Live and Give

Growing up, I can remember money being a problem for our family at times, yet my Dad always had a smile on his face. He was in the Marine Corps and his income was limited, so he worked weekends at a gas station. My Mom mainly stayed home to care of my sister and me, but sometimes, when money was tight, she would take night-time waitress jobs to supplement our income. So early on in life I learned the importance of working and providing for your family, but what I didn’t understand was the role of money.

As I grew into a teenager, I realized my parents couldn’t afford to buy me very much, so I got my first job at 14 pruning avocado trees for $1.25/hour. At 16, I got an after-school job at a gas station, making $1.75/hour and eventually saved up enough money to buy an old 1960 Chevy Pickup, which helped me get to school and work. It seemed like I had more money than my friends because most of them didn’t have jobs yet, and that gave me a certain feeling of confidence I had never experienced before. And I admit it felt good! The only problem was that in school, they don’t teach you how to manage money, so over the years, I made quite a few mistakes with money that I sure do regret.

What I don’t regret is being generous to my friends in school who didn’t have any money. I’ll never forget how fun it was the first time I treated two of my buddies to a night on the town. By that I mean driving into town in my truck, going to the A&W Root Beer for burgers, and then catching a movie at the Theater on Main Street. I paid for everything with my gas station money and all three of us enjoyed the heck out of it.

Fast forward, I’m 64 years old and I just recently discovered a radio program on financial matters hosted by Dave Ramsey. Dave teaches people how to manage money and stay out of debt. He is also a best-selling author whose books have helped over 5 million people become debt free. He guarantees anyone can become an “everyday millionaire” if they follow his seven simple steps to financial freedom. I’ve now read every single one of his books and love the fact that young people finally have a simple road map to managing money that was never available before.

But do you know what Dave’s number one rule is for achieving financial success? Be generous…and he’s right! When I think back about how cool it was to be able to buy that old Chevy Truck, it was nothing compared to being able to put some smiles on my friends faces!

Live like no one else so that you can 

live and give like no one else.

~ Dave Ramsey