How I Turned $20 into Six Figures Through Investing The year is 2021, but the fundamentals of research, patience and wit remain hugely profitable investing virtues, along with a few other key factors

I began my investment journey five years ago while working a full-time job. I was fortunate enough to have both stability and a job that allowed me to make more money than I needed at the time. Unlike my peers, instead of going out and partying on the weekends, I began to read books on investing and how to play the stock market. As a typical millennial, I began playing the market irresponsibly, looking to make quick gains, then quickly learned that didn't work. So, I began versing myself on how to invest for the long-term. This led me to research different brokers and where my money would be best served, so I opened a brokerage account and deposited just $20. I was working for a publicly-traded company at the time, so it was only logical for me to buy $20 worth of that particular asset, so I did. I knew that this company was and would continue to be successful.

My hunger for knowledge didn't stop there. I began reading books like The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham, Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefevre, and others alike. As I continued reading and learning, I quickly realized that the key to wealth wasn't day trading, but rather long-term investments. Instead of having a savings account, I decided to put all of the overflow money into my brokerage account. I would set a goal and when I would hit that goal, I would then use that money to buy stocks in different companies that caught my attention. This wasn't easy. In order to do so, I had to do extensive research on the particular companies and why they were a good fit for my portfolio. At first, I made the mistake of having over 40 companies in the portfolio and none of them were really making significant gains. I decided to take The Intelligent Investor's approach and began to focus on a small number of companies that allowed me to grow my wealth and kept my attention tight instead of trying to spread attention 42 different ways.