Monday, November 04, 2013

Saving Early with PS Bank Kiddie & Teen Savings Account

It’s not about how much you earn, but how much you save. 

This I know is true. How many stories have we heard about frugal, seemingly poor folks who save millions of dollars, and then donate huge amounts to charity? 

Ever heard the story of Elinor Sauerwein who donated close to $2 million dollars to the Salvation Army? Or that of Don & Ethel Garrison who bequeathed $1 million dollars to their favorite charities? 

These generous souls lived very frugal lives, doing without the trappings of wealth and status. This same frugality has allowed them to squirrel away millions and share their fortune with those who need their help most.

While I believe in frugality, I am from the school of thought that we should also enjoy the fruits of our labor. There has to be a reasonable balance amongst earning, saving, spending, and sharing.

That said, one of the more important life lessons we can teach our kids is financial responsibility. I think the easiest step towards that is to teach them the value of saving.
Berry makes it a habit to put all the small change she gets from us in her ice cream coin bank 

While we opened a bank account for Berry as soon as she was born in the US, and another account when we arrived here in Manila, I have never really brought her to a bank where she consciously knew that the account we were opening was hers. 

That is, until we opened a PSBank Kiddie Savers account for her:

With Tita Menchie Flores, branch manager of our neighborhood PS Bank, who graciously entertained Berry like she was depositing billions, heehee 

Before heading to the bank, I made sure to bring all the documents needed to open an account:


I took along our passports, Berry’s NSO certified birth certificate and just for good measure, our NSO certified marriage certificate.


I filled out some bank forms, and then we went to the teller so that Berry could see for herself how it goes:

counting her money at the counter 

Berry deposited Php1,261 pesos that day, although there is no initial deposit balance requirement! 

Berry’s PS Bank Kiddie Savers Account has a 0.5% deposit rate, with interest credited monthly. There is no initial deposit and no maintaining balance requirement so kids can start saving even with just Php5! 


While waiting for our passbook, I was surprised when the account officer told me that Berry’s PSBank Kiddie Savers account comes with a free personal accident insurance. The same also applies for Teen Savers accounts. 

While it’s not something I would want to use, it’s good to know that it’s there. The insurance is covered by Charter Ping An Insurance Corporation, and insurance coverage is equivalent to five times the value of the account’s average daily balance. But! Only up to a maximum of Php 500,000 for those who are 0-7 years old and up to an aggregate limit of Php 5 million for those who are more than 7 years old but not more than 18 years old. 

Of course, to be able to claim, the account must still be active, with a monthly average daily balance of at least PhP 1,000 during the time of accident (knock on wood!). 

By the time I got our passbook, the account officer told that I could also access Berry’s account online. I signed up for online access and was told to expect an email notifying me of my approved username online. When Berry gets bigger, we have the option of getting an ATM card for her, maybe even the PSBank Debit MasterCard when she’s deemed responsible enough to have one on her. 

It took us only 30 minutes to open an account, but I am sure the lesson Berry will learn from the experience will benefit her a lifetime. 


*The PSBank Kiddie & Teen Savers accounts may be opened as an In-Trust-For (ITF) account. Parents and legal guardians also have the option of opening Joint OR or Joint AND accounts with your kids or an individual account for each of your children. For more on PS Bank’s Kiddie and Junior Savings accounts, visit HERE

1 comment:

jehzlau said...

ang cute ng baby nag sesave na habang bata pa. haha :D

nice meeting you and harvey last week. :)

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