The janitor who amassed a fortune: How character underpins investment success

CHRIS LEITHNER – LIVEWIRE

All investors want – or, at least, say that they want – to become successful. In this article, which reviews the life and legacy of Ronald Read, a janitor, maintenance man and service station attendant from Vermont, I reiterate a critical point: successful investment and financial independence are not matters of luck.

These are ultimately consequences of a particular set of values and aspect of character which virtually anybody, regardless of one’s station in life, can develop.

A man worth remembering

“Ronald Read may have spent years pumping gas,” gushed Anna Prior in “Route to an $8 Million Portfolio Started with Frugal Living” (The Wall Street Journal, 15 March 2015), “but he was even more adept at pumping up his portfolio.” He died on 2 June 2014 at 92 years of age. A lifelong resident of Brattleboro, Vermont, he started life with few possessions but sound values. By the time of his death, those values had accumulated an estate – mostly comprising the common stocks of major corporations – whose market value was estimated at $US8 million. In current $US, that’s almost $US9.8 million; and at the prevailing rate of exchange, that’s approximately $A13.5 million.

Read was also thrifty. “People were stunned that he had that much,” an acquaintance told The Brattleboro Recorder. “I bought some old fence wiring from him once because I thought he could use the money.” Throughout his life, he practised frugality in the same way that he “practised” breathing: both came so naturally that he didn’t consciously think about them. “Those who knew him,” Prior writes, “talk of how he at times used safety pins to hold his coat together and sometimes parked his 2007 Toyota Yaris far from where he was going to avoid having to feed the parking meter.” A senior client associate at Wells Fargo Advisors in Brattleboro who helped to settle his estate agreed: “If he could save a penny, he would.”

This very much worth reading! HERE

Born into an impoverished farming family, Ronald Read was the first of his clan to complete high school. He inherited nothing, didn’t attend university and never held a high-status job or earned an above-average wage. For decades he worked at a service station that his brother partly owned (they eventually purchased it) as an attendant and mechanic. During that time he married and financed his stepsons’ educations. When he retired he sold the service station. Within a year he became bored and restless, “retired from retirement” and took a job and for the next 17 years worked as a janitor and maintenance man at the local J.C. Penney department store.

This very much worth reading! HERE!

 

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9 Things Frugal People Never Do

Donna Freedman https://www.moneytalksnews.com/slideshows/things-frugal-people-never-do/ Everyone approaches frugality a bit differently. However, there are some things frugal people never do.

Frugality isn’t a monolithic concept. It’s more of a continuum, with different approaches for different people. You can be frugal even if you don’t sew all your own clothes, grow most of your food, make all your gifts and create all your own entertainment.

Frugal people can – and do! – eat in restaurants, buy vehicles, take vacations, pay for streaming services and splurge on things they really want. They just do it carefully.

My own frugal mantra is this: I save where I can so I can spend where I want. Along with my frugal brethren, I make informed choices about my money and my life.

Here are some of the things that smart frugal people never do.

1. Carry a credit card balance

2. Ignore their health

3. Spend their whole paycheck

And 6 more – read this whole story HERE.

How Frugal Are You? 24 Things Frugal People Do

Crystal Barton Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on Living on the Cheap

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/personalfinance/how-frugal-are-you-24-things-frugal-people-do/ss-AAV8Jf7

Many people choose to be frugal for different reasons. Maybe they were raised to live a frugal life, so it’s second nature to them. Perhaps they are consciously frugal and are saving to pay cash for a house, or they have a child about to head off to college. Maybe they simply don’t see any other reason to be anything but frugal.

Many of these tips will help you discover new activities and save money. Frugal people know how to be resilient during tough times. Despite your current situation, you can apply many of these tips at any time.

Whatever their reason, frugal people have these things in common: They all know that every penny counts, and they know where all their pennies are going. So, how frugal are you? Ready to find out?

Keep reading and see how many frugal things you are already doing or what new behaviors you can add to your already frugal lifestyle.

You can read more HERE.

 

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