How to Invest Your First $1,000 (Benjamin’s Story)

A few years ago, in a rural area in Mississippi, there was a hardworking young man named Benjamin. He and his younger sister lived with their mother, who worked two low-paying jobs just to put food on the table. Their small house was a sore sight. It had a roof that leaked, and mold on the walls. “What more could you wish for?”, they commonly joked. Benjamin´s dad had been a fisherman until he disappeared in a storm 5 years ago. His father´s death increased the pressure on Benjamin to provide for the family. So ever since, to his mother´s great worry, and besides attending school, Benjamin took his rusty bike to the harbour for some extra work on the fishing boats. On his way down there, he always passed through a nice neighbourhood with crisp white houses, nice cars on the driveways, and worriless children playing on the tidy lawns . One day, he would help his sister and mother to move there.

Benjamin´s mother wished for him and his sister to get an education, so they could have a better life than the one she had had. Benjamin was a bright kid, and he was soon to start community college. Before starting, he had been able to store away $1,000 from his spare-time job on the fishing boats. Benjamin was kinda proud of this achievement because he had read that he was already close to be in the top half in America! Having spoken to some of the adults in the rich neighbourhood on his way to the harbour, Benjamin had come to understand that one of the best ways to reliably make big money was through investing – and the earlier he started, the better apparently. Benjamin was determined to make his $1,000 grow to create a better life for his family.

Although he stumbled along the way like any 19-year-old would, Benjamin's persistence and willingness to learn, ultimately led him to create the foundation of his future fortune – a fortune which helped bring more happiness and joy to his family. This is the story of how a small sum of money sparked a journey towards financial success.