A Lesson in Savings

Dear GoldBugs,

One day in August, 1964, I noticed that the gas gauge on my ’55 Chevy was closing in on “E”.  I pulled into a gas station and the attendant came out to my car.  Regular gas that day, on average across the nation, was 28 cents a gallon.  The other choice was hi-test at 31 cents.   I couldn’t afford the hi-test.  “I need a gallon of regular,” I told him.  He opened the gas cap and pumped a gallon.  I paid with a quarter and three pennies.  There was no such thing as plastic to swipe.  I was 17 years old.

I drove from the gas station to the brand new hamburger place out by the malt shop near my high school.  I paid 25 cents (another silver quarter)  for a big ole honkin’ hamburger with all the trimmings,  and I paid a nickel for a Coke in a bottle.  “Still Only 5 Cents” was the greatest slogan Coca-Cola ever had.  The new hamburger joint was called McDonalds.  Just a few months later, another new place opened, called Burger King, with an even bigger hamburger for a quarter than McDonalds was selling.  That became my favorite burger joint.  Hey, my folks taught me to be thrifty.

I made $1.15 an hour at my after-school job bagging groceries at the first Winn Dixie built near my neighborhood.  Plus tips, usually a nickel or a dime, for carrying the groceries to the car.  That was big money, and it was a big step up from my first job, where I was paid One dollar for Two hours on Saturdays, wrapping catfish in newspaper for old Captain Bill to sell from his truck near the tracks downtown. Read more