Hammer Time: Wealth Construction

My Dad worked with the same company for sixty years. His first days were spent making coffee, learning English, and finding any opportunities for him and the company. It wasn’t easy. Back then America was in a recession with unfathomable debt and a dollar that could seemingly buy all the remnants of a battle scarred Europe. Today we have all the elements of the past. Except America is still fighting the wars, the dollar is weak, and the only thing that our country can seemingly buy is more debt… and time. With such lighthearted thoughts in my head this afternoon, I decided to go for a long walk.

And I found hope… really. The first thing I saw were a bunch of old gas guzzlers that were still in great shape. An early 90’s Crown Vic and a late 70’s Malibu. They were neatly kept and in the shade. How long could they last? Well, as long as the owner wants them. The house for them was a beautiful four sided brick that can likely outlast all of us. That too was kept up and had been bought for a song as a recent foreclosure. As I sauntered down the hill I saw so much more of the same. Late 80’s BMW’s. A couple of Accords. A 1st gen Taurus, and a smattering of older SUV’s that were looking like ‘third cars’ due to all the Georgia pollen built up on them. Then it hit me.Americans are in a great position. A frugal Yank can spend the next 20 years buying virtually no expensive big ticket items and still be perfectly fine. Used car prices are becoming cheaper quicker… because a lot of folks simply can’t economize to save their asses from first base. I would estimate that our country has more consummate spenders than any other country on the planet. But then there are tens of millions of people that save, invest and plan. For us it’s a wonderland of high quality cheapness.Buying a house in most of the United States is less than 100k. With 20% down and a 5% interest rate that’s about $550 a month. A car? If you’re willing to learn the absolute basics you can more than likely make a $3000 car last at least 5 years and sell it for $1500. I will admit that there are plenty of other areas where inflation is going to start opening people’s eyes. The list as long as the government is involved. But if you’re smart enough to maximize the investments and minimize the divestments (a.k.a. being a tightwad) a recessionary economy can be quite a boon.