I love every reminder I can get about the story of Ronald Read.
Ronald Read worked as a gas station attendant and janitor at JC Penney’s. He was known to be a frugal man. After losing his wife at 50, he lived alone for the rest of his life and enjoyed chopping wood.
After his death, folks in his community realized he had left two million dollars to his stepchildren and an additional six million dollars to local library and hospital.
How? He consistently invested his savings in (an eventual portfolio of 95) blue chip companies whose businesses he understood and held their stock for the most of the rest of his life.
There are many fascinating lessons from his story – making a life by what we give vs. get, the importance of savings rate, time in the market vs. timing the market, etc.
But, to me, one that always stands out is the transformative power compound interest can have in our life. Small consistent investments in all important areas of our life – health, money, learning, relationships – compound in magical ways over time.
Here’s to making one such investment today…
