Frugal Living to Wealth
The Example of W. Clement Stone
I should have listened to Dad when I was growing up. I would be worth much more than I am today. He used to say that if you want to get ahead in investing, invest in opposite of what everyone else is investing in. This was especially true in the agricultural sector particularly in dairy farming a business that he had been in for years even though he was not a farmer himself. When the US Agricultural Department told people to get into buying milk cows, he said that farmers should be cutting their herds. He was right. The people who were cutting their herds ended up making a lot of money because everyone wanted what they had, but soon the market was overrun with milk and the farmers who bought cows at high prices lost money in the end. Over the years, many who have taken his advice and made lots of money.
When everyone else is afraid of losing everything that they have, others are capitalizing on the chaos. In the Great Depression of the 1930s, savvy entrepreneurs took advantage of low start-up costs and were able to capitalize on the mistakes that other business owners made. Equipment and supplies were so cheap they were practically being given away. Commercial rent was cheap and the demand for work was so high it drove down the wages that were paid out to workers. This allowed the entrepreneurs to hire workers at rock bottom…
