Rainy Day Savings

Rainy Day Savings

Money in the Bank When her mom picked Anita up from school, the car was making strange grinding sounds. " What's that noise?" Anita asked as she plopped into the passenger's seat. “ Is the car going to break down? I need to walk six dogs before dinner. "

" Don't worry-we'll get home in time for your job, " Mom said. “ I'll visit the auto mechanic tomorrow morning to find out what's wrong with the car. Hopefully, it's something minor, and the repairs won't cost too much. " " What if it's something serious?" Anita asked worriedly. This was her family's only car. " Your dad and I have some money in the bank, " Mom said. " We save every month so we can deal with problems like this. When we have a rainy-day emergency or an unexpected expense, we can write a check to pay for it. The bank takes the amount of the check out of our bank account. " " And the rest of your money sits there until you need it?" Anita said. " Yes, we can take the money out of the bank whenever we need it, " Mom said.

" Maybe I should have a bank account, too, " Anita said. Now that she walked the neighbors' dogs after school, she had money of her own. " That's an excellent idea, Anita, " Mom said. “ Tonight, you can research what you need to do to start your own savings account. On Saturday, we'll go to the bank together to open an account for you. "

Saving Is Smart . . . and Hard A month after she opened her savings account, Anita received a letter in the mail. It was a bank statement showing how much money she had in her account. It also showed how much interest, or additional money, her savings had earned. " Why are they giving me interest?" Anita asked her dad.

" The bank took the money from you and others, and loaned it out to people who needed it. " Dad said. “ Those borrowers will eventually pay the bank back. When people repay their loans to the bank, they also pay extra money, called interest. Interest is how the bank makes money. Some of that interest gets passed on to you for letting the bank lend out your money. " “ Wow! I earn money by walking dogs, and my money earns money by helping other people. I love having a bank account! " Anita headed outside to do her job. Four huge dogs on tangled leashes were pulling her down the sidewalk when she spotted her friend Maurice. " Do you like my new skateboard?" Maurice asked, picking it up so Anita could get a close look at it. It was silver and blue with bright orange wheels.