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I think it's very important to instill saving behaviors early on in your adult life. Why early in your adult life? People should begin saving as children. My
by hugh3 15y ago
I think it's very important to instill saving behaviors early on in your adult life.
Why early in your adult life? People should begin saving as children.
My parents were sensible. I got my first bank account at the age of five, I think. They paid me some small amount of pocket money (two dollars a week?), and encouraged me to save it up to buy things I wanted, and to worship the magic of compound interest (it helps that interest rates were actually decent in those days). I enjoyed watching the amount in my bank account go up much more than I enjoyed actually buying things with it, so I got into good saving habits.
I can't fathom the idea of an adult (or at least, an adult with a job) not having a mere two grand in their savings account, and certainly not of having negative net wealth (ie credit card debt).
Parents! Teach your children about money early!
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- david_elson 15y agoI second this. My parents set up a notebook in their office that was my running checking account. Whenever I got a birthday check or earned some money, they would cash it in their own account and credit the value. Whenever I wanted to buy a toy, they would deduct the value. (You were lucky that you got compounded interest, though! My parental account had a zero interest rate.) At the age of 10 I was acutely aware of the value of things and more concerned with keeping the balance on my imaginary account high than with having every toy or computer game I could see. To this day I don't like buying "stuff". It was an awesome parenting move.
- aquark 15y agoAgreed -- but that worked much better when I could buy a 13% savings bond (late 80's) than showing my kids the <$1 month interest payment they get now. I realize that inflation may well have eaten into that 13% hugely but as a pre/early-teen that didn't factor into my view.