Lessons From Pigs, Truckers And Overtime

Pigs:  One of the first lessons I learned was the importance of work.  My dad believed having animals and chores would be good for us kids, and those chores were what we did because we lived under his roof.  We were also given the opportunity to buy and raise animals.  I bought 4 pigs, took care of them (fed, cleaned the stalls, watered…) and sold them after about 12 months.  After totaling the costs and paying my dad back for the feed, I barely broke even. 

After some bitter complaining about all that work for nothing, my dad simply said “If you had fed the pigs every morning and night, cleaned their stalls out more often, and always made sure they had water, you probably could have sold them at 8 months for the same price.  By not doing those things properly, it took longer for them to gain weight and increased your costs.  Do it right next time and you will make money.”  Hard lesson for a 14 year old to learn.  I bought more pigs, did a better job at caring for them and made some money off them.

What's your goal for 2010?

Do you have a financial goal and plan for this year? Do you have any goals for your finances in 2010?

It’s important to have a goal and a plan on how to achieve it. If you don’t have a goal, it’s like a ship not having a destination. And if you do have a goal, but no plan on how to achieve it, that is like a ship that doesn’t have a crew. Either way, you end up going wherever the current and wind take you, and you have very little control over where you end up.