Return on Investment

I was born in Ft. Worth, Texas but we lived in Grapevine on the corner of E. Worth and Dooley with my Grandfather, Daddy Wall.  My parents were natives of North Texas and our ancestors go back many generations to the surrounding prairie.  Most of my relatives never left the area.  But, when I was about five or six we moved to Beaumont, Texas. It seemed like every weekend we would drive to Grapevine to visit family. It was on one of these weekends I had a financial epiphany.  During the week the local merchants gave little tickets to customers.  On Saturday there was a drawing downtown on Main St.  You would write your name on the back of the ticket and put in this big drum.  Winners would receive various amounts of cash.  One Saturday I won $10.  On the way home my Dad told me if I would open a savings account, he would match the $10. I was several decades from receiving a MBA, but knew this was a pretty good ROI.

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Back in Beaumont I opened a savings account at the First Federal Savings and Loan on Highland Ave.  They gave you a little passbook that logged all of your transactions and balance.  Every time I would get some money from chores or collecting coke bottles, I would take it to the  bank.  I became obsessed with my savings account.  Every quarter I would ride my bike down Highland Ave. to see my interest posted in my little book.  Usually only a few pennies, but it was "free" money.

I got some odd jobs as a pre and early teen.  All of it went into the account.  When we would make our trip to Grapevine, Daddy Wall (maternal often gave me a silver dollar.  I decided to put my silver dollars in the account.  I had no idea I couldn't get them back at a later date.  I was so proud when my account reached $100. 

I would save my money with some purchase in mind, new catchers mitt, bicycle, etc.  When my savings was enough to buy the object, I couldn't bring myself to let go,  The new glove or bike wasn't worth the effort I put into earning the money. 

When in high school, I even loaned my Dad money to buy some investment property.  Of course, we had a discussion about appropriate interest he would be charged.  I never spent any of that savings, until my junior year in college when my Dad talked me into investing in a piece of rental property with him.  That began my foray to rental property and can provide material for many more blogs.

Thanks to my Dad's insight, I was able to pay for much of my college and  to move to Tennessee to take my first real job without any financial worries.

Little did I know that my financial freedom was about to end in a few years.   I fell in Love.