While boarding a plane to Orange County I stood behind a man who looked like Santa Claus who had just stepped off a Harley, with his Marine Veterans cap and rough look in his eyes. During our brief interaction, he shared with me that he had traveled from North Carolina with a one way ticket to pick up his wife’s inheritance of $2 million from her 84 year old sister. His plan was to collect the money, deposit it in a bank at the airport, and then use some of the money to purchase his ticket home.  He explained that he lived on $700/month and didn’t have the cash on hand to pay for his flight on his own.

I was perplexed and a bit dismayed if his story was actually true. I quickly acknowledged him for telling me, and strongly recommended that he not tell anyone else what he was up to. I then did my best to caution him, telling him that without the right preparations and planning, that money would likely be gone within 19 months. He laughed me off, telling me he knew all about that statistic and that he didn’t plan on being like one of those fools. Then he proceeded to tell me all the things he was going to spend the money on, and I listened as my heart sank, knowing what lay ahead for him.