By John Graves

You have been a good saver since you began working as a paperboy (or babysitter!) at ten. You had to save – your mother made you put aside 10% of what you made into an envelope. Just like she made you give 10% at church, into the plate each Sunday morning. You bought your first car with your savings, the ’56 Chevy for $1,200, wasn’t it? You felt sad, but smart, when you sold it to go into the military – sold it for $1,850 and saved it all.

Once you got out, you started working as a tailor. They had you sewing uniforms in the Army, so you knew something about it. You became good at it, bought the shop with what you saved during your stint. A few years later you sold the shop to work in accounting. Don’t ask how that happened. Something to do with your wife’s uncle. You were surprised at how well you took to the new profession.

When the first baby was due, you both were ready to move, so you went to South Carolina and bought a home in 1969. Your next three sons were all born in that home, the home you still live in. The down payment was hard, but the monthly payments were a backbreaker: $178 a month and you only made $800.

Still you gave at church, you put a little aside for the future. Your folks had taught you frugality. You lived within your means. That meant no credit cards, no installment plans, no car payments, only the mortgage. Coupons were big in your household. You told your wife to keep track of expenses in the little ‘Dome’ budget book. She used it to track how much she saved from coupons and sales, too. Once a year both of you went out to eat at a nice restaurant on one quarter of the savings during the year. Nice reward.

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