Coin Bank

As early as one's childhood his parents teach him everything a child should be learning. In order for him to prepare himself to the world he relies on what his parents are going to teach him. For in his mind, his parents know what is good for him. He is being taught to read, to write, to sing, to dance. One learns how to count while one learns how to do simple arithmetic.

At an early age I was taught how to plan for my future, to have a dream. This serves as an inspiration in my everyday life, ever since I learned what I wanted in life. One of those things that I wanted to achieve is to be able to afford whatever I would want in life. I mentioned "whatever" because that is what I really wanted, before I realized to prioritize which are more important over the other. This is when my parents taught me to prepare for them - by saving money.

I was in my elementary days when I noticed my father keeping a dried bamboo stem, about a foot in diameter and half a meter long. We were never allowed to touch the bamboo and it was kept in a high part of the wall under a small cupboard under the stairs. I wondered what is in there. Until one day I caught my father holding a number of one-peso coins, about twenty to fifty pieces, on one hand and the bamboo stem on the other. Then I saw a small cut in the stem where my father would insert the coins and in my surprise I hear the coin fell in more coins, creating noise! I got excited and confirmed with my father that there are more coins inside the bamboo stem.

I asked him when we could get the coins from the bamboo stem. He said that the coins will only be available for emergency purposes. Curious, I asked about the emergency. He mentioned that there are going to be times that our family will need additional money in order to finance unforeseen expenditures like medical or other needs. He also stressed that the money is not also for emergency reasons. Saving money can also be for a predetermined purpose. For example, if I want to buy a ball, I could save money until I have enough money to buy one for me. From that simple explanation I learned how important saving money is.

As I grew up I make sure that I keep my own coin bank, hidden in my cabinet or under my bed. One time I also saved in a bamboo stem, another time I saved in a carton coin bank. One time I saved money in an iron water pipe, another time I kept some of my paper money in between pages of my books! With this I knew where to get my finances especially when I have to spend on school projects or gimmicks. Sometimes I get to share some of them with my siblings, when they need assistance in their school assignments or perhaps when they are hungry.

Keeping in mind that there are always unforeseen need that would come my way, I make sure that I have at least a few amount of money set aside for unknown purposes. As what I learned from my father, "saving money will save you in the future."