Chasing a dream without coming up short in the attempt. Clive.
Clive always said that if the world were to end tomorrow, he at least wanted to do it sitting behind the wheel of a 1967 Chevrolet. At that point in his life, he really didn't care if the sky fell or if aliens came to take everyone away. This car was everything to him. So much so that he wanted to take his last breath with his hands on the wheel of this car. But there's a big problem, a very big one. All of this was practically a dream for him. In his country, these types of classic cars are extremely expensive, so it wouldn't be easy to buy one to fulfill his wish. It was easier to buy a modern car than a classic one, but for him those cars aren't real, he only likes the classics.
In his case, ever since he could remember, he had always been obsessed with classic cars in one way or another. He remembers that it all started a long time ago with some words that his grandfather told him. The two of them got along and very often it was his grandfather who told him stories about the real cars. His grandfather had several of these classic cars and very often he showed him the pictures. But unfortunately the economic situation made him sell them all to get out of debt. His grandfather always regretted having to do so, and he always conveyed to Clive this desire to have one of these cars. For this reason he grew up with such a great love for them.
Nowadays the situation has not improved much. His grandfather is no longer with us but Clive is still in debt and cannot afford to buy a good classic car either to fulfill his wish or to honor the memory of his grandfather who died without ever being able to ride one again. As for money Clive wasn't exactly a spendthrift, but his job as an administrative assistant in a medium-sized company didn't allow for luxuries, much less such an expensive car. Between rent and bills, almost all of his salary was spent, leaving little to save.
Clive has been waiting for many years for some kind of miracle to happen. Maybe he'll get a promotion or something like that. But nothing, so far nothing has happened. So he sadly acknowledged not long ago that if he wanted a classic car he had to earn it, even though you know that meant giving up certain comforts. Basic comforts, because it's not like he had expensive things. That's why he made some changes in his expenses all looking to save as much as he could. First he got rid of his subscription to streaming platforms. Why watch series and movies when you can save money a month? Although this one hurt him a little. Then he started selling things he no longer used and some that he did, but he needed all the money he could get.
He also did some things a little more drastic. He stopped using the electricity in the house. And he started cooking in the yard with an improvised charcoal stove. Charcoal was cheaper than gas or electricity. So it would be worth it. He also stopped eating out at restaurants and stopped buying the food he liked for cheaper things that he could spend less on. And these were just some of the saving methods he used, because he saved everything he put in. He did the math and saw that the piggy bank was growing much faster. Even so, he realized that this way, although it was effective, takes years to reach the goal and he wanted to be able to buy it a little faster.
That's why he had to make a risky decision. He was going to invest his money in a business to make it grow much faster. But he had to be careful because if he messed up he would lose all his savings and would have to start from scratch. It was really a super difficult decision for him. But well, it was the only way to advance faster in achieving his dream. That added to what he earned at work should be enough to buy that car he had wanted so much. Now he saw the good side, what did he invest the money in? He started looking for options and found one that he liked.
It was about buying old cars, restoring them and selling them. Other people would take care of doing the work; he just had to put up the money. The problem was that his budget wasn't that big so he could only start with one car. And that's exactly what he did. He went and talked to a garage about his business proposal. They agreed and told him to bring them the car. Now the thing was to get a cheap car that could be restored and earn money later by selling it. He started searching online and found one. It only cost $1,000 and wasn't that damaged. So he could sell it for a good amount of money once he restored it.
When he bought the car, he took it to his partners at the garage. There, in just a few weeks, they had it as good as new. Clive was happy because now was the time to sell it and see how much he would earn. It cost him 1000 dollars and he managed to sell it for 100 thousand. It was a great deal. Now he had the money he needed for the car of his dreams. But he wasn't foolish, he was very smart. He knew that if he bought the car now, he wouldn't have the money to continue doing business. That's why he decided to invest the money again to buy more cars and then sell them. That way, later on, he would have what he wanted plus a fund to be able to live and invest.
After several months, he finally managed to get the amount he wanted. It was the dream moment he had waited for so long, it was time to buy the classic car of his dreams. And that's exactly what he did. He bought a '67 Chevrolet, the one he always wanted. Getting to this point had cost many sacrifices and years of waiting. But everything that you try for comes true, it's a shame that his grandfather wasn't here to see this moment. But Clive would live this moment for both of them. And yes, now Clive didn't want the world to end, he wanted to enjoy his dream car for many years.
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