27. From Sailor to Student to Author with Tony Elion
Sheepdog Financial
English - December 25, 2019 08:00 - 41 minutes - 38.2 MB - ★★★★★ - 4 ratingsInvesting Business investing finance personalfinance passiveincome wealth valuestocks stockmarket business money equity Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Tony Elion made $300,000 in 13 months by investing in the stock market. He has a unique story that highlights the benefits of being in the military, formal education, self education, and taking smart risks. Tony went to college and graduated, but he didn’t really know what he wanted to do, and he was facing a tough recessionary job market. He learned to speak spanish, play the guitar, and take siestas, in Spain before coming back to the US and joining the Navy.
He had a seven month gap before his deployment and worked in an Amazon fulfillment center. Amazon was giving employees shares of stock, and he received two shares of Amazon stock. This was his first introduction to the stock market. While deployed in Japan he continued to educate himself about finances, stocks, and investing. After leaving the military, he decided to take advantage of the GI bill and get his advanced degree and then attend law school.
He also used scholarship money to invest. His investments started paying off, but Tony wants to emphasize that it was education and discipline that led to his success. He has also written a new book called Sailor to Student: How I Made a Quarter of a Million Dollars in the Stock Market, and You Can Too. In this episode, Tony gives us a first hand account of his amazing story along with sound tips and advice for investing, finances, and life.
Highlights from This Episode
[00:47] Tony is from Memphis, Tennessee. After college, he wasn't sure what he wanted to do.
[01:13] He taught English in Spain for a while.
[02:25] Two weeks after returning from Spain, he signed up for the US Navy.
[03:58] He was an assistant for the chaplain and worked with people all day.
[04:47] He was in Japan for four years. He used his GI bill to get his master's degree. He then decided to go to law school.
[08:01] Penn State gave him a $33,000 a year scholarship.
[09:50] The GI bill is a versatile tool to change your future or your family's future.
[10:48] Tony recently wrote a book called Sailor to Student: How I Made a Quarter of a Million Dollars in the Stock Market, and You Can Too.
[11:24] Tony used his scholarship money and invested in the stock market. In 13 months, he was able to grow his portfolio to over $300,000.
[11:43] He would post his investments on social media and people started asking him questions.
[12:37] He decided to answer everything in one place in the new book.
[15:07] His first introduction to stocks was when he worked at the Amazon fulfillment center, and they gave everybody two shares of stock.
[16:25] When he came back from service, he now had 19 shares of Amazon stock and it was worth $18,000.
[17:02] His first investment was putting $20,000 into Amazon stock.
[17:27] He would look at companies that he knew. His next choice was Netflix.
[18:26] The most money he ever made was with a cannabis investment in Canada. He sold all of his stocks and bought this stock. He held it for 8 days and made $175,000.
[20:59] Tony is a big fan of discipline and delayed gratification. Create plan, a budget, and stick with it, and you can really grow your finances.
[23:29] He founded Love Now Incorporated in 2017.
[23:55] Tony's been successful, and he wanted to give back.
[24:53] His organization is about taking people where they are and giving them the help they need.
[25:11] Last year they had a coat giveaway event for International students who didn't have them.
[26:49] Tony left the military in 2016.
[28:23] Tony would go to the library on base and learn all about finance. His success was more about discipline than luck.
[30:01] It's better to sit down and learn everything on your own.
[31:28] Passive investment is almost mandatory as society progresses. People need to take advantage of investing to benefit from compound interest.
[33:55] The military is now creating programs to protect people who enlist after they leave.
[35:44] Look at your money. Make a budget and track what you. Stick with your budget and save. Life insurance is an investment, have your foundation in place. Get an emergency fund. Then invest.
[39:20] When stocks start to fall is the time to buy. Save now.
Links and Resources
Sailor to Student: How I Made a Quarter of a Million Dollars in the Stock Market, and You Can Too.