My Dear Old Dad Used to Say, It Ain’t How Much You Make, It’s What You Keep!
My dear old Dad, a wry fellow with more wit than a stand-up comic doing crowd work, and the financial brain of a young Dale Carnegie, used to drop crumbs of wisdom in the forest trail of my life. One of his classics, a phrase that stuck with me through thick and thin, was, “It ain’t how much you make, it’s what you keep!” Now, I know this sounds like something out of a Depression-era playbook, but bear with me, because Dad was onto something. You see, my dad wasn’t the type to chase after the latest and greatest. He didn’t need a flashy car or the newest gadgets.
No, sir. Instead, he focused on making every penny count. In today’s world of instant gratification and swipe-to-buy culture, that old saying rings truer than ever.
(I remember as a kid, Dad went to the Lincoln/Mercury dealer to get an oil change and said as he was leaving, “I think it’s time to trade the old Mercury, maybe I will take a look at the Lincolns, they seem pretty nice”. Sure as shooting, he came back with a new Mercury. I asked him why not a new Lincoln, and he just shook his head and said, “It’s practically the same car, chassis, motor, etc. and this is $5000 cheaper, that means I have more for later”. Frugal and smart, yet still comfortable.)
