The Surprise Savings Account

I remember the look of surprise on Sally's face when I handed her a bankbook that had her name and mine on it. The savings account had a one-thousand dollar balance.

It was 1954. Sally and I had been married three years. My salary at General Electric was adequate but only barely. We needed more money so I started photographing weddings on weekends for a little extra income.

A year later, the photo business was prospering but we weren't getting ahead. I finally discovered the reason. Our depository for the proceeds from the business was a large fish bowl on a counter in the kitchen. All of our business income went into the bowl. And, all payments for the business expenses came from there. The reason that we were not getting ahead financially is that our petty cash expenditures were being made from the same bowl. Both Sally and I had access to these funds.

"Hon, we should be saving some of what we're earning from the business," I suggested.

"Yes, that would be nice," she said. "The only problem is we need so much of the money for ordinary expenses, there isn't any left over."

"Oh," I said, as a plan began to form in my mind.

Without her knowledge, I opened a savings account in my name at a local bank. At random times every few days, I'd take a ten or twenty from the bowl and deposit the money into the account. I watched the balance grow to one hundred dollars, then two, then five, etc. It seemed that no matter what I took from the bowl, there was always money available to do the same things we had been doing right along. Sally never noticed any difference.

At last a significant day arrived. There was exactly one thousand dollars in the account. I had made sure this was the balance, exact to the penny.

"Hon," I said to her, "we need to go to the bank."

"What for?" she asked.

"Something routine," I responded. "I think it's needed."

She agreed and we drove to the bank the following Saturday. I led as we went to a teller's window. I pulled out the bankbook and told the clerk that I wanted to add a name to the account. She was happy to do this and asked who the additional person was. Proudly, I brought Sally forward and said, "my wife, Sally."

After Sally had put her name on the signature cards, I opened the bankbook and showed her the balance. Her eyes grew big as she stared at the amount.

"How were you able to do this?" she asked.

I explained and suggested we continue to do the same thing, but now, as a team. She liked the idea and our long-term investment plan was begun.