Money is a very important aspect in my life. It has been woven into the fabric of my being. It influences me every day – indeed, every hour.
When I went to university my Dad paid my tuition. But I paid for everything else. That meant that my well-being depended on my own working and saving during the five months off from university. This meant that I would secure work for the summer and diligently fo at it! (No, I didn’t go off on exotic travelling for periods of time to “find myself”.)
Money is a balancing act. Every time money is spent on something is means it won’t be there for something else. It means that some object that is purchased represents another object that now is not affordable.
I worked during high school. One of my first jobs was a salesman in a clothing store. A clothing store in a small town is not busy. Most of the time I was bored. It was difficult to look busy for long periods of time. I learned how to fold shirts very well (still know how). When I had a job cleaning I really did a good job and was proud of it.
Later in high school I got a job on the Jack Deans Farm. Jack was a skinflint; Never threw anything away. Sometimes I had to walk out to the farm which was a 3 ½ mile distance. This was on Saturdays only so I would have to leave about 6:00 in the morning.
One Saturday I had to walk and I really didn’t feel like it. I had been out late the night before and I was tired. But I started out. It was cold and there was a few inches of snow on the ground. I could see my breath. When I got to the farm I had to water the cattle. The ice had to be broken on the water trough before I could fill the buckets with water. The pails (one on each side,) were heavy. O wondered if this would stunt my growth. After watering came the feeding with the bales of hay. After feeding came the cleaning. This was done with a pitchfork. Manure mixed with straw was put in a wheel barrow and transported outside to what became a huge pile. Later in the year this pile would be loaded on a “stone boat” and taken by tractor to be spread over the fields, (again using the pitchfork). I actually enjoyed a lot of this kind of work. It was invigorating and muscle building.
When we ran out of that kind of work Jack decided to have me help out in the basement of the big farm house. He was doing some kind of ceiling or wall repair. As I was using an old wooden hammer the head fell off and hit the lid of the toilet tank which broke. I felt bad. I also blamed the crappy old tools Jack gave me to use. I also felt maybe I was half-asleep because of the late night I had had. Anyway, I guess Jack felt bad too because he said, “Well Bill. You had better pick up your cheque and go.” I was completely devastated — the first time (and perhaps the only time) I had ever been fired. He drove me into town and home. Very few words were spoken. I was making 50 cents an hour so instead of of four dollar I made only three dollars that day. Everything is relative.
One of the lessons I learned from that is that money is not earned easily so it is not to be wasted. Fast forward four years when I worked during the summer for Ed Roeback – carpenter and contractor. Now I was making a dollar an hour which after three years became $1.50 an hour. A full meal in a restaurant cost $1.25. Everything is relative.
My worst mistakes with money were the times I took a chance in investing. One time was after my father passed away and inherited about ten thousand dollars. I gave half of this to my close friend as he was involved in a group of guys purchasing a large parcel of land on the outskirts of Crossfield, Alberta. After about 10 years this group of investors was swallowed up ba another and after a few more years, the money was gone. I never saw even one penny as a return on that. My sister, who had received the same amount did not give it away. Instead, she used it to help her build her beautiful house in Maple Ridge, BC. Later she sold this house for about $650,000.
In contrast one of the best times I took a chance with money was when I purchased 3½ acre property on the Kootenay Lake. I paid $9,500 for it and today it would be worth at least $150,000 (1578% gain). Everything is relative.
It has always been ingrained in me to not waste money. This influences all kinds of actions from turning off unused lights to using cold water instead of hot water unless necessary.
My sister passed away in 2012 and left me with quite a bit of money plus her house. Some of my kids percieve that I now have lots of money. I do have more that I ever had. BUT, I will continue to be a cheapskate and I will not waste.
On the issue of being cheap or generous I believe I am both. I am generous in giving to the church, to missions and to a few charities. My wife would have me give a lot more. (She already does.) At the same time she is even more cheap than I am. I am so thatnkful that God gave her to me as a wife. She has really kept us “fiscally responsible”. I owe so much to her.