One Man and a Broom…
Sweeping his way, one day at a time …
Today, we have a guest post from Raj
He writes on Substack at Down on Mainstreet and Brick n Barrel Tea n Herbs
Many people today have a job… or jobs… still, they struggle to make ends meet… couples, families, and singles alike…
For some, it’s partly due to a lack of financial discipline or lack of financial education…for others, they have the financial discipline and education, but struggle to pay the absolute basics and put food on the table…
A balance left over at the end of the month seems unimaginable, and a savings account, let alone one that has a $1000 dollars in it, seems like a pipe dream…
What can this couple, family, or individual do…? They are already both working one or more jobs… so they can’t “buckle up buttercup”… there are only so many hours in a day, and their kids already call the daycare worker mommy…
“It’s hard to imagine, but it’s true… I see it most every time I go to the grocery store… I see people of all ages and walks of life, standing in the isles, staring at an item, seemingly calculating in their heads if they can afford it or not…”
I understand, I’ve been there many times over the years, and in some ways still am, but sincerely, there is hope, and with either some basic knowledge of finances or some simple guidance, it can be achieved… Consider the following story…
One Man and a Broom
What seems like at times a hundred years ago, was actually about 26 … I know, you’re thinking wow, I wasn’t even born yet… well, I’m older and… working on the wiser part…I was working at my third job (1 of 3) at the time, a major book retailer…
It was Christmas Eve, and an older man approached, purchasing a $100 gift card with a crisp $100 bill… I smiled, saying someone was lucky, and asked him who the gift card was for…
He said, “For my wife. I’m retired, she loves reading, so this is what I buy her every year.” My curiosity got the best of me… although he was older, he didn’t look old enough to be retired…I asked him what his secret was to retiring early.
Smiling, he proceeded to tell me that his wife had never worked outside their home, he had never attended college, and worked his whole career as a janitor at an elementary school…
He continued… As soon as he was able to contribute to the school’s investment plan, he systematically put ten dollars per month into the plan. The employer matched it dollar-for-dollar…
When he got a raise, he would increase the amount as much as he could and continued to put that into the plan… every month for 30+ years…
One day, when he was at work, his supervisor said HR wanted to speak with him. Wondering what they wanted, he set his mop down and headed that way….
HR handed him a letter from the company managing the school’s investments, asking him to call them. Calling, they informed him that the balance in his account had become so large that he should consider keeping some of the monthly dividends instead of reinvesting…
I don’t remember the totals he told me, but after consulting with an attorney, he decided to retire early, and live off the monthly dividends, until he started receiving social security benefits… of course, I asked him what he had invested in over the years…
A smile formed at the corners of his mouth as he looked at me and said, “One company, Raj, there was one little company whose stock was cheap called Procter & Gamble, so I just put it there…”
He explained, “he had HR deposit his determined amount in there every month before he received his check, and honestly, he said, I forgot all about it… until I called them that day…”
I personally went to the HR department at my full time job on Monday, opened a 401k, and had deducted from my account the percentage they would match…
He told me he had thoroughly enjoyed his job and what he did. He and his wife had purchased a small house they could afford, paid it off as soon as they could, and purposely avoided any other debt… always paying cash…
His wife had remained in the home as a wife and mother, homeschooling their two children, and they both still lived there… he said we have been very blessed…
“There is no dignity quite so impressive, and no independence quite so important, as living within your means.”
— Calvin Coolidge
So What?
Nice story, but it won’t get me out of debt, you say… It’s the 21st century now… yes, you're correct, and that was the end of the 20th century… but some of the lessons and principles are still the same…
Like a tank of bad gas running through your car’s engine, I sputtered and stalled getting into a smooth rhythm of applying them, but the following is some of what I learned…
Automatic deductions from your paycheck, you never see it, and will never miss it…
Start with something… anything, honestly. You can start with as little as $5.00/mo on most employer sponsored 401k plans…
Each time you get a raise, add 1% or a certain dollar amount to your deduction…
When you get a raise, keep your budget, and spend the same… and invest the rest… an online high-yield savings account is a great place to start…
These thoughts cover the beginning stages, and in the coming weeks, I want to expand on this man’s story, my mistakes, and how you can hopefully gain some financial wisdom, insight, and hope that you won’t be in the “grind” forever… or at least you do have options…
“Never spend your money before you have earned it.”
— Thomas Jefferson
I was so fascinated by this man’s story, I asked him if he had time to tell me more on my break… smiling, he agreed… and for the next thirty minutes he shared more of his simple life, and the joy it brought him and his family…
I will tell you, it’s not the rags to riches story you might anticipate, it’s a story of common sense, simplicity, consistency, love, devotion, and hard work that got him there.
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