A retrospective assessment of advice I was given as a teenager

As a 17-year-old intern coming into the office for a few hours after high school each day in the early eighties, I had one job. Listen to AM radio on my way in, and report to the older workers the price of gold and the Dow. They were all in their late forties and fifties, when a career job with one company was the norm, and they had opinions. Here’s a retrospective assessment of the advice they gave me, and how it turned out (or would have): Invest in stocks. The Dow was around 800 then. A $500 investment in 1982, diligently reinvested, would be worth $120K today. I bought nothing. Invest in real estate as soon as you can. Easy for them to say. Never a possibility for me until a decade plus later, but if you enjoy torture, look at real estate prices in your area from 40+ years ago. Hold gold. Gold was $375 an ounce, now roughly $4500. I bought nothing. Don’t waste money on stupid shit for your car. I had the Alpine with Dolby C noise reduction, graphic equalizer mounted sideways on…