Evenings With Grandpa

I lived with my grandparents for about 3 years while I went to University.  My grandfather never wasted his words and when he spoke, it was either important, or witty.  Apparently, he never spoke till he was 5.  The stories go that they had taken him to some 'witch' in Ireland who pulled out his tongue, looked at it and said that this boys was just fine and would speak when he was good and ready.  And so it was.
 
My grandfather taught me everything I needed to know about finances evenings after supper.  We truly don't learn enough in schools.  I learnt about investing and he actually got me some AB Bonds which back then were 14%.  He taught me how to do my own income taxes saying that I needed to learn to understand how money is made and how the government takes it share.  He taught me about the stock market and all the terms that go with that.  He taught me about mortgages and interest rates and saving etc.  Without him, I would never had saved that first $1000 to buy a bond.  I saved $5000 over the years only to cash it in when Kevin and I wanted to buy our first house.  He also had $5000 in a life insurance policy his parents took out for him.  By buying and selling real estate, we took that meager $10 000 and made it into a whole heck of a lot more.  I have been told I should be a financial advisor by financial advisors and that I should be a realtor by realtors.  But, alas, it doesn't interest me THAT much!
 
I owe all my current wealth to my grandfather.  The fact that at this moment, I don't have to work, I can homeschool my kids, I can spend the time researching options for Cory that I would not otherwise have time for.  All this a gift--a gift of knowledge--of course I had to DO something with the knowledge for it is useless without ACTION.  But I took my training to real life, applied it and succeeded.  I could have been way more successful financially, but chose family instead.  Once I learnt how to win at the 'money game', I was no longer interested in focusing on it so much.  I know how to play my cards to work the least to maximize the most.  Of course, anything can happen in life, but with the knowledge grandpa taught me, I understand how to manage my money...something that every school should teach their children.   Of course, at today's house prices, the amount I have is peanuts, but with my creativity, I can continue to live a life without the 9-5.  There is no greater gift he could have given me.  I put his cherished words to good use.