My passion back then was horses.I grew up on a farm and always had a pony or horse since the age of three. I rode whenever I could. I love the freedom, pleasure and escape. My horse at the time became very ill. The veterinarian could not diagnose what the problem was and she passed away. I was heart-broken. My friend and buddy, my escape, my freedom---all gone. I felt completely lost.
The only thing that was going to fill this void was a new horse. So, I started saving my allowance to buy myself a new best buddy. Back then, kids didn’t have accounts in a bank for savings. It was up to us to save up for things we wanted but didn’t need. This can be very hard , especially as a 12 year-old with a case of the "I wants."
I took up the envelope savings system. I got three envelopes, labeled them and started saving that way. One of those envelopes was for my new buddy. That envelope was my priority envelope. My desire for a new horse seemed to trump the desire for the new Adidas white tennis shoe with the red stripes. Those were the big deal in middle school back then, but I opted for my new four-legged buddy over being cool. Everyone else was wearing the cool shoes and I stuck with my pay-less shoes so I could have my horse.
If I had to go back in time to twelve again, I would still pick the horse.
I believe that learning to manage money and save for what I wanted helped me be more responsible.
Now we can set up ten different savings accounts for one person so they can meet those goals, which is convenient and much safer than using envelopes. It is pretty much the same scenario. Some things change, and some things stay the same.
Post by: Lori S.
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