To Fritter or not to Fritter
By Bret Burquest
Some people come into money and
fritter it away; others have a knack for turning money into more money.
Jim Lindsey graduated from high
school in
In 1966, Lindsey was drafted in
the second round by the Minnesota Vikings under Coach Norm Van Brocklin.
Bud Grant was hired to replace Van
Brocklin in 1967 and Lindsey fit right in the new
coach's system as a role player (backup running back and tight end) and soon
became special team's captain on all the kicking plays.
Lindsey was a marginal offensive
player for the Vikings, ever fearful he wouldn't make the team. He rushed for a
total of 566 yards and six touchdowns, and received 65 passes for 632 yards and
four touchdowns over seven seasons. But on special teams he was invaluable at
breaking up wedges on kickoffs and covering punts.
Having played for Frank Broyles in
college, Lindsey developed a deep appreciation of coaching. Throughout his
seven years in pro football, Lindsey always assumed he would someday be a
football coach, probably at the high school level somewhere in
As a second round draft pick back
in 1966, Lindsey signed a three-year deal with the Vikings which paid an annual
salary of $25,000 in the first year, $27,500 the second year and $30,000 the
third year. He also received a signing bonus of $90.000. After taxes, the
up-front cash bonus had been reduced to $60,000.
Lindsey was a small-town kid who
majored in math in college. Instead of frittering away his fresh wad of cash on
instant frills (cars, jewelry, etc.), he made a $60,000 down payment on a
$167,000 chunk of
Payments on the land came out of
his salary while he and his wife lived modestly in a rented apartment.
Three years after purchasing the
land, he sold it for $1.5 million.
Lindsey never did get into
coaching, but he did start a real estate investment company in
Presently, Lindsey owns 27,500
apartment units, 12,000 acres of farmland and 28 golf courses. Not including
income from the apartment building operation (which is spread over the Ozarks
to
Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas
Cowboys, was also a member of the
Unless you're born into it, money
is hard to come by in this world, especially if you have to work for someone
else. If you start your own business it's even harder because it requires a
personal commitment, diligence and plenty of good luck along the way. And no
matter how much effort you put into it, success is never guaranteed.
So if you suddenly acquire a large
sum of cash, don't fritter it away on flashy goodies or get-rich-quick schemes
-- invest it wisely in something worthwhile, such as real property or
furthering your own enterprise.
If you define success by the size
of your bankroll, you need to follow certain steps, starting with a long-term
plan. Then be prepared to sacrifice personal luxury, remain persistent and have
the patience to see it through.
Personally, I believe success is
being content with everyday life, regardless of the surrounding insanity.
I've solved all my money problems
the easy way -- by not having very much of it; just enough to maintain a
debt-free existence and never any extra money to fritter away on anything
beyond the bare necessities of life.
To fritter or not to fritter, that
is the question.
But it's only a dilemma if you
have more money than you need.
* * *
Bret Burquest is an award-winning columns and author of four
novels. Contact bret@centurytel.net
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