How my son turned $300 into $5,000.

The perfect example of what investing in solid stocks can do for you too.

Jun 12, 2025

Welcome to issue #017 of DMD.

Money Moves

In 2015, while living in Orlando, Florida, I told my 15 year old son Alec to buy $300 worth of Microsoft (MSFT) stock with money he earned from washing cars in our neighborhood. Here’s a breakdown of how it all went down:

I told him that he uses Windows software and plays X-Box - all of which are products of Microsoft and that the stock has been stagnant for a few years.
He agreed to start his investing journey by giving me $300. I set up a custodian account with E*Trade with his name on it and bought 10 shares of MSFT stock trading around $30 per share.
All Alec did next was go to school, play sports, help around the house, go to college, work part and full time jobs like anyone else, graduate from the police academy, become a police officer, etc.
In other words, he was living his life with his one investment working its magic in the background.
10 years later now in 2025, his $300 investment in MSFT has grown to north of $5,000 from share price growth (now at $475 per share) plus reinvested stock dividends that MSFT gives to investors every quarter.
A return of nearly 1700% in 10 years. Yep, 17x.
Moral of the story- start investing now into stocks of solid companies through platforms like Acorns, Robinhood or other brokerages.

Markets update (stocks and crypto)

The S&P 500 (where most of the stocks in your ETF’s and mutual funds are located if you have an investment account) is up 2.5% year to date (YTD).
The Nasdaq (which has a heavy concentration of tech related stocks) is up 1.5% YTD. A huge reversal from being down almost 20% in early April.
Stock in focus: Robinhood Markets (HOOD) is a financial services company and brokerage that offers an electronic trading platform where users can buy and sell stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrencies. It is known for its commission-free trading and its focus on making financial markets accessible to everyone, regardless of wealth or background.
Bitcoin trades at $108,000 and is up 15% YTD and 318% over the last two years.
Top alternative cryptocurrencies Ethereum, Solana, XRP and Chainlink trade at $2,758, $159, $2.24 and $14.73 respectively with the total crypto market cap at $3.5 trillion - about $400 billion from an all time high (ATH).

Get Money Savvy: Fintech

Definition: refers to new tech that seeks to improve and automate the delivery and use of financial services. At its core, fintech is utilized to help companies, business owners, and consumers better manage their financial operations, processes, and lives by using specialized software and algorithms that are used on computers and smartphones.

Why it’s important: Fintech is revolutionizing the financial world, from mobile banking and peer-to-peer payments to crowdfunding platforms and robo-advisors for investment. It’s making financial services more accessible, faster, and less expensive. Understanding fintech is crucial for anyone looking to innovate their personal finance management, investing or entrepreneurial ventures.

Stocks

ROTH IRA (held with Robinhood)

Currently own the following ETF’s: VOO (tracks 500 stocks that make up the S&P 500 index), VTI (total stock market that tracks 4,000 U.S. stocks) and VYM (tracks high dividend paying stocks).
Currently own the following individual stocks as of May 29, 2025: Cava (CAVA) IBIT (Bitcoin ETF) and cash.

SEP-IRA (held with the Acorns saving and investing app) - this is my “401(k)” because I’m self-employed.

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH), iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR), iShares Core Total International Stock ETF (IXUS), iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG)

Personal investment accounts (Acorns, Robinhood, E*Trade)

Moderately aggressive portfolio (mix of stock and bond ETFs) and individual stocks of Tesla (TSLA), Nvidia (NVDA), Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), Stryker (SYK), Celestica (CLS), Robinhood (HOOD), Adobe (ADBE) and Visa (V) and Joby Aviation (JOBY).

Basic tenet of investing in stocks - when you automatically invest weekly or monthly into solid growth stock ETF’s and mutual funds you don’t have to worry about the ups and downs of the stock market. Time, based on historical evidence of the U.S. stock market returns, does the heavy lifting of wealth creation. Stocks are your primary foundational investments to winning the money game.

Over the last 150+ years the U.S. stock market has given investors about a 10.2% annual ROI. Fantastic annual returns that compound into significant wealth over time.

Crypto

Currently own Bitcoin (BTC), Chainlink (LINK) and Star Atlas (ATLAS).

We consider crypto an asymmetric investment opportunity and philosophy whereby you can invest small amounts of money that can possibly lead to high investment returns over time. There is nobody that can argue with crypto returns over the last 10 years in certain blockchain projects like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP and others. But you always need to be aware that asymmetric investments can always go to zero so never invest more than you can afford to lose.

Young Money University has helped thousands of young people begin using Acorns as one of their initial investment accounts. Takes five minutes to set up and Acorns automatically invests your money into one of five investment portfolios based on your age. You don’t have to choose the stocks -phew!

Click the Acorns logo above or this link to get started on your investment journey. You will receive a special $40 bonus as long as you set up at least a $5 or more weekly or monthly recurring investment.

Until next time, thanks for being a valued subscriber to DMD and choosing the path of financial rebellion to create a better life for you and others.

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