Hugh Almond drove the same car for 28 years. Granted, it was a 1965 Ford Mustang but even for a car that recognizable, 28 years is an eternity in the automobile industry.

He served in three wars and was on the cutting edge of technology when computers were introduced. Today, he is living comfortably — playing golf and smoking his pipe — and enjoying the retirement he created for himself.

Almond, 83, joined the U.S.Army in 1942 at the height of World War II and provided transportation all over Europe. He left the Army in 1946 after the Allied victory but was recalled to serve in the Korean conflict and then stayed in the military until he had 20 years of active duty. The last 15 years of his career were by far the most enjoyable, Almond said.

During that time, computers were invented and figuring out what to do with all the data was a new concept. Almond spent the majority of his Army years in data processing and stayed in through the Vietnam War.

Almond holds a master’s in business administration degree from High Point University but never worked in the private sector after being discharged from the Army. His service career was his life.

Neither he nor his wife of 54 years had health problems until she began having strokes six years ago. The couple moved to Trinity Oaks in January 2000 and she died the next month.

Almond says the two worked hand in hand managing their money during their years together but they also did their own things. Unlike some couples, Almond and his wife didn’t keep separate bank accounts. It was all in one place and they knew how much they had to work with.

“If she saw something she wanted, she bought it. If Isaw something Iwanted, Ibought it,” Almond said.

That could have been a coat, a suit or a set of golf clubs. Houses and cars were an all-together different story for this pair, however.

Thanks to property appreciation, Almond was able to make money on every house they owned — even if they lived in it only for a couple of years. But it took them six years of marriage before they could afford their first car.

Almond and his wife never spent much on cars — he has owned only a handful in his life — and they never drove one for less than 10 years. That 36-year-old Mustang, he said, has never had engine problems and is still on the road.

“We didn’t need to live high on the hog,” Almond said. “Iwas raised during the Depression era.”

Planning for retirement was always a consideration, but a minor one, for the Stanly County native. Almond doesn’t complain about the price of today’s gasoline but he does look at soup can labels to see which brand is the better deal on any given day. He also recommends buying toothpaste and similar items at places like the Dollar Store, simply because it’s cheaper than grocery or discount stores.

After all, wasting money isn’t smart, he says.

The couple’s method of financial management was a learning experience, said Almond. Like most people who handle their own money, he won some and he lost some, but he was fairly conservative in the investment choices he made and he encourages others to do the same.

“Buy something like bonds or put it in an IRA(individual retirement account),” Almond said. “Social Security is not something you can retire on; I couldn’t live on Social Security.”

He took his own advice and bought savings bonds from the U.S. government, but IRAs were not available during his prime working years. Even so, Almond deposited money into one and has been drawing on it for 20 years now. It’s still worth twice what he put in. He says IRAs pay interest and the money can accumulate more quickly than you realize.

His other recommendation, also a conservative one, is to buy blue-chip stocks, which sell at a high price because of public confidence and a long record of strong earnings. Blue-chip stocks make up his entire portfolio, but he doesn’t discount the rebounding power of technology stocks.

Regardless of the type of investment, Almond will tell anybody that asks to do the research and invest the money themselves.

“I’m very pleased with the way I handled my money,” Almond says.

Contact Michael Bostian at 704-797-4280 or mbostian@salisburypost.com .