Wisdom passed down: A grandmother’s gift

by Jimmy James

Those who know me are aware that I’ve been a lifelong investor, but few know the story behind it. It’s easy to assume my grandmother was the one who spoiled us kids while granddad mentored us. Not a chance.

Grandmother would give us a US savings bond at Christmas and a share of AT&T (the only phone company back then) on our birthday (or vice versa — I was just a kid!). That helped educate us to the value of saving and investing over time.

I bought my first share of AT&T when I was 13 years old (no joke), using money earned from chores, neighborhood jobs and a tiny allowance. I was a pint-sized eighth-grader, and Grandmother was so proud and pleased that Jimmy James was learning the right lessons.

I also think that Granddad preferred to leave the stock investing to Grandmother, or at least a lot of it. He may have had input on the final decisions of what to buy based on my grandmother’s huge astonishing research, getting it down to a few items (what an awesome team!), but I do not know for sure.

Those simple lunches and lessons around the backyard picnic table bestowed not only cherished memories, but invaluable building blocks for life.