The Daily Dow
Wednesday, July 9, 1997
by Robert Sheard

LEXINGTON, KY. (July 9, 1997) -- You're young (let's say early 20s) and you're just starting your career and don't make much yet. So you don't feel like you can afford to invest anything, but you know you should try. Is it hopeless?

Let me ask you this: can you afford a soda and a candy bar? What'll that set you back, maybe a buck a day? (Probably more.)

If that's all you can afford (a buck a day) is it worth your trouble? You bet. Let's see what it does.

If you save a buck a day each workday, that's roughly $250 a year. Modest, of course, but hey, you're only 20 or so. You've still got the investor's best ally on your side -- time. If you sock away $250 once a year in an investment that averages 17% (roughly the historical rate for the Dow High Yield Ten), your soda and candy bar money would grow to just over $1 million after 41 years (close to your retirement age).

Of course, as you get older and more financially stable, you should be able to save more, maybe even the price of a Happy Meal each day. And if you invest Foolishly and beat 17% a year, so much the better. (If you saved $30 a month, about what you probably pay for basic cable TV, you'd end up with another half million in your retirement account.)

So even if you're starting from nothing and think you have no room in your budget for investing, think again. The price of a soda and a candy bar per day can put you into the millionaire's club by retirement. And you don't need the extra calories anyway, do you?

[Rankings Note: Today's sell-off put the order right back where it began the week, with INTERNATIONAL PAPER <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: IP)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: IP)") end if %> in the top ten and CATERPILLAR <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CAT)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CAT)") end if %> outside looking in. Don't be surprised if the rankings change frequently for a while. There are several stocks bunched up around the #10 slot.]

(c) Copyright 1997, The Motley Fool. All rights reserved. This material is for personal use only. Republication and redissemination, including posting to news groups, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of The Motley Fool. ________________________________

Stock  Change   Last
--------------------
T    -  15/16  35.50
GM   -1  1/16  55.63
CHV  -1  1/4   74.50
MMM  -   9/16  102.69

          Day   Month    Year
        FOOL-4   -1.72%   0.72%   2.90%
        DJIA     -1.51%   2.10%  21.62%
        S&P 500  -1.22%   2.53%  22.52%
        NASDAQ   +0.10%   3.09%  15.15%

    Rec'd   #  Security     In At       Now    Change
   1/2/97  120 3M            83.00    102.69    23.72%
   1/2/97  153 Chevron       65.00     74.50    14.62%
   1/2/97  179 Gen. Motor    55.75     55.63    -0.22%
   1/2/97  479 AT&T          41.75     35.50   -14.97%


    Rec'd   #  Security     In At     Value    Change
   1/2/97  120 3M          9960.00  12322.50  $2362.50
   1/2/97  153 Chevron     9945.00  11398.50  $1453.50
   1/2/97  179 Gen. Motor  9979.25   9956.88   -$22.38
   1/2/97  479 AT&T       19998.25  17004.50 -$2993.75


                             CASH    $767.60
                            TOTAL  $51449.98