First grade - so 6 or 7. The bank had a savings account promotion for kids going on, and I joined that. I also remember going to the bank with my parents frequently when I was younger than that. It helps that when I was young, I couldn't get to the store on my own, and my parents weren't going to wait around for me to get something with my own money. I also never rememberd to bring my own money with me to the store. And I loved to count - I REALLY loved to count money, and I didn't want to see those piles of coins shrink. Come to think of it, I still love to count money...
I started saving at 25, when I got married. We paid off all our debt and built an emergency fund... but then we decided to send my husband to college, so any potential savings are now being diverted to tuition payments. Sigh.
I began saving my own money as soon as I got my first job in college, around age 20. As soon as I was out of debt I opened a savings account where I deposit money every month that I do not touch - that's the key! It's great to know I have money saved for when I REALLY need it.
I started saving money when I was 10 because I wanted to buy Pokemon cards. I realized how much money you could save up at a young age. I remember even researching government bonds and asking my grandma for them for birthdays and Christmas. Of course, as a young child you don't really have much of an income to save. When I turned 14, I really wanted a laptop computer and new my parents wouldn't buy me one. That was my motivation to get my first job, of which I saved all my money toward my future purchase. Back then, there weren't too many tools on savings like there are now with the advent of the Internet. I just borrowed a lot of books from the library to learn about saving accounts, investments, etc. I'm 22 now and all that research has paid off. :)
I started saving in 1989. I was 20, had my "real" first job, and started contributing to a 401K. After I left that job, I rolled it over into an IRA and started automatically contributing a very small amount each month. Then I added some mutual funds and paid for them the same way. I'm 40 now and it's amazing how it's all added up. And time does fly--it seems like no time at all.
I believe my parents started savings accounts for all three kids when I was about 8 (which would have made my brother 11 and my sister 6). I used that account exclusively all through college and into my work-life, until 2002 when I started saving through ING. I still have that other account at my first bank, though!
My Dad helped me open my first savings account when I was 13. I had gotten Bat Mitzvah'ed and was amazed at the money I received as presents! I think it was $500 or something. I had no idea what to do with it, so it was my first savings account deposit.
We (my sister and I) started seriously saving after having miscalculated and underestimated our moving expenses from Hawaii to California and coming close to a $0 account balance after paying the movers. We'd never been frivolous with our money but that experience was too close a call for us and we tightened our purse strings to the point of watching every dollar we spent.
We just made it a common goal (we share all our money) to save as much as we could, spend wisely and have never looked back. It's been about 6 years now and we've learned a lot of tricks along the way - too many little things to list here, but the main thing to remember is to keep things in perspective and never forget to look at the big picture.
the age of 37 - that means striving to achieve cash in the bank that was more than just a cushion and not spending more than I made.
Thank goodness I did too - just got laid off today!
Started saving at 18, in the Navy. I remember when I saved my first $10K and how hard it was to get to that point and stick to it. From there I told myself I was not going to go below 10K, ever. And I haven't yet.
I started at 7 with the help of my dad. I had just gotten $5 in birthday money and we went to the credit union and deposited it there in a brand new account. I recall being thrilled at the time but disappointed by my rate of return a few months later.
I've always been a saver for as far back as I can remember, but I guess I didn't start seriously saving (ie thinking about my future as an adult) until I graduated college. Prior to that I was just saving for new clothes, saving for the prom, and saving for spending money during college.
When I got my first job, I didn't make a lot of money, but it was more than I've ever had. I took advantage of the company match in the 401k and haven't looked back from there. Even before I knew what it meant to save for retirement, I knew I wasn't going to turn down free money! My only debt is a smallish student loan at an interest rate of under 3%. I've never spent more than I had in the bank.
I have been a lifelong saver, and I still have some savings bonds from relatives from before I was born. I was naturally a saver and remember my coffee can bank filled with 20's from Christmas and birthday stashes. I rente my first apartment the day I graduated high school, and I had a few thousand dollars saved from working summer jobs and graduation savings. I'm nostalgic for the CDs with interest rates of 6-7%!
Public Loan Forgiveness program isn't just for IBR:
(Beginning on July 1, 2008, FFEL borrowers may obtain a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan in order to qualify for public service loan forgiveness even if they had previously consolidated in the FFEL program. Such borrowers will be restricted to the income-based repayment, income-contingent repayment and standard repayment plans. Before July 1, 2008, FFEL borrowers who have not yet consolidated may obtain a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan in order to obtain income contingent repayment by stating that they are unable to obtain income sensitive repayment terms acceptable to the borrower. Before July 1, 2008, FFEL borrowers who have already consolidated in the FFEL program are only able to obtain a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan with income-contingent repayment terms if their loans have been selected by a guarantee agency for default aversion. Note that borrowers who took advantage of the early repayment status loophole have already consolidated their loans and so are subject to the more stringent requirements for a subsequent consolidation into the Direct Loan program.)
