School Days

Most kids go to school to learn something.  Not krantcents!  In nursery school he was teaching the other children how to tie their shoes.  Not bad for four (4) years old.  That was the same year he started piano lessons.  He quit after three years because practicing interfered with working.  At seven years old, he started his first business, renting parking spaces for ten cents.  He took his weekend earnings and bought a wallet.  This was his first mistake; he did not have any money left to put into it!  He worked sixteen hours over every weekend in his parent’s businesses.  Anybody else would be considered an overachiever, except in this family.

Boy Scouts, and 4-H Club came next.  He did not do too much in scouting because he did not care for camping and stuff.  4-H Club was more fun, taking care of animals and winning medals at the County Fair.  Other club activities included learning to shoot rifles, woodworking and fund raising (selling candy).  Sales were an important experience for the future.  This lasted three (3) years until he entered prep school.  School meant living there, at 12 years old, it was a traumatic experience.  It was a military school which was filled with rich kids from around the world.  Networking 101!

Lessons learned included put downs, teasing and discipline.  Just like home!  Krantcents was an average kid in an above average environment.  He managed to excel in this competitive environment and graduate at seventeen years old.  College was much more fun!  Summer jobs included door to door sales, manufacturing and office services.  These experiences shaped his future more than he realized.  Summer employment earnings became spending money for college.  During this time, many personal finance skills were developed.  Some of these skills are described in First Job Lessons.

Soldier/Teacher/Leader

College graduation was poorly timed to coincide with the height of the Vietnam War!  Within six (6) months, greetings from Uncle Sam!  He was drafted and entered the US Army on Friday the thirteenth at Fort Dix, New Jersey.  Thanks to the junior ROTC at military school, he was placed in charge of the basic training company.  A leader at 22 years old!  He demonstrated everything that a recruit needed to learn.  Leading the company to the rifle range, scoring expert in five weapons and damn lucky!  The lucky part was not going to Vietnam!

He entered MP school where again, he was selected to lead.  Graduation meant Vietnam, no way!  Lucky again, he was sent to Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas to work at the USDB (armed services prison).  Lucky again, he ends up teaching business classes to the inmates.  He stayed there for the whole time, promoted very quickly and left early to go to graduate school.  Next step, the business world!

He went through a series of management roles in finance, accounting and administration with large and small companies.  Controller, Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer were opportunities to demonstrate his financial and administrative skills.  At thirty-one, he set a goal and created a plan to be financially independent before turning forty (40) years old.  At thirty-eight (38) years old, he accomplished his goal!

Entrepreneur/Teacher/Blogger

This was accomplished by investing in income property, and a fast food restaurant.  During this period, he added studio catering to his series of businesses.  Seven years later, he moved on to the next phase of his life, returning to corporate America and financial consulting.  For nine (9) years, he performed as a contract controller and independent consultant for large and medium size companies.  During this period, his children graduated college and moved out!  He and his wife downsized and entered another phase of life.  Giving back or finding your passion?  He became an educator!  This may have been fate, if you recall his experience at four years old.

As an educator, he introduced a business perspective to education.  He developed project oriented classes in computer applications and started a computer certification class.  A financial literacy class soon followed and then a exploring careers class.  Two of his favorites, this is the basis for his blog!  Krantcents.com is a personal finance themed site with articles on how to manage, control and make better decisions about money.  It is intended to be an interactive and timely exchange of ideas.  This is another opportunity to influence people and their lives.  What influences krantcents?  Krantcents joined the Yakezie challenge when his Alexa ranking was over four million and thanks to the support of the other financial bloggers in the network, he is well under 150,000.  The benefits and influence of the Yakezie community can be seen in his writing.  This blog is the beginning of sharing some of his thoughts that you may find interesting and useful.