Dear Dr. Per Cap: What’s the best investment you’ve ever made?

Signed, Interested Reader

Dear Interested Reader

Best investment I’ve ever made was starting a family – hands down.  I get more long term joy, satisfaction, and sense of purpose from being a father than anything else I’ve ever accomplished or experienced in my life.  But something tells me that’s not quite the answer you’re looking for.  Let’s do this.

As many of my readers know I’m a huge hockey fan.  I grew up playing the sport and still enjoy getting on the ice when I have some free time.  As a kid I also collected hockey cards and remember when the Great One himself, Wayne Gretzky, played his first NHL game with the Edmonton Oilers – the 1979-80 season.  We’re talking a magical era of hockey legend here folks.  A very different game than what we see today where NHL teams skate in cities like Phoenix, Dallas, and Las Vegas; which serves as a painful reminder that it’s going to be awhile before I get over my Washington Capitals first round exit in the playoffs this year! 

Well a childhood buddy of mine collected hockey cards too and I had a card he needed.  I can’t even remember the player’s name because he wasn’t an all-star just some working stiff.  Long story short my buddy had a Wayne Gretzky card which he traded me for the scrub.  I still have it today – a near mint Topps rookie Gretzky card.  Every so often I check prices on Ebay and the same card with a similar grade can easily fetch $1,000 or more.  Remember in those days a pack of ten hockey cards and a stick of stale chewing gum only set you back a quarter.

So there you have it.  I missed buying Apple stock in 1985 when it was trading for less than two dollars.  I missed Microsoft’s IPO in 1986 – too busy spending money on my first car!  And I was absolutely clueless when Amazon went public 1997.  But thankfully today I have my health, I have my family, and I’ve got a rookie Gretzky card.  Game On!

Ask Dr. Per Cap is a program funded by First Nations Development Institute with assistance from the FINRA Investor Education Foundation. For more information, visit www.firstnations.org. To send a question to Dr. Per Cap, email askdrpercap@firstnations.org.