Do you still remember when you had your very first bank account? How old were you and how did you even get started?

I was 16 years old and in fourth year high school at the Immaculata Academy of Malolos in Bulacan, Philippines when my father gave me fifty pesos one day and asked me to open a savings account.

It was July, one of the hottest months of the year. My father gave it to me as a birthday present.

My father was a lawyer and a strict disciplinarian of his five children. He had a soft spot in his heart for the middle child though. 🙂

I knew I had to accomplish that task the very same day he asked me to do it. So, at recess time, in the sweltering heat, I walked to a branch of the Philippine National Bank near our school and opened my very first savings account.

I felt an immediate sense of triumph once I held the passbook in my hand! It conjured up images in my mind that my money will multiply and I will be wealthy for sure.

Imagining things...

The happiness on my father's face when I showed him my passbook later in the day was priceless. Turned out it was one of his projects at that time and we made it happen.

Looking back, I don't know if he ever asked any of my siblings to open their bank accounts. Was I the only one who showed promise of good financial sense? 🙂 Or was I simply the most obedient and deserved to be rewarded? 🙂

Well, additional deposits to my savings account were made since then from cash gifts to me on occasions like Christmas and graduation.

My next birthday, I was already a college student at the University of the Philippines. My father and mother would give me allowance for my weekly stay in the dormitory. I would deposit some leftover allowance if ever some amount was left.

The initial course I signed up for was Bachelor of Arts, major in English. Then, my father encouraged me to shift to Journalism which he said was a good pre-law course. Needless to say, I obediently followed his advice.

I also joined the campus publication Philippine Collegian as a literary writer and would set aside part of my stipend per published article as savings, or to buy "pasalubong" for my family.

YEARS AND YEARS LATER

In 2003, my very first salary in the U.S. was from a law firm in Santa Monica, CA where I worked as a paralegal. I remember my husband Glen and I would walk a great distance on the weekend after pay day just to deposit $20 to my Wells Fargo account. At that time, WF had an automated teller machine near the Azusa City Library, which we loved to visit with our children.

Years later, when my husband passed away, my children and I were left to look after each other. We were so lost without my husband. He spoiled me by taking care of our children so i could focus on my work. Our children were still young and felt lonely without their Dad. We struggled a lot both financially and emotionally.

It was my turn to try and teach my children to be strong. It was my time to pass down to them what my father taught me about finances and life in general.

At present, my children all have good jobs, financially secure, and are happy with their life choices. I am three years away from retirement.

We have learned so many things together since then. Whatever we know now, whatever life lessons we learned along the way, we wish to share with people who can benefit from our experience.

Hope to share more with you next time!