HOW TO SAVE MONEY

How to save money? It is not so easy in this world of "plastic." As a budding entrepreneur in the 1950s my parents started me off with those big federal savings bonds from WII era. When I was age 14 and wanted to buy a small Chevrolet coupe for $40 my folks allowed me to cast the U S Savings Bonds. Then, at age 15 I wanted a new brass cased anemometer from Cape Cod Wind & Weather Indicators. My Christmas Club allowed me to get 50 silver dollars from the bank. Savings was relative easy for me.

Small jobs allowed me to save small amounts of money. College came along and I depleted my small savings account. Probably one of the smartest moves as a young man was to sign up for an allotment while serving in Vietnam in 1967. I budgeted my money by first "paying myself." I saved some $2,000 and felt smug with money in the bank. Aetna employment further got me on the "savings track." It was fun.I had cash money to pay for furniture at R. Smith Colonial Furniture in Gardner.

You must have a sensitivity to money. I did; I saved old coins and gold coins. We wanted a house  and I hustled making money. It came naturally to me. House 1., house 2., house 3. and house 4 was paid for in cash. This is not  "Old Money."  I always watched my mortgage rates...first at 8.5% then down to 7%.. etc. Paying down your mortgage is always smart. It is frivolous spending that's dumb.

We once were a "Nation of Savers" now we are a Nation of big spenders. This is not good. Saving for a rainy day is particularly good where it never rains like Southern California as Albert Hammond sung way back in the Seventies. This is where  I became a father and learned the renewed value and interest in Savings Bonds. Guess what? No more! Electronic this, electronic that, the electronic world of 2016 staggers our imaginations ..Item: Cigarettes cost $10 a pack here in Massachusetts. Not good at all. Item; Today I saw gasoline offered at $1.75/ gallon in Southbridge.. excellent.

Winter expenses coupled with Christmas bills to choke a horse are enervating.

"AMERICA SAVES" is where you want to go after reading my BLOG.

Finally, in the mid-eighties I renewed my savings spirit and bought more savings bonds. I saved and I saved and I saved. Six thousand dollars and more. Then when I converted to gas from oil heat and a formidable repair to the old brick foundation I had money. A penny saved was truly a penny earned. I sold the house in 1993 and made a bundle. Prudent investors don't get carried away with "living in the lap of luxury." 'Cheap Charlie" is what the Vietnamese called us in wartime.

Already this year I have invested in silver coins.. over $150 worth. It doesn't sound like much....but you must remember "A penny saved is a penny earned"... and please don't forget it. Your lives are very fragile .Turn a new page of courage and begin filling your piggy bank. Cheap gasoline prices helps us immensely. We surely can have our cake and eat it too....just have thinner slices!