My Stingray Bike

Read Time / 2 minutes

Theme / Wise Investing

There was a cold wind blowing as I walked through my neighborhood in the darkness of a fall evening in northern Idaho.  The blackness was punctuated by an occasional streetlight or porch light – and my flickering K-Mart special flashlight.  I had a goal, but it required nightly walks knocking on doors, searching for houses with their living room lights on.

My goal was to sell enough Christmas cards to earn a blue stingray bike, one like every boy in grade school wanted to own.  For every Christmas card order I garnered, I earned points, and the item I wanted most out of the catalog was the shimmering aqua-blue bike with hi-rise handlebars and a banana seat. 

Earning points was an iterative process, one Christmas card order at a time.  Many evenings during October and November, I would canvas the neighborhood in my down jacket, stocking cap and gloves, encouraging folks to be ready for the Christmas season by having a stack of cards to mail.  The number of cards I sold was related to the time I was able to spend shuffling from one house to another.  

In hindsight, it was a good lesson for growing an investment portfolio: the more money a person invests, the more the investment will grow.  Proverbs 13:11 reads “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.”  When we receive a bonus at work, have a yard sale, receive money as a gift, or earn extra income from a small job, we would be wise to invest it to help reach our financial goals. 

I eventually earned the blue sting ray and rode it proudly the next spring.  My little by little approach paid off; I had reached my goal.  Likewise, investing any extra income we receive will help us achieve our goals.  The next time you receive a cash birthday gift, think of investing it for your future birthdays.

Doug Hanson, MBA

Wealth Advisor

(208) 697-3699

doug@christianwm.com