The Online Investing AI Blog

My grandfather was raised in the depths of the Great Depression and, to be honest, in the rust belt of central Pennsylvania, the economy never actually sizzled during his eight decades of existence.

The Depression taught my grandfather painful lessons on personal finance. He was incredibly thrifty. OK. He was cheap. He saved every penny and held onto things long after most folks would have tossed them on the junk heap.

He also was so cautious with this money that he never invested in the stock market. He stayed away from company stock plans. He tucked every penny into CDs and a federally-insured bank account, missing the market’s long upswing. The moderate savings he squirreled away in those accounts would have been worth millions had his ideas of investments not been colored by fear. While he worked hard for his money, his money didn’t work hard for him.

But, you didn’t get through the depression with hind sight.

As far as technology went, there wasn’t a wave that my grandfather caught. His brother, on the other hand, was a radio engineer, fixing radios when that wave swamped the nation and just as fluidly became a television repairman when the Age of Television dawned. The risky swings of those fleeting technological fads were beyond my granddad’s comfort zone, which stretched a few blocks from the sprawling paper mill that dominated his life and my home town.

The Depression was a tough teacher and what he drew from its lessons did not always serve him well. However, my grandfather had productive instructions from the experience.

The worst economic downturn in our national history taught him to have multiple revenue streams before that was even a buzz word. He worked a full-time job at the paper mill, served as a custodian for a church during his time off, rented apartments in his home’s top floors, and even sold stuff at the Depression Era’s version of eBay… the flea market. My grandfather never believed that a job was forever, so you hedged your bets.

He was no one’s sucker, either. You wouldn’t see him falling for scams and schemes and, while he was the picture of a perfect worker, he made sure he was compensated for his time and trouble. He never owed a corporation or an institution undue loyalty; he saw too many wither away in the rustle of ticker tape.

As we face our own troubled economic times, I hope we can learn balance from the lessons the Depression taught my grandfather.

• When times get tough, the tough get smart and new waves of innovation can be the direct result.
• Keep your eye on the future.
• Hedge your bets, but always bet some money on hope.
• Be cautious, but courageous.
• Don’t be a sucker, but don’t be a cynic.

 Email This Post     |      Print This Post

Related posts:

1. Doubting the Inevitable Next Depression
2. Free Report Reveals How To Thrive In Bad Economic Times
3. Depression Solution: Cut the Capital Gains Tax
4. Personal Abundance Step 3: Find the Escape Hatch
5. Lessons Washington Should Heed From Main Street America

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.