While at the 303rdbg, Molesworth, England a rather high stake poker game took place every payday. One of the regular players was a Weather Officer friend who won a lot of the time. He told me he sent his winnings to his wife and that she had purchased a fifteen acre piece of land in Kansas. I was never in the game but as he won he would hand me money to hold with the understanding I would not return any of it until the game ended.
I didn't play poker but sent the biggest share of my pay to my folks who banked it for me. When married I had $2,500 in the bank. My wife had $1,700. We pooled our funds and made a down payment on a small house in Kansas City,Mo, purchased a roller type washing machine, an apartment size gas stove and refrigerator for the kitchen. We were broke but had established a sound footing to build on. It was nip and tuck for a while