If you open a bank account, and regularly set aside and deposit some money there; the account will grow and be available to draw from when you need or want it at a later date. It’s common sense, but it can be difficult to do as it takes thought, planning and discipline.
Wishing to teach my children about the discipline and advantages of saving money, I used the store bought ParentBanc checkbooks I saw in the store in the 1990’s.
Monetary gifts our kids received for birthdays and Christmases were deposited in the parent bank (for safe keeping) with the balance showing on the register kept by the owners (children). Our kids could withdraw funds for small things or higher ticket items they had saved for. It was my hope that they learn the satisfaction and long-term benefits of saving money. The system also kept cash from sitting in their bedrooms where it could be misplaced, or be a temptation to show to friends who were visiting.
Using the ParentBanc system worked well until our kids were older and savings accounts were opened at a physical brick and mortar bank. Although the ParentBanc product is no longer available, a regular checkbook register could be used to teach the same thing. At least one of our children kept his register and it’s interesting to look back at where the money came from and how it was spent. As the actual way we spend currency changes, it may be more challenging to teach the value of visually watching money grow as it’s saved.
Life itself has a savings account. In the same way that we are given or earn money, we are given or create experiences and the memories attached to them. We collect and store them, and then draw them out later in life, reliving the adventure, satisfaction and beauty of those moments that are pleasant to recall.
I’m fortunate to have traveled early in adulthood as Mr. Legs and I went where the Army sent him. I’m grateful for the wonderful experiences we had in so many different places. I also have a collection of great memories from wonderful relationships with friends and relatives. Dear to me are the years of raising my children. The stories of things they did and said are precious deposits made that I withdraw from time to time, reliving the moments as often as I desire. When life today is difficult, it’s a welcome distraction to recall a particular time or group of events that I deposited in my memory bank long ago. Those memories are from times gone by, but not gone forever.
Many have seen the parallel between depositing money in bank accounts and depositing experiences in our memory banks. These are some of the quotes I recorded:
-Yesterday is a cancelled check. Tomorrow is a promissory note. Today is the only cash you have. Spend it wisely.
-Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you put in it. Deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories.
–HAPPINESS IS A DECISION. Whether I like something or not doesn’t depend on how it’s arranged — it’s how I arrange my mind… I decide ahead of time to love it. It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up… I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do…
Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away just for this time in my life. Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you’ve put in. Deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories!!! –From Victory Today on Facebook
-Happy memories never wear out, re-live them as often as you want.
-The best things to collect are money and memories.
-The heart is like a treasure chest that’s filled with souvenirs; it’s where we keep the memories we’ve gathered through the years.
If you’re young, take the time to record your life events and travels. Write or type some of the day to day things worthy of recording – the funny things and the tender things your children say. You think you’ll remember those forever, but none of us can recall everything and time can blur details of things we do remember. If you’re older, write down what you do remember. It will be nice for you and/or others to withdraw the captured times. Pictures are the perfect tool for prompting memories. Captions go a step further in memory recall. Take the time to record the names, dates and places of your pictures.
So, save. Save money in a banking establishment. Save memories in your memory bank. Deposit both wisely and generously and record them. Both will be valued later in life.
Climbing Downhill 