Don't Grow Too Fast...Watch Your Dollars!

Paul Arpin was a mentor to many people.  He enjoyed helping business owners, drivers and employees.  If you listened to him, you had to learn from him.

Paul grew up in the days before credit cards.  If you couldn't afford it, you didn't buy it, or you saved up the money until you could.

One day while I was in the office, Paul asked if I had any credit debt.  At the time, I had a total of about $6000 in credit card debt, which for a young family with one income, I thought was pretty good.  He said, "I thought you were smarter than that."  Again, in Paul's era, you simply did not buy on credit.

Paul even waited until he saved up enough money to buy his first house.  That's right...Paul paid cash for his first house back in the 60's.  The same house he lived in for the rest of his life.  Paul would take his lunch to work every day and eat at his desk.  The man grew and ran a multimillion dollar organization, but would spread his napkin out on his desk around noon time and eat the sandwich that his wife made for him along with a jar of milk.

Two things here:

1. Paul wanted to be there to continue to work.
2. He just thought it was wasteful to go out to lunch every day.

Waste of time and money, yet I saw fellow employees going to lunch every day who probably would have been better served making a sandwich.  They just didn't get it.

When we went out to dinner at night with our wives, Paul would ask the waiter for half of a salad.  He wouldn't do this to be frugal.  Paul asked to be charged for a full sized one, but he just didn't want to waste the food.

Again, all in how you are brought up. 

We run too fast, waste too much and cannot separate wants from needs. Don't grow to fast...watch your dollars!