We’re in the midst of exam season for both BB & GG. BB’s exams get over one day before GG’s next week and then till the end of the month they will still go to school but have non-studies components until the end of the month when holidays start.

Both of them say ‘OK’ when asked how the exams went until today, but I guess the proof in the pudding is when we get the marks back. That’s when we’ll actually know how well they have done.

Next week, when they have a holiday for marking day (luckily the same day for both), I will be taking them to the bank’s local branch to open a savings account for both of them. This will be kept separate from the trust accounts I opened for them when they were around a month old. The money there (in the trust account) is meant for their tertiary studies and can’t be touched by them under any circumstances (I’ve indoctrinated them about this from the time they were babies and so they do know they can’t touch this account). However, to operate a savings account independently, they need to be 16 years old, but between the ages of 12 and 16, they can operate this account under parental supervision and consent.

The main reason for opening a bank account at such a young age is to get them familiar with this process now and also make them financially literate before they start working and earning serious money. I’ve also told them that by the time they finish school, they should have more than 80% of the total money they get over this period of time saved up. GG is good at saving and even now she’s managed save double that of BB, so I need to work on him for this now. Let’s see how this pans out.