SecretGeek
New member
I would like to share a story with the motive of providing inspiration, at least to those who are open minded (dreamers) and may like to get pumped up every now and then. My initial connection to this forum is related to being in the market for a tractor. Then I met BlueChip and took mental ownership of a Kama 554 with FEL & Hog.
About a year ago, I applied for credit through two local tractor dealers. One finance company turned me down flat while the other required $7K as a down stroke which was $2K more than I had. Both tractors were in the 50HP range with a sticker price a tad higher than $20K. Nothing shows up on my credit bureau, good or bad, have been on the job going on 7 years, and make a tad less than $60K per year plus beneifits.
Allow me to explain. I was raised in a lower middle class family having 8 brothers and sisters, which received college degrees to major universities across the US. Most worked their way through college, while a couple of us received scholarships, including myself. My choice was the Razorbacks under Lou Holtz, which recently got smeared by the #1 team in the country USC last weekend. I could dunk a basketball in 9th grade although I am only 6'2" and could run fast for a "white boy" and have been called "Danny White-boy" before, after the old Dallas QB.
When I got out of college, I was not fortunate to receive a college degree like my other siblings and I still don't have one. I married young, was poor, and had twin sons (born on 9-11, my birthday is the same as Bin Laden's), and then took off to the oil fields in West Texas and Oklahoma like a young whippersnapper. After the government began to regulate the fields, I found myself looking for other work. Over the next 20 years or so, I worked my way up from digging ditches in winter ice for minimum wage, to becoming a C++ computer programmer in the R & D department for a NYSE corporation headquartered in Dallas, where I work now.
During my journey, I did just about everything to try to earn a honest living to pay my child support after becoming divorced a couple of times. To give you an idea of soem ability, I was selling Lincolns in Atlanta wearing pavement out and won a sales award to wine and dine with Mickey Mantle for a lobster dinner with the "Mick" before he passed away. When I later became a stockbroker, I made $5K in one day and beat a company record, and was talented enough to hire several sales assistants including my college degreed older brother. I have partied with Evander Holifield, Roger Clinton, Bill's brother, which played in the band at our high school prom, and many other famous and infamous people. In my short life, if you can think of it, I probably did it, although I did learn when I screwed up, and I always tried to be ethical.
Anyway, after many years, I did not have a dime saved nor did I have any assets. I changed, was focused, and I started saving for my future homestead. My idea was to buy a piece of land I could work and become totally self sufficient. I did not go out on the town or buy anything for five whole years. I saved every penny I could after teaching myself how to program computers. When I taught myself how to write code, I studied 18 hours per day and slept by the keyboard on the floor only to wake up and start pecking again. Eventually, I knew enough to get hired by the company I work for now. In the first five years, I socked away about $60K, some of which I used to buy almost a half of a section of land, or 294 acres of farm land, which was financed to me by a well to do landowner for $1967 per month for 20 years @ 5.75% APR and that includes a $15K balloon payment due in about 6 more years. I figure that land will be worth $1M in about 10 years, but that is another story.
Now I saved another $5K to put down on a tractor which I need to work the grapes I have planted. The way I figure it, I can grow grapes, and after three years, each acre will provide $5K gross. 152 acres are open with the rest timber, some of which are good pine and hearty Oak. I am no rocket scientiest, but I can multiply $5K x 152 acres and come up with an mind boggling potential potential each year. I have arranged for three fulltime employed (not by me) spanish citizens with green cards to work the grapes for a cut of the gross. The largest winery in the state mentioned they would buy all the grapes I could grow. If I get time and you are interested, I will fill you in about all my dreams on how to be self sufficient. Believe me, I want to invent a solar tractor but it has already been done. I just need to be able to afford one.
The moral to the story, I went from nothing to .....hopefully when I retire, to about $20 million or so. On my journey, I met BlueChip.
Thanks for the professionalism BlueChip (dealer in Arkansas).
About a year ago, I applied for credit through two local tractor dealers. One finance company turned me down flat while the other required $7K as a down stroke which was $2K more than I had. Both tractors were in the 50HP range with a sticker price a tad higher than $20K. Nothing shows up on my credit bureau, good or bad, have been on the job going on 7 years, and make a tad less than $60K per year plus beneifits.
Allow me to explain. I was raised in a lower middle class family having 8 brothers and sisters, which received college degrees to major universities across the US. Most worked their way through college, while a couple of us received scholarships, including myself. My choice was the Razorbacks under Lou Holtz, which recently got smeared by the #1 team in the country USC last weekend. I could dunk a basketball in 9th grade although I am only 6'2" and could run fast for a "white boy" and have been called "Danny White-boy" before, after the old Dallas QB.
When I got out of college, I was not fortunate to receive a college degree like my other siblings and I still don't have one. I married young, was poor, and had twin sons (born on 9-11, my birthday is the same as Bin Laden's), and then took off to the oil fields in West Texas and Oklahoma like a young whippersnapper. After the government began to regulate the fields, I found myself looking for other work. Over the next 20 years or so, I worked my way up from digging ditches in winter ice for minimum wage, to becoming a C++ computer programmer in the R & D department for a NYSE corporation headquartered in Dallas, where I work now.
During my journey, I did just about everything to try to earn a honest living to pay my child support after becoming divorced a couple of times. To give you an idea of soem ability, I was selling Lincolns in Atlanta wearing pavement out and won a sales award to wine and dine with Mickey Mantle for a lobster dinner with the "Mick" before he passed away. When I later became a stockbroker, I made $5K in one day and beat a company record, and was talented enough to hire several sales assistants including my college degreed older brother. I have partied with Evander Holifield, Roger Clinton, Bill's brother, which played in the band at our high school prom, and many other famous and infamous people. In my short life, if you can think of it, I probably did it, although I did learn when I screwed up, and I always tried to be ethical.
Anyway, after many years, I did not have a dime saved nor did I have any assets. I changed, was focused, and I started saving for my future homestead. My idea was to buy a piece of land I could work and become totally self sufficient. I did not go out on the town or buy anything for five whole years. I saved every penny I could after teaching myself how to program computers. When I taught myself how to write code, I studied 18 hours per day and slept by the keyboard on the floor only to wake up and start pecking again. Eventually, I knew enough to get hired by the company I work for now. In the first five years, I socked away about $60K, some of which I used to buy almost a half of a section of land, or 294 acres of farm land, which was financed to me by a well to do landowner for $1967 per month for 20 years @ 5.75% APR and that includes a $15K balloon payment due in about 6 more years. I figure that land will be worth $1M in about 10 years, but that is another story.
Now I saved another $5K to put down on a tractor which I need to work the grapes I have planted. The way I figure it, I can grow grapes, and after three years, each acre will provide $5K gross. 152 acres are open with the rest timber, some of which are good pine and hearty Oak. I am no rocket scientiest, but I can multiply $5K x 152 acres and come up with an mind boggling potential potential each year. I have arranged for three fulltime employed (not by me) spanish citizens with green cards to work the grapes for a cut of the gross. The largest winery in the state mentioned they would buy all the grapes I could grow. If I get time and you are interested, I will fill you in about all my dreams on how to be self sufficient. Believe me, I want to invent a solar tractor but it has already been done. I just need to be able to afford one.
The moral to the story, I went from nothing to .....hopefully when I retire, to about $20 million or so. On my journey, I met BlueChip.
Thanks for the professionalism BlueChip (dealer in Arkansas).
