Not bragging, I hope you understand, but I am among the wealthiest people in my town, if not the richest. Consequently, I am often asked for secrets I might have to attaining great wealth by those who would like to be rich too but haven’t quite managed to make it yet.
I will admit I have been stingy with imparting my knowledge on the matter, unlike Warren Buffett who shares his know-how freely. Asked why he does that, he says it’s because he knows no one will do what he suggests.
But now that I am on my way to third base and will be heading for home one of these days, I think it would be less than generous of me to hang on to what I know.
So here goes. If you are interested, follow carefully.
I have never made a fortune investing, though I own a few shares in this and that. Never bought lottery tickets or a hockey team. Stayed away from the racetracks and casinos.
But what I have relied on, as did the pirates of olde, is buried treasure.
If you’re brave, try following the bouncing ball.
Thirty years ago, I erected a six-foot-high board fence around my backyard. I could have hired someone with a tractor to come in and dig deep postholes to bury the many wooden posts I would need to complete the structure. But, I took another path, one I knew would someday pay off.
Instead of postholes, I used steel fence spikes which were a new thing at the time. Less fuss and muss, simple to use. But here was my thinking.
I paid $5 per spike and I knew that someday those things would go up in value. I also knew I would be taking them back up out of the ground eventually when the fence needed replacing. My calculation was that they would go up in value during the time they were buried in the ground.
And they did.
That was 30 years ago that the spikes were buried and this week, I sold 10 of them that I had removed from the ground as my neighbour wanted to replace the section of fence we share.
I sold them for $8 each.
The beauty of my winfall of $1 per year for 30 years is that during all that time, no one but my family and I knew about my buried treasure. So there was no chance of it being stolen in the middle of the night. And anyone with the energy to tear up my fence to make off with my spikes, would almost have been entitled to take them.
And my luck will continue. I don’t mind announcing to the world that there are 50 more spikes holding up the rest of my fence. I can’t imagine what they might be worth when I finally sell them someday but I know the gain will be considerable.
So this is how it is done. Take your treasures and bury them in your backyard.
Forget Warren Buffett. Clever as he might be, I am sure he never thought of doing that.
Ahoy matey!
©2023 Jim Hagarty
