|
How To Retire Without Money
By Bob Belmont
CHAPTER 7 IN YOUR
OWN HOME TOWN
Page 2 of 12
In short,
would you be able to stand the guff from people who probably
deep within themselves would love to do just what you've
decided to do, but haven't the courage. And since they haven't
the courage themselves they don't want you to have it. The mob
instinct seems to be to hate anybody not exactly like the
members of the mob.
We Americans
have long prided ourselves on being "rugged individualists."
Supposedly, we are all "rugged individualists." Perhaps it's
just an optical illusion that the overwhelming majority seem
to be just the opposite. Far from an individualist, rugged or
otherwise, the average American today does not seem capable of
standing up on his hind legs and asserting himself. He is
scared to death of losing his little job, and the modicum of
pseudo-security it gives him. That this situation will someday
end, and that soon, I believe and hope, but right now the
average American is using little effort to get himself off the
horrible treadmill he is running upon.
So! Let them
talk. Let them sneer, if sneer they will. They'd like to be
doing just what you're doing—escaping from the rat-race— but
they haven't the guts.
§
CASE HISTORY
No. 1. Some of the case histories that you'll find in this
book are admittedly on the exotic side, and not suited to a
good many of us, so lets look into a few that are more down to
earth. I have before me a letter from a friend and will copy
it word for word.
Dear Bob:
Your idea for
a book on how to retire while still young sounds good to me. I
look forward to reading it, although, as you know, I am
already "retired" for all practical purposes. You ask for
"case histories." How about this one?
My cousin,
Clinton, now 21 years old and in his fourth year at college
intends to spend at least six years there. He "can't afford"
to leave. He ceased to be a burden on his parents after the
second year and now employs anywhere from three to four of his
fellow college students. He used to fish around for spare-time
jobs, dishwashing in cafes at night, trimming hedges, mowing
lawns, etc. He received $5.00 to $7.50 an hour which still is
a going rate for labor in his college town (Durant, Oklahoma).
He made $150 to $200 a week working himself pretty hard, but
which was enough to get by on.
But during
the summer of the first year, after the 2nd semester, he went
to work for an old man helping him mow lawns at from $25 to
$40 per lawn, depending on size. He got only $6.50 an hour as
usual and was disgusted to be paid only $10.00 on a job the
old man got $40 for. So he quit, trotted home to Papa,
borrowed $250 for a lawn mower, some fertilizing and seeding
equipment and solicited business on his own. He didn't get too
much to start but he made $50 to $60 a week. His summer months
on what his "bird dogging" turned up. He ran out of jobs in
the fall and had to rely somewhat on Papa and odd jobs again.
But he started fertilizing and lawn conditioning again in
February of his second year and put an ad in a paper. Pretty
soon he had more jobs than his spare time could handle and had
some of his "Dorm buddies" help him. He had to buy more
fertilizer spreaders and get more equipment. By April when he
had to mow he had over 50 customers good for two to four jobs
a month and about $400 gross income. That summer he made some
savings and last summer he was making about $800 a month with
four helpers.
>>> CHAPTER 7 IN YOUR
OWN HOME TOWN Page 3
|
