Never Being Poor Again

Many, many years ago when our family was young and needy I heard about a way to never be poor again.  I decided to try it. I guess you could say it was a sort of mind game you played with yourself. First I had to get my hands on a one hundred dollar bill.  With one paycheck coming in and a wife and four children to feed on my meager salary from the railroad it took a long time to accomplish. I had to find ways to make additional income and practice real discipline but after several months of exaggeration on my railroad expense account and some profitable visits to yard sales, I managed to go to the bank and have a lot of $1 and $5 bills exchanged into one crisp fresh $100 bill.  I folded it over twice and put it in my wallet along with my cards for memberships and such.  There were so many things I was tempted to buy for myself and whenever I was tempted I would think about that $100 bill and often I would say to myself, “I could buy that if I really wanted it.” Suddenly I no longer wanted whatever it was that was tempting me.  The simple fact the money was there in my pocket made everything different.  I can’t remember ever spending it. I gave it away a few times to someone who really needed it, then replaced it.  That felt better than anything I guess.  I still have that $100 and it still stands between me and a lot of dumb things I don’t really need.