Back in the 90s you could not open a trading account until you...

Back in the 90s you could not open a trading account until you are 18. Times have changed...I remember vividly because I had a hard time convincing my parents to sign the CommSec waiver before then.

What salary/percentage of it were you investing per year over your 20 years?
- I treated moat stocks like a savings plan back in the day. So any left over went into CBA, TLS, CCL (Coca Cola Amatil no longer in the ASX) and BHP. You pay tax on Interest but you don't pay tax on Franked Dividends was my thinking. Got a deposit for my first house from selling these 4 Oct 2006 at 25. After that I focused on paying off the mortgage so hardly any went into investments for a few years after that. Post #:62780348 Which was serendipitous because the market crashed. By the start of 2009 I was very bullish on everything... Experienced my first true wiped out on a holding during that period thanks to BNB (Babcock and Brown) late 2009 and PaperlinX. It hurt but you end up learning through the experience and not trust analysts. That is why building your own view of the investment landscape is very important.

- How much do you think salary matters for someone at 16.
How much you start with doesn't matter much. What is between the ears matters more. By 19 I already knew how to trade. Swing trades and Gap and Go (mostly) was my bread and butter. Got in with a bunch of traders from the University notice boards. I was a Uni student on HECS/HELP at the time. So I really didn't have much. The aim of the game back then was simple... just enough for a couple of slabs of beer by the weekend or a night out in town. You didn't get greedy and it was really just hanging out with a bunch of people with similar passion. So a bunch of guys and gals booking the whole computer room at Uni 9:45 to 10:45am trading the open... Not until 6 or so years ago did I contemplate doing this full time. I had an unhealthy job like everyone else... I guess there comes a point where your investment gets large enough that it is literally "F@#k You Money" staring you in the face and you realise you don't need a 9-5 job anymore. I found 9-5 jobs was really just a means to and end in funding my investments. These days I Moon Walk to my home office after the kids school run

Hope that helps.

Hint: I'd prefer If you can figure out the Hex string below so I don't have to post my life story on HC