How One Unpleasant Thanksgiving Set Me on the Path to Financial Freedom

One of my earliest memories is from Thanksgiving Day in 1979 – 45 years ago yesterday.

It’s not a pleasant memory, but I’m thankful it started me on my life’s mission. And I’m thankful it has a happy ending.

I was only about 5 years old that Thanksgiving Day when I heard a loud crash and screaming coming from the dining room. My stepfather was responsible for buying a cooked turkey, but instead, he came home with Swedish meatballs – because they were much cheaper.

That was the final straw for my mom. The scene quickly turned into the fight of the century, but it wasn’t really about meatballs. It was about money… or the lack thereof.

My mom always struggled. My dad had left about five years earlier, and she then met my stepfather and was a full-time mom and wife… until that disastrous Thanksgiving.

After that, we started living with my grandmother in North Miami Beach in this house.

It doesn’t look like much, but that house meant everything to me. I took my first tricycle ride where the sidewalk bends. My grandma used to pick oranges from the tree in the backyard and make me juice with them. I even rode out Hurricane David in that house.

My mom did her best to make things work as a single mother, but money was always a problem. I’ve needed glasses since I was just 18 months old. Bifocals weren’t cheap, though. If I ever broke them, I wore them with tape. And they were usually paired with hand-me-down clothes with patches on the knees and elbows.

It was a seemingly endless struggle just to get by, and my mom was tired. Tired of the financial shackles she couldn’t seem to shake.

My dad did quite well for himself. He had everything my mom didn’t: A flourishing business, a stable home, and enough money to take vacations. My sister and I would visit him twice a year, and it showed me what I wanted for my life – financial independence.

I didn’t know what that meant back then, but I knew I wanted to make enough money so my mom didn’t have to worry anymore.

Using the Data to Our Advantage

I’m proud to say that I did just that. It took many years working for “the man” and creating opportunities where there were none. But it was all worth it.

I started my career in investing as a clerk on a Wall Street Desk before taking a job running a desk of traders and salespeople to match institutional buyers and sellers (the Big Money) at Cantor Fitzgerald, one of Wall Street’s blue chip investment banks. I spent 12 years at that firm, working my way up to eventually be the Head of North American Equity Derivatives.

And while I had my nice apartment in Manhattan, a housekeeper, dog walker, and was going on expensive client dinners, my mom was still struggling. I felt like I had failed her.

Wall Street was starting to become less and less fun with each passing day. I had a health scare that was clearly from the stress.

But it was there that my real opportunity began. I could figure out how to invest like the most successful pros on the planet. They were, after all, my clients.

And then my big break happened in 2014. I quit my trading job, left New York, and moved my family to Florida. I wanted to start using my own stock picking system to invest for myself.

I started my own research firm with my business partner – fellow TradeSmith analyst Luke Downey – where I created the Quantum Edge system, which analyzes more than 6,000 stocks and 1.3 million data points every single day. This information and our proprietary algorithms help us invest with the simplest yet most powerful investing concept there is:

Own the best companies operating in the biggest trends.

Luke and I pitched it to hedge funds and institutions, which felt an appropriate fit. After all, I used this process to help me give ideas to clients while running that trading desk.

As good a fit as it was, something still wasn’t quite right. I was helping rich folks get even richer while my mom and others like her were out there struggling.

Mom was always in my mind. By now things were improving for her, but never really to the point of financial independence.

She eventually asked me to take over her retirement investments. So I did, and I used the same system I made for myself and ultimately pitched to hedge funds.

And it started making her money.

“You’re a genius!” she said.

I know she’s biased, but those words meant the world to me.

I also helped my dad. We were able to forge a relationship over the years, and he loved stocks. It was something we could bond over, and he eventually started taking my recommendations. Among those was Nvidia (NVDA). His $5,700 turned into roughly $300,000 – a 5,000% gain.

Those were the types of gains that make a difference – the kinds of stocks that I wanted to own, and the stocks I want to help others own.

“You’re a genius!” he said.

Yeah, he’s biased, too. But those words also meant the world to me.

You Can Gain Financial Independence, Too

It got me thinking: If I could help my mother, and I could help my father, then I could help anyone, right?

Not just the Wall Street elites. I could help people struggling to break free from the endless cycle of financial dependance.

I get asked from time to time why I do what I do. And that’s my answer.

I do it for me.

I do it for Dad.

Most importantly, I do it for Mom.

And I do it for anyone else who wants my help.

My methodology and Quantum Edge system are no get-rich-quick scheme, but I’m living proof that it works. And thanks to the miracle of compounding, you eventually reach the point where you start building wealth faster and faster.

I may not have the biggest bank account on the planet, but then again, I never set out to be the next Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos. I’m very happy with my life, and I’m happy to not have to worry about money. I’m even happier my parents got to that same point, and I’m teaching my three sons to get there as well.

I know you can do it, too, if you’re not there yet. Try to always be invested in stocks. Stack the odds in your favor by owning the best stocks in the market with Big Money flowing in.

And stay with the plan. I’m thankful I did, and you will be, too.

I’m also thankful for all my loved ones, and for all of you who are on this investing journey with me.

I hope you have a happy and safe Thanksgiving with those you love.

Talk soon,

Jason Bodner
Editor, Jason Bodner’s Power Trends