About Hugh F. Wynn
While there, he managed an apartment complex, with perks including a two-bedroom apartment, a family meal ticket, a deeply-discounted tuition and a free medical plan. A small GI Bill stipend also came in handy.
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Post-grad he landed in a mortgage company's commercial loan department. It was a good learning experience, but not his cup of tea. He went into Conoco's management training program where he worked for 7 years and left as Director - Supply & Distribution, NG & GP Division. He next launched a start-up, where he was Executive VP and Part Owner of Gulf States Oil & Refining Company. After selling his interest in that company, he co-founded and served as President of Wynn-Fowler, Inc.
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He next decided to try his hand at what many of today's Millennials (Generation Y) proposed to do with their careers - retire from the 8-to-5 grind by age 40 and become masters of their own destiny.
Hugh F. Wynn was one of eight kids who grew up on a cotton farm in Western Oklahoma. His parents struggled to raise their children during the Great Depression, its evil twin, the Dust Bowl, World War II and an epic 1950s drought. They used these difficult circumstances to teach their kids the value of time and money…both out of necessity and by design.
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His first job was on the family farm, working in the cotton fields, milking a couple of cows, filling hay cribs for the rest of the herd, slopping hogs, pumping fresh water for his mother's kitchen and tending to the chickens. His reward for these tasks was the week's accumulation of surplus eggs - a commodity that he swapped for cash at the local produce store.
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He paid his college expenses by working odd jobs during summer and semester breaks. A job as a student assistant for a dormitory at Oklahoma State University (OSU) came with important perks: a private room and telephone, 20 meals per week in the cafeteria, and a small monthly stipend. He also received a $500 scholarship, which helped restore his somewhat depleted savings account.
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​Graduating with a BS degree in Accounting, he briefly worked in Humble Oil's (now ExxonMobil) tax department before serving as a U.S. Army Finance Officer in Turkey. After military service, he returned to OSU to pursue his MBA.
They call it FIRE: Financially Independent Retire Early.
Today he manages his family's personal assets, is involved in two partnerships, dabbles in real estate investing, and for many years, was actively involved in water conservation education efforts, including co-founding and serving as Chief Financial Officer of Water Lily Press, Inc. and Save Water Texas.
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Hugh has authored several novels, a financial primer for Gen Xers, water industry white papers, several biographies, a couple of "dime novel" series of historical Texas notables, and a children's book illustrated by celebrated artist, M.S. Franco.
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In his WynnSights blogs and videos, he ceaselessly emphasizes the importance of an early and routine savings habit, a common sense buy-and-hold strategy, a diversified investment portfolio, the wisdom of shunning market timing, and a “stick to your guns” attitude regardless of negative outside influences. He believes it imperative to keep your investment strategy simple and investment costs as low as possible. Like the small investor’s best friend, Jack Bogle, said, “In the fund business, you get what you don’t pay for."