It Didn’t Start With a Plan
I didn’t start with a financial plan.
I started with a paycheck… and a decision.
I was about 20 years old, working at Walmart, making $3.35 an hour. Like most people at that stage, I wasn’t thinking about retirement or long-term wealth. I was thinking about getting by.
But somewhere along the way, I decided to do something different.
I started buying stock.
Not a lot—about $100 a month through a payroll deduction program.
That wasn’t extra money. That was sacrifice. That was choosing to give something up in the present for something I hoped would matter in the future.
At the time, I didn’t fully understand the market. But I understood Walmart. I worked there. I saw how it operated. I believed in it.
So I invested in what I knew.
What That Early Decision Could Have Become
If you go back to 1988, buying 100 shares of Walmart would have cost around $1,600.
Over time, Walmart split its stock several times after I started investing:
- 1990 → 2-for-1
- 1993 → 2-for-1
- 1999 → 2-for-1
- 2024 → 3-for-1
That original 100 shares would have turned into roughly 2,400 shares today.
With Walmart trading around $127 per share, that’s a value of about $300,000.
From a $1,600 starting point.
That’s the power of time.
That’s the power of consistency.
But That’s Not the Whole Story
Because I didn’t keep it all.
I sold shares along the way.
Sometimes I needed the money.
Sometimes I just wanted something.
And one of those moments taught me a lesson I’ve never forgotten.
The Truck That Looked Like Success
I can still see it.
Standing there, looking at a brand-new truck.
It had everything—clean lines, big tires, that feeling like you had finally made it.
And like a lot of people do, I told myself:
“I’ve earned this.”
What I didn’t tell myself was what it was going to cost me long-term.
Because I didn’t just buy that truck.
I sold stock to do it.
Stock that didn’t wear out.
Stock that didn’t depreciate.
Stock that didn’t need maintenance or fuel.
It just quietly did its job.
And I traded it for something that started losing value the second I drove it off the lot.
At the time, it felt like a win.
Looking back, I understand it differently.
It was a trade of long-term freedom for short-term satisfaction.
When That Lesson Finally Hit Me
Financial decisions don’t usually hit you right away.
They show up later.
Sometimes years later.
I had set a goal to retire at 45.
I made it at 46.
Just one year off.
But when I look back, it wasn’t one big mistake that caused that delay.
It was a series of smaller decisions.
That truck was one of them.
Each one added time.
The Wake-Up Call
Around 2000, I thought I had things figured out again.
I got into day trading.
Made money. Started feeling confident. Thought I had found a faster way.
Then the tech bubble hit.
And just like that, the market reminded me that it doesn’t care how confident you are.
That moment reset me.
It didn’t push me away from investing.
It pushed me back to what I actually understood.
What Actually Worked
What worked wasn’t chasing trends.
It wasn’t trying to outsmart the market.
It was staying consistent in areas I understood.
Retail. Walmart. Businesses I could see and evaluate.
Over time, I made money in every one of those.
Not because I was lucky.
Because I stayed patient.
Real Estate: Learning Through Experience
Real estate became another chapter in the journey.
I inherited a home, put work into it, and sold it. Then rolled that money into another property and did it again.
That process worked.
Until I made two mistakes that taught me lessons I wish I had understood earlier.
The first was not paying close enough attention to the market when I built a home in 2008.
The second was commingling my inheritance during marriage.
That second decision had long-term consequences.
It taught me something that doesn’t get talked about enough:
Making money is one thing.
Protecting it is another.
Rebuilding and Moving Forward
After retiring, I didn’t sit still.
I started a business. Learned from it. Then pivoted.
Eventually, I found my lane again in real estate and founded Southern Belle Properties.
We bought homes that needed work, put time and money into them, and created value.
The goal was simple:
Build something that could grow.
And all along the way, I kept investing.
What This Journey Taught Me
I didn’t get everything right.
Far from it.
But I got enough right.
And more importantly, I learned from what I didn’t.
If there’s one thing this journey has taught me, it’s this:
👉 Wealth isn’t built in one big decision.
It’s built in thousands of small ones.
Some good. Some bad.
But all of them shaping your future.
What’s Next
In Part 3, we’ll shift from story to strategy.
We’ll talk about:
- How to build the right financial team
- Why relationships matter
- What different financial experts teach—and how to use it
Because knowing what to do is one thing.
Building a system around it is another.
PART 2 OF A 3 PART SERIES
Disclaimer
I am not a certified financial professional. Always consult qualified professionals before making financial decisions. Interview multiple advisors and do your due diligence.