AX101,428

AX101,428

PSFS
1962- 1995

Philadelphia, PA

My dad taught us at a very early age that we had to save our money.  It was imperative to him.  "Pay yourself first," he told me when I was just 7. "Always put aside some of your earnings, ever time you get paid."

I wasn't earning any money at 7, not even an allowance. But when my grade school started a savings program, I started getting a quarter a week and if I committed to putting a dime to my savings account, my dad would match me with another dime. So I became a saver.

This account stayed with me throughout grade school, high school, college, and all of my student loans repayments. When I started to work regularly and lived outside the Philadelphia area, I still sent a check to this bank.

When I was 22 and getting regular paychecks, my dad approached me again. "Did you contribute to your IRA this year?"  When he found out I had no idea what was an IRA nor did I have any interest in starting a retirement account six months after I started working, he had a hissy fit and I started a retirement account at 22.

I'm retired now.  I retired at 55. I am still saving money with every pension check and I am still contributing to my IRA account and I thank my dad every damn day.