I remember saving spare change and one dollar bills in my pencil box when I was 4 and how much I liked filling the box. By the time I got a babysitting gig for cousins when I was 10 my parents knew that a bank account would work for me. By the time I wanted to buy my first car I had over $4000 saved. That savings account turned into my checking account during college and I found a higher yield savings account. By the time my husband and I bought our first house last year, I had managed to turn my pencil box money into a substantial down payment on the house. Don't get me wrong, I have student loan debt. No credit card debt, but student loan debt that surpassed my down payment on a house. But it is manageable and locked in at a low rate. I balance my managed debt with the good investment in our home. It is what has worked for me.
The first distinct memory of saving I have was from when I was 10 and liked to swap out any cash I had for singles so that I could put them into separate peanut butter jars to save up for separate items. When that became too much of a hassle we just moved the money into a bank account but I still kept the separate jar accounts by tracking them on paper instead.
I got in a lot of debt during college, my biggest shame moment was when they requested a $1200 DEPOSIT for a cell phone because I was so upside down on everything. When my first husband died the estate and wiping out my 403b got me set up again and debt free {excpet for student loans}. I was 28. I took about 5 years of practicing not overspending before I really got around to starting to save. So ... about 33.
When I was about 10, my dad took me to the bank to get me my own savings account. I had always been a saver and it was exciting to get my own ATM card and pick my pin number.
I've saved for as long as I've come into contact with money. When I was young/a teenager, I almost hoarded money I earned as a form of security in an otherwise turbulent home. As a result, I never developed big spending habits, and I've been a saver ever since. I graduated from a (real, actual) piggy bank to a (real, actual) savings account when I was 13, and a checking account when I was 15. I wrote checks so infrequently, though, that I probably still have half the book from that first account floating around somewhere.
I too just started saving recently at 25. The summer before college I worked a great job and earned a ton of money since I had no real expenses. By the time I went away to school in the fall I had less than $300 left. Looking back at that time in my life is scary.
I had my first job at 12 working in my uncle's meat market. I wanted to buy a bicycle so I began saving. I made $3.00 a day. My parents were poor, so if I wanted anything I had to buy it myself. Thus began my lifetime of being a saver. Being a saver has served me well. I sent two children to college, and now at 64 am debt free. It does make for a much nicer retirement.
I started saving at the age of 8. I remember my parents giving me a bank that had three separate compartments....one for tithing (donation) one for college and one for fun-money. It actually was a great way to learn that those things do need to be separate and that each one of them were important.
First grade - so 6 or 7. The bank had a savings account promotion for kids going on, and I joined that. I also remember going to the bank with my parents frequently when I was younger than that. It helps that when I was young, I couldn't get to the store on my own, and my parents weren't going to wait around for me to get something with my own money. I also never rememberd to bring my own money with me to the store. And I loved to count - I REALLY loved to count money, and I didn't want to see those piles of coins shrink. Come to think of it, I still love to count money...
I started saving at 25, when I got married. We paid off all our debt and built an emergency fund... but then we decided to send my husband to college, so any potential savings are now being diverted to tuition payments. Sigh.
I began saving my own money as soon as I got my first job in college, around age 20. As soon as I was out of debt I opened a savings account where I deposit money every month that I do not touch - that's the key! It's great to know I have money saved for when I REALLY need it.
I started saving money when I was 10 because I wanted to buy Pokemon cards. I realized how much money you could save up at a young age. I remember even researching government bonds and asking my grandma for them for birthdays and Christmas. Of course, as a young child you don't really have much of an income to save. When I turned 14, I really wanted a laptop computer and new my parents wouldn't buy me one. That was my motivation to get my first job, of which I saved all my money toward my future purchase. Back then, there weren't too many tools on savings like there are now with the advent of the Internet. I just borrowed a lot of books from the library to learn about saving accounts, investments, etc. I'm 22 now and all that research has paid off. :)
I started saving in 1989. I was 20, had my "real" first job, and started contributing to a 401K. After I left that job, I rolled it over into an IRA and started automatically contributing a very small amount each month. Then I added some mutual funds and paid for them the same way. I'm 40 now and it's amazing how it's all added up. And time does fly--it seems like no time at all.
I believe my parents started savings accounts for all three kids when I was about 8 (which would have made my brother 11 and my sister 6). I used that account exclusively all through college and into my work-life, until 2002 when I started saving through ING. I still have that other account at my first bank, though!
My Dad helped me open my first savings account when I was 13. I had gotten Bat Mitzvah'ed and was amazed at the money I received as presents! I think it was $500 or something. I had no idea what to do with it, so it was my first savings account deposit.
I'm agree and support your article..Thanks for the sharing Julie !!
We (my sister and I) started seriously saving after having miscalculated and underestimated our moving expenses from Hawaii to California and coming close to a $0 account balance after paying the movers. We'd never been frivolous with our money but that experience was too close a call for us and we tightened our purse strings to the point of watching every dollar we spent.
We just made it a common goal (we share all our money) to save as much as we could, spend wisely and have never looked back. It's been about 6 years now and we've learned a lot of tricks along the way - too many little things to list here, but the main thing to remember is to keep things in perspective and never forget to look at the big picture.
the age of 37 - that means striving to achieve cash in the bank that was more than just a cushion and not spending more than I made.
