Spilled Wheat

Read Time - 2 Minutes

I was a young teenager driving grain truck one day for my relatives in the rolling golden wheat fields of eastern Washington when my uncle radioed from his combine, “You missed some.  Grab your shovel and pick it up.”   His voice was informative but stern.  

Whenever my uncle radioed that he needed to unload, it was my job to drive the grain truck alongside the moving combine so he could fill my bed with harvested wheat.  Occasionally, I would drive too fast and the flow of wheat from the combine would fall behind my truck onto the ground.  That is when I would get the radio message and grab my shovel to scoop the lonely piles of wheat into the truck bed.

At the time, I thought shoveling the spilled wheat was a waste of time because I did not understand the value of filling the truck completely for the lengthy trip to the grain silos.  I have since learned how important it is to put today’s resources to good use to prepare for the future: “but [ants] store up their food during the summer, getting ready for winter” (Proverbs 6:8).

We all are (or should be) investing for our future, but some of our investments may have dropped by the wayside: an old retirement account that is not growing, inherited money sitting in the bank, an investment that could be more tax-efficient, or a college-fund that needs adjusting.

Driving the grain truck at the right speed to capture the full benefit of the harvest took attention.  Likewise, we need to give attention to our investments to make sure we are on track to meet our future financial goals.  My uncle had it figured out, as did the proverbial ants.  Let us make sure our payloads are full and make it to their destination.

Doug Hanson, MBA

Wealth Advisor