Cover of my 7th grade school handbook. Yes, that is me.
It’s a running joke with my close friends and family that I’m a pretty frugal guy. I don’t mind spending money, but my purchases are typically thought out and I like to shop around for the best price possible.
So where did this frugal trait come from? Here is some background.
I’m an only child that was raised by a single mother and by no means did we have a money tree growing in the backyard. My mom taught me the value of a dollar at a very young age and I’m very appreciative of that. Oh, and if you’ve lumped me in the “spoiled rotten only child category,” not so fast.
I started working when I was around 10 or 11-years-old. How so? We lived in a pretty sizeable neighborhood in Atlanta at the time and all of the houses had a standard black metal mailbox. I can’t remember exactly how the idea came about, but I started painting mailboxes – $10 for the black part ant $2 extra for the flag. It was a hit to say the least! All I had to do was get one person on a street to take part and then all of their neighbors jumped on the bandwagon.
Now, at some point my mom realized just how much I appreciated the value of a dollar and learned to use it against me. Sure I got grounded like most kids that get in to mischief and was told I couldn’t leave the house… but a point came where my mom found a much better solution. I can’t remember exactly what I did, but I got in trouble to say the least (probably around 12-years-old). Rather than ground me she made me pay her a fee… I think it may have been $100. After griping about how unfair the punishment was I gave her the money and she informed me it would be used to take us grocery shopping. Now, this may sound mean, but it was very affective. I’ll never forget the trip to the grocery story and how focused I was on purchasing items that were either on sale or generic.
I’ve worked ever since the day I painted that first mailbox and have always been extremely driven. The drive that burns inside me is what will ensure that I work to do everything possible to help make Greensboro an even better place for you to call home.
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