Have you heard about Grace Groner? She lived her life in a small, one bedroom home and died in January at the age of 100. She worked for Abbott Laboratories for 43 years as a secretary and lived a very unassuming life. Growing up in the Depression, she knew all about living frugally and saw no need to live any other way during her life. When she died she left $7 million to Lake Forest College, her alma mater. In 1935 she bought $180 worth of stock in Abbott, it split multiple times and she just keep reinvesting the dividends.
Grace's story inspired me to write a blog post on the Lessons in Frugality we can glean from her life. It is posted on my other blog and if you'd like you can read it here.
5 comments:
It does pay to be frugal. I would have spent a little of that money on a vacation to Europe though. That has always been my dream.
It pays to be frugal.... but she never got to enjoy that money? It just goes to show you, you can't take it with you. On one hand you there is the lesson that money is not and should not be the most important thing in your life, and on the other hand you learn that you can't take it with you... and what is the point of living so frugally if you will never be able to enjoy what you are saving?
According to the news story she did travel widely after she retired. She also regularly attended games and cultural events at her alma mater. She apparently had a lot of friends and was very social. I do think she enjoyed it. I just don't think she was extravagant with it. I was inspired by the fact that she preferred to use the majority of the money to bless others. She had what she needed and that was enough for her.
I would have to say that she used it to its best potential then. What an amazing life to lead.
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