November 8, 2016

BERRY WRITES - The First Thing I Saved Money For

BERRY WRITES is a weekly feature where I will share my thoughts on different topics culled from my 300 Writing Prompts journal. You can look forward to them every Tuesday, and you're very welcome to tell me your experiences and thoughts as well.



I'll share three things I saved up money for over the course of my life. Not that I haven't saved for other things, but these ones stand out in particular.


  1. As children, my parents used to give my sister and I allowances. Our allowances were supposed to be used at the tuck shop for snacks or lunch at secondary school. Every now and then though, we would both save our allowances so that we could buy birthday and Christmas presents for our parents. 
  2. When I first moved to the US and got into college, there used to be salespeople on campus luring you into getting credit cards. I was young, I was naive, I liked to travel... so I signed up :p I wasn't really paying much attention to how much I was spending, or making payments at regular intervals. Before I knew it, I got a letter saying that I was $2000 in debt and had a short amount of time to pay it back - my information had been sent to collections!!! Say WHA?!?!? Thankfully, at the time I had a job where I got tips (delivery driver). I quickly begged for more hours (and overtime) and did everything I could to save money. If I remember correctly, it took 4 to 6 weeks to make up the money. I paid it all off and swore to never have a credit card again... Never say Never. 
  3. As a proper adult, the first thing I saved up for was my car. This wasn't a situation where mummy and daddy gave me money - I worked hard to save up enough money for my baby. There's this sense of accomplishment and achievement when you make a big purchase like that by yourself. I LOVED MY CAR!!!! I miss my car :(
What was the first thing you saved money for? Or your first "adult" purchase?

22 comments:

  1. A car. That's a big one! During secondary school, I saved money to buy the clothes my parents wouldn't buy for me if I asked. You should be proud of your self bought car!

    https://ngraffi.blogspot.com/2016/11/is-getting-married-achievement.html

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    1. Haha @ the clothes. What if they said you couldn't wear them though?

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  2. Lovely post๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜
    The first thing I saved money on was a game boy (one of those red ones that have like 20 'block' games. It took me a month or so of multiple lunch and gift monies.

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    1. Ah I remember those!!! I miss the brick game thingy

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  3. The very first thing I saved up for... I can't say I remember what it was. I think i just wanted the proud feeling of having money in my account.
    But your credit card ish, ouch! $2000 just like that? I'm glad you got that settled soon. And I'm sure you felt so proud knowing you'd bought your car completely on your own.

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    1. I felt proud both times. Real sense of accomplishment. Thanks!

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  4. I would say my Samsung Tablet.
    I consciously saved from my Nysc allowee to get that.


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    1. Ah yes, saving NYSC allowance was something I did as well. Just for saving sake though.

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  5. First thing I saved money for that I remember was to buy a phone, I was tired of hand-me down and I wanted one I really liked so I saved up for it. I also remember as a child, we saved to buy presents for my parents but it was technically my parents' money that we collected previously...


    Right now, I am constantly saving for one thing or the other.

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    1. Saving is such a good practice - not just for short-term purchases but also long-term.

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  6. I guess I'd say a phone? I remember that was in 2002, a Motorola C350 lol. Polyphonic ringtone, colored screen, silver color. It was among the highest phones then including Samsung true I, GSM was relatively new and very expensive in Nigeria then.
    http://Jessicahugoinspire.com

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  7. The fear of credit cards is the beginning of wisdom. At least you were able to repay it.

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    1. LOL @ fear of credit cards. I really think they should not be available to anyone under 21... maybe even 25.

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  8. The first thing that came to mind was my programmable coffee machine. I bought it in uni and I still have it today, it's still going strong. ๐Ÿ˜ƒ
    Today I'm saving for too many things; the joys of adulthood...
    Damiloves blog

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    1. Oooh that's a good one. I'm sure you're still holding on for nostalgic reasons too.

      Adulting is way fun :-|

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  9. Aww the first thing you saved money for is so cute! I used to save money to buy books all the time. I've still not saved for any big 'adult'purchase yet lol. The thought of becoming an adult makes my head ache lool. xx

    cocobellablog.com

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    1. Adulting gives me headaches, trust me. Oooh when I got my first job I used to buy Sweet Valley University books every week.

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  10. hehehe...currently saving money to buy my first car...*singing pray for me by darey art - alade*

    www.liveinibadan.blogspot.com

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  11. I saved money to pay my school fees through ND and HND

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    1. Wow, now that's a really achievement!!! Congratulations

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  12. Those debt collection guys have no chill. It's good you paid it down fast. Credit cards sound great until you get the bill and checking account is also empty. Time to pray to Papa God...

    I bought a nice laptop with my first saving after working odd jobs. It was a great moment of victory!

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