Investing Money, Saving It, and Collecting for Fun and Profit

By Ashton Lackey

This book is a collection of articles about investing money and saving money and collecting for fun and profit. It is not a comprehensive guide to saving and investing money, but, unique ideas and advice about increasing personal wealth. I also introduce “alternative” investments to increase wealth, featuring personal collectibles: books, coins, comic books and baseball cards as potentially profitable hobbies. I’ve added stories, history, and facts about these four collectibles. I advise about how to acquire them, the joy of owning them and selling them for profit.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ashton Lackey
• Release date: Jul 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005303839

Ashton Lackey

Ashton Lackey (Harrington A. Lackey) has been a Spanish instructor, translator, tutor and writer for the past 30 years. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and Anthropology from Eckerd College, a Master of Arts degree in Hispanic Literature from Auburn University, PhD candidate in Hispanic Literature at the University of Kentucky, and an Associate of Science degree in Computer Information Systems from Nashville State Technical Institute. Ashton has taught Spanish classes at Auburn University, Louisiana State University, University of Kentucky, Columbia State Community College, and Belmont University. He started a successful tutoring business- "Learning Strategies," but is now retired.Ashton has completed 10 years of studying French from grammar school to high school. Also, he completed a semester of advanced French in Angers, France at the l’Université Catholique de l’Ouest.He has written three novels, based on historical fiction: "Rare Gold," "Disciple's Curse," and "The Admiral's Signature." He has also published over 150 articles on various subjects and short stories. Ashton is now retired and currently lives in Bluffton, SC with his wife, Diana, and one furry daughter.Ashton has translated over 10 novels from Spanish to English, ("La Celestina", "Lazarillo de Tormes") and from English to Spanish: ("The Healing Of Gala"). I have recently been translating into English: "La Primera Catedral", "Surreal (Y otros relatos), and "MainCastle: La leyenda del caballero blanco".His hobbies are: collecting coins, comic books, books and metal detecting.

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

This book is a collection of articles I have written over the past ten years about investing money and saving money and collecting for fun and profit. It is not a comprehensive guide to saving and investing money, but isolated, unique ideas and advice about increasing personal wealth. I also introduce alternative investments such as collecting coins, stamps, comic books, paintings, books, antique cars, wine, etc. to increase wealth. But most of my articles feature personal collectibles: books, coins, comic books and baseball cards as potentially profitable hobbies which I have spent over 40 years studying and buying. I’ve added stories, history and facts about these four collectibles. I discuss advice about how to acquire them, the joy of owning them, and selling them for profit.

I’m none of the following: a financial expert with an M.B.A., a salesman trying to sell you financial assets. I’m a former Spanish professor and I’m a writer with financial ideas that I’ve pondered for over a decade. My parents took saving and investing money seriously, instilling in me lessons about frugality and taught me more about saving and investing money than any M. B.A. degree ever could. My story about my financial upbringing starts in the first chapter of this book.

H. Ashton Lackey

INVESTING MONEY

Growing Up with Frugal Parents

I wrote this article for anyone between the ages of five to thirty about saving and investing money. Young people especially should learn to adopt frugal habits that will become a way of life. Many people do not know enough about maintaining a financially rewarding lifestyle based on frugality - saving and investing more money than you spend, rather than spending more money than you earn, over a long period of time.

However, you don't have to be a certified financial adviser to save and invest your own money. I was fortunate enough to have parents who were my greatest role models in dealing with financial matters; they taught me by example and teaching me unforgettable lessons about money that have served me well my entire life.

Mom and Dad were born before the Great Depression of 1930. It hit the U.S. economy which brought almost complete financial ruin to our country. Although my folks were just children at the time, they knew that money was scarce. Actually, everything was scarce. Most people lost everything during this time. So, saving and using what they already had become a way of life.

At that time, my mother's father was the vice president of Caldwell Securities Inc., one of the largest financial corporations in the American South which managed money for a thousand clients. He taught my curious young mother much of what he knew about money management and advice that was just as valuable then as it is today. In 1957 he passed away. That same year my mother met my father- a patent attorney who was starting his own law office. Like Mom, he had also been schooled by his parents to live a thrifty way of life.

When I was young, my parents didn't spoil me. We were neither poor nor rich, but we lived like paupers. My dad taught me the concept of thrifty spending. Forty years ago, when I was eight years old, my allowance was a whole 10 cents per week. When I turned twelve, I was getting 25 cents per week, which I guess led me to respect the value of a dollar, and probably kept me honest.

They only bought what we needed. Most of what we owned were hand-me-down items. The largest asset they shared was my mother's parents' old home, which included all of its antique furniture and appliances. We didn't have a tv set until I was old enough to watch. They rarely used air conditioning unless the temperature inside was either extremely hot or cold. I got my first car as a high school graduation gift. Of course, it was a used vehicle.

My parents didn't read much for pleasure, nor did they watch much tv. My father and mother read the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Consumer's Digest. We watched Wall Street Week every Friday night. Mom usually took notes as they listened to the host, Louis Rukeyser and his panel of financial experts. This show introduced me to learning about all types of investments. The show reviewed how well or bad the financial markets performed during the week and what the outlook might look like for those markets next week and in the long run.

Dad carefully bought stocks from large, well-known companies and followed several families of company stocks: the Dow Jones, Nasdaq, and S & P 500. Mom taught me about all of the other financial vehicles: money markets, mutual funds, stocks and CDs (Certificates of Deposit).

In 1991 my father passed away, leaving my mom to keep a family trust fund he and she owned. My mother was left to financially maintain the cost of the trust. She used what she learned from her own investment research and understanding of what her father taught her. She always left the tv on CNBC on a daily basis to vigilantly watch as the stock market rose or fell.

Mom died in 2004. She left me well prepared to invest carefully and logically for myself. Ever since, I have followed in my parents' financial footsteps for me and my own family. I was blessed to have parents who cared enough about using money properly and teaching me the value of a dollar.

I'm concluding this article with the name of a song I learned in grammar school: It pays to remember what you've learned at home, all of your days. It pays!

Overview of Traditional Investments

Investing your money into financial vehicles is important to increase money a person owns. Although when an investor puts money into an investment option, he must be aware that most of the following assets carry risks. When considering these investment vehicles, you must study them and decide which is best for you.

Not only do you need to evaluate your risk tolerance, since each investment carries a different level of risk, you must consider how much money you will receive when the investment period ends. This category of investment only applies to a set percentage of your amount that is added, such as bonds, and certificates of deposit. In addition, your money is compounded, meaning that your extra money is re-invested, which help you earn even more.

You probably ought to also consider diversification of your investment types. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. In other words, put your money in two or more investments. Spread your money out so that if one loses money, another could be gaining.

Stocks are the most traditional option to place your money. When you buy stock, you are buying into a part of a company, known as a share. Stocks are driven by the performance of the company that is invested in. Stocks can be risky because the stock market goes up and down. The