owning a home, sending the kids to college etc, you will be ready and they'll be starting late.

Keep on doing what you do!

Posted by jonathan radande at January 23, 2006 12:03 PM

5.: in general, US trading and stocks will going down. for those who want to get involved with US market, becareful.

Posted by laptop280 at January 23, 2006 01:20 PM

6.: Uh, what is that based on?

Posted by Ramit Sethi at January 23, 2006 02:24 PM

7.: Contrary to comment five, there is always a bullmarket somewhere. Every day there are stocks that have good days, you just have to do your research. Its not about being careful, its about being smart.
Way to go Pedro!!! Cracking the books and learning for yourself is the best way to go, welcome to the Street!!!

Posted by Chris Ellan at January 23, 2006 05:34 PM

8.: The kid's delusional. I'm a history major, too. We're all destined for unemployment and poverty, and the sooner we admit it, the better.

Posted by John at January 24, 2006 05:15 PM

9.: Congratulations to Pedo! It always boggles my mind too when recent college grads seem to have no concept of how to save money. They just went through at least 4 years of eating Ramen noodles and living in cheap dorms or apartments and suddenly they feel they are owed the new car, fancy apartment, and expensive toys. Here's some advice, LIVE CHEAP FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE! I did this for the first four years after college and saved enough to put 20% down on my home, build an emergency fund, and start a great portfolio. It can be done. It just takes discipline.

Posted by Jeff at January 24, 2006 05:54 PM

10.: In re: in general, US trading and stocks will going down. for those who want to get involved with US market, becareful.

You can make a ton of money in a declining market if you know where to look or what to buy. As long as you're informed, a stock market decline isn't scary. A stock market crash however... kinda scary haha

Posted by Dave Kaminski at January 26, 2006 07:12 AM

11.: "The kid's delusional. I'm a history major, too. We're all destined for unemployment and poverty, and the sooner we admit it, the better."

Come again?
http://search.lausd.k12.ca.us/cgi-bin/fccgi.exe?w3exec=darc3

At the bottom of the page, you'll find that teachers' salaries in LA unified fell between 36K for beggining teachers and 71K for the highest paid teachers. Condsidering that the median income in the US is 50K, that really doesn't seem too shabby to me. Additionally, do you know of any qualified HS teachers that CAN'T find work? Especially if they speak Spanish?

Posted by Jennifer at January 27, 2006 01:28 PM

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