Thank goodness I did too - just got laid off today!
Started saving at 18, in the Navy. I remember when I saved my first $10K and how hard it was to get to that point and stick to it. From there I told myself I was not going to go below 10K, ever. And I haven't yet.
I started at 7 with the help of my dad. I had just gotten $5 in birthday money and we went to the credit union and deposited it there in a brand new account. I recall being thrilled at the time but disappointed by my rate of return a few months later.
started at 24-25, when reaching a peak of debt with around 1000 euros. That was when I really realized that I have to do something.
I've always been a saver for as far back as I can remember, but I guess I didn't start seriously saving (ie thinking about my future as an adult) until I graduated college. Prior to that I was just saving for new clothes, saving for the prom, and saving for spending money during college.
When I got my first job, I didn't make a lot of money, but it was more than I've ever had. I took advantage of the company match in the 401k and haven't looked back from there. Even before I knew what it meant to save for retirement, I knew I wasn't going to turn down free money! My only debt is a smallish student loan at an interest rate of under 3%. I've never spent more than I had in the bank.
I have been a lifelong saver, and I still have some savings bonds from relatives from before I was born. I was naturally a saver and remember my coffee can bank filled with 20's from Christmas and birthday stashes. I rente my first apartment the day I graduated high school, and I had a few thousand dollars saved from working summer jobs and graduation savings. I'm nostalgic for the CDs with interest rates of 6-7%!
Thanks for another contest.
Public Loan Forgiveness program isn't just for IBR:
(Beginning on July 1, 2008, FFEL borrowers may obtain a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan in order to qualify for public service loan forgiveness even if they had previously consolidated in the FFEL program. Such borrowers will be restricted to the income-based repayment, income-contingent repayment and standard repayment plans. Before July 1, 2008, FFEL borrowers who have not yet consolidated may obtain a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan in order to obtain income contingent repayment by stating that they are unable to obtain income sensitive repayment terms acceptable to the borrower. Before July 1, 2008, FFEL borrowers who have already consolidated in the FFEL program are only able to obtain a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan with income-contingent repayment terms if their loans have been selected by a guarantee agency for default aversion. Note that borrowers who took advantage of the early repayment status loophole have already consolidated their loans and so are subject to the more stringent requirements for a subsequent consolidation into the Direct Loan program.)
http://www.finaid.org/loans/publicservice.phtml
I remember saving spare change and one dollar bills in my pencil box when I was 4 and how much I liked filling the box. By the time I got a babysitting gig for cousins when I was 10 my parents knew that a bank account would work for me. By the time I wanted to buy my first car I had over $4000 saved. That savings account turned into my checking account during college and I found a higher yield savings account. By the time my husband and I bought our first house last year, I had managed to turn my pencil box money into a substantial down payment on the house. Don't get me wrong, I have student loan debt. No credit card debt, but student loan debt that surpassed my down payment on a house. But it is manageable and locked in at a low rate. I balance my managed debt with the good investment in our home. It is what has worked for me.
The first distinct memory of saving I have was from when I was 10 and liked to swap out any cash I had for singles so that I could put them into separate peanut butter jars to save up for separate items. When that became too much of a hassle we just moved the money into a bank account but I still kept the separate jar accounts by tracking them on paper instead.
I got in a lot of debt during college, my biggest shame moment was when they requested a $1200 DEPOSIT for a cell phone because I was so upside down on everything. When my first husband died the estate and wiping out my 403b got me set up again and debt free {excpet for student loans}. I was 28. I took about 5 years of practicing not overspending before I really got around to starting to save. So ... about 33.
When I was about 10, my dad took me to the bank to get me my own savings account. I had always been a saver and it was exciting to get my own ATM card and pick my pin number.
I've saved for as long as I've come into contact with money. When I was young/a teenager, I almost hoarded money I earned as a form of security in an otherwise turbulent home. As a result, I never developed big spending habits, and I've been a saver ever since. I graduated from a (real, actual) piggy bank to a (real, actual) savings account when I was 13, and a checking account when I was 15. I wrote checks so infrequently, though, that I probably still have half the book from that first account floating around somewhere.
I too just started saving recently at 25. The summer before college I worked a great job and earned a ton of money since I had no real expenses. By the time I went away to school in the fall I had less than $300 left. Looking back at that time in my life is scary.
Hopefully i'm on the road to better times ahead.
Meg
onourwayonline.com
I had my first job at 12 working in my uncle's meat market. I wanted to buy a bicycle so I began saving. I made $3.00 a day. My parents were poor, so if I wanted anything I had to buy it myself. Thus began my lifetime of being a saver. Being a saver has served me well. I sent two children to college, and now at 64 am debt free. It does make for a much nicer retirement.
I started saving at the age of 8. I remember my parents giving me a bank that had three separate compartments....one for tithing (donation) one for college and one for fun-money. It actually was a great way to learn that those things do need to be separate and that each one of them were important.
I'm 27 now, so I guess 28 would be the right answer!