The great-grandmother lights up when she talks about the stock market: She regularly trades stocks online, follows their ups and downs on CNBC, and reads up on companies and financial trends on her own.
“That’s what keeps me going,” Bernstein, who lives in Boynton Beach, Florida, tells TODAY.com. “I watch the market every day. I don’t always trade, but it’s a very important part of my day. … It has made my life very interesting.”She does some day trading, but has also held some stocks for a long time. The centenarian has “very high expenses” in assisted living, so investing in the market has allowed her stay where she wants to be, she says.
“It’s like a lot of other things — you’ve got to be lucky," she adds. “I’ve had my losses, but fortunately my gains have been larger.” The great-grandmother has been trading stocks for about 50 years — half her life. She got started by joining a group of women who formed a stock club, which she describes as a learning process, but “a lot of fun.” Bernstein advises women to get more interested in investing and trading stocks.Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 1, 1923, Bernstein had a family with a track record for longevity. One of her grandfathers lived to be 104, and her parents lived into their 90s.