Y
ou don't need to be a Wall Street expert to make great financial decisions. Business Insider asked 10 everyday Americans about the best investments of their lives, and their stories show that there's no single path to investing success.

    These individuals have achieved various wealth-building milestones, including financial independence, early retirement, and increased security with their money. Here are some of their remarkable investment stories:

    Bob Vanscoy, a full-time dad, invested in Nvidia (NVDA) after researching its potential for growth due to new video game developments. He bought 80 shares in March 2020 for $21,641.60 and has since taken profits twice, holding 1,292 shares with a cost basis of $6.76 per share – a $151,000 position with over a 1,500% gain.

    Natalie Fischer, a former data analyst turned finance content creator, bought a house in 2020 with her now-husband before they got married. They refinanced their mortgage rate down to 2.99%, locking in a low interest rate and saving on monthly payments. This decision has given them financial stability and peace of mind.

    Nick Brinkman, who grew up helping his grandfather manage personal accounts, invested in Apple (AAPL) and Tesla (TSLA) between 2012 and 2013. His investments have grown to roughly $43,000 and $167,000 since the initial buy-in, respectively. He now takes a less risky approach to investing by regularly buying index funds.

    Sherry Jiang, a former Google employee who runs the personal finance platform Peek, enjoys investing in tech due to her industry expertise. She bought into Tesla in 2015 after seeing its popularity and has grown her investment by 1,200%. She recently exited her position but is now betting big on Palantir (PLTR), which she believes will be as successful as Nvidia.

    Josh Nassif, a software engineer, inadvertently collected 0.8 bitcoin through his online poker career. He also started purchasing Nvidia stock 15 years ago and holds 342 shares with an over 3,000% gain. Nassif has taken profits in the wake of AI hype and now focuses on index funds.

    Matt White, who divides his money between index funds and individual stocks, invested in Netflix (NFLX) after seeing its potential for growth despite a recent decline. He bought 45 shares in early 2022 at $244 per share and today holds around a 380% return.

    Tess Waresmith, an aerial acrobat turned real estate investor, has been investing in multi-family homes for over 10 years. She house-hacked by living in one unit of her duplex in Massachusetts and renting out the other, which helped her cover the mortgage and invest in another property.

    Brennan Schlagbaum, a CPA who runs the financial literacy company Budgetdog, bought Meta Platforms (META) stock in October 2022 at $97. The stock is now at $628 as of May 23, yielding a gain of almost 550%.

    Austin Mark, who co-owns a house with his husband and another couple, invested in a multi-family home in Chicago last year. They put down 40% for the down payment to minimize their monthly mortgage payments.

    Corey Forsythe, who follows r/WallStreetBets, invested in AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) after researching its potential for growth due to its satellite communications technology. He bought back into the stock at a loss and has since seen his investment soar to around $900,000 today – a 650% gain on his total invested capital.

    These stories demonstrate that investing success can come from various paths, including tech stocks, real estate, and even cryptocurrency.