Bank Passbook and ATM

When I was in grade school one of my memorable moment was getting my very first bank passbook (no ATM then!). I recall the bank was Solid Bank and the memory of seeing my name on the passbook and checking the amount reflected on it I still vividly remember.

When I saw the first interest earned by my savings, I began to asked myself how did they computed the amount. I realized then and there that my money can earn in a bank but I wondered why was it so low.

Today I am convinced that banks don't pay much interest on my money even though they charge high interest rate when they loan it for me. No wonder banks earned record profit margins last year and at the expense of their customers.

What is insulting nowadays is that the small interest earned on your savings account they add tax charges on it. They will charge you more if you use your ATM in other banks not affiliated with them.

Second, we Filipinos treat our passbook as deferred savings account because we withdraw the money as frequent as possible. The banks made sure that you do spend because ATM's are easily accessible.

Let us be honest here. Most of us can not accumulate money in our bank savings account.

The Real Savings Account? It is when you save your money, not withdrawing it every time and forgetting about it because it saved for specific long-term objective like college education or buying a house. You can not do that in your passbook savings.

Use the banks as temporary custodian of your money and when you accumulated enough for investment then it is the right time Mutual Funds and Stocks step in.