Saving The Old Fashioned Way
I had a tin money box as a child which my parents used to make me put in any coins. Coins they had given me for chores or pocket money. In fact any money that I received as a child from unlikely sources such as the tooth fairy, Aunties on birthdays, Santa went into that tin money box. Then when the money box was full we would go to the bank and deposit those coins into my bank book.
The bank manager would come out and congratulate me for saving diligently. Then he would lecture me on how one day I would be very grateful to my parents for all the money I had saved over the years. And years later ..... I was!
To some people this scenario will bring back a lot of memories of the good old days. The days when bank managers knew their customers and the local community. The bank manager was a pillar of society. For some people they will be wondering what is all this reminiscing leading to and what is a money box?
Well that's what saving meant in the old days. Money was a prized possession. These were the days during and not long after the great depression. A place in time that most young people could not begin to image how hard day to day living was. The people who survived the depression years are now elderly and those hard times are a little hazy even in their memory.
Coming back to today's world of banking and the attitude towards saving for your future is fallen a bit by the wayside. Rarely do we see a pay packet that actually contains cash. Money has been consumed by the computer age.
Every young person wants everything now and few have any idea as to what the cost may be or indeed the value of money itself. It is a value that has fallen by the wayside. Impersonalised and de-valued by technology.
All of that pondering leads me onto why the institution of saving is slowly disappearing. Deposit levels in the banking sector are at an all time low and the trend seems to be to borrow and pay for the convenience of borrowing by the way of interest rates.
This is the way of saving in today's world. An expensive way to save if you take into account the amount of interest that some loans attract.
You rarely hear talk about high interest saving accounts. These types of accounts are being made more user friendly with linked account access, internet and telephone banking access.
More people should be encouraged to use these types of saving methods. Cheaper in the long run. You get the interest for once not the bank. Just think on that for a moment ... the bank is paying you!
Credit cards, short term loans, payday loans, interest free loans, even the Pawn broker is making a comeback. Does money box fit in anywhere amongst these everyday phrases. But beware, the loan shark has evolved.
The term saving should be reinvented and rejuvenated to educate a new generation in responsible money management and begin to save again.
The bank manager would come out and congratulate me for saving diligently. Then he would lecture me on how one day I would be very grateful to my parents for all the money I had saved over the years. And years later ..... I was!
To some people this scenario will bring back a lot of memories of the good old days. The days when bank managers knew their customers and the local community. The bank manager was a pillar of society. For some people they will be wondering what is all this reminiscing leading to and what is a money box?
Well that's what saving meant in the old days. Money was a prized possession. These were the days during and not long after the great depression. A place in time that most young people could not begin to image how hard day to day living was. The people who survived the depression years are now elderly and those hard times are a little hazy even in their memory.
Coming back to today's world of banking and the attitude towards saving for your future is fallen a bit by the wayside. Rarely do we see a pay packet that actually contains cash. Money has been consumed by the computer age.
Every young person wants everything now and few have any idea as to what the cost may be or indeed the value of money itself. It is a value that has fallen by the wayside. Impersonalised and de-valued by technology.
All of that pondering leads me onto why the institution of saving is slowly disappearing. Deposit levels in the banking sector are at an all time low and the trend seems to be to borrow and pay for the convenience of borrowing by the way of interest rates.
This is the way of saving in today's world. An expensive way to save if you take into account the amount of interest that some loans attract.
You rarely hear talk about high interest saving accounts. These types of accounts are being made more user friendly with linked account access, internet and telephone banking access.
More people should be encouraged to use these types of saving methods. Cheaper in the long run. You get the interest for once not the bank. Just think on that for a moment ... the bank is paying you!
Credit cards, short term loans, payday loans, interest free loans, even the Pawn broker is making a comeback. Does money box fit in anywhere amongst these everyday phrases. But beware, the loan shark has evolved.
The term saving should be reinvented and rejuvenated to educate a new generation in responsible money management and begin to save again.