I was just a young boy with little knowledge about what I was doing, but I enjoyed the results of it. The word ‘money box’ was occasionally used but I did know what it was. For me, it was a big object or a tin which has a small opening, big enough to allow coins inside. However, I did not have a money box but I still wanted to save a little money.

At primary school, my family used to give me pocket money which was usually R5 or R2. I did not necessarily have to use it all because the snacks did not cost a lot of money. I decided to create my own money box by using an empty plastic container. I cut-open the top of the container to permit coins to enter the container. I was inserting the coins in the money box as often as I could and at the end of the week and I still always had enough coins to buy the sweets I liked.

It was always a pleasure to open the container and count the coins to see how much I have saved. I would shout and jump in excitement when I find that I saved more money than I expected. However, this meant that I had to share my savings with other kids. It was very exciting but it did not last for long.

Early this year my mother came back from work with two money boxes. She gave me one and encouraged me to save some coins as much as I can. I was really pleased to have a money box because I had never thought of buying a money box with my saved money.

In high school I got too used to asking for money from my mother whenever I wanted to buy something. Now as a student, I am forced to use the money wisely, I can no longer rely on my parents to give me money. I moved to the student accommodation with my money box and kept it on my study desk. Whenever I have coins, I put them in my money box. I like to keep some coins with me in case I need them to buy a specific thing or if I want to give some to the street beggar.

In the past I have saved up to R50 before my first study break. My goal was to save even more than that but I was not disappointed because I never put pressure on myself to save more than I can afford to. I usually put any coins that I have in my money box if it can be as high as R5 or as low as 10 Cent. I open my money box only when it is necessary. I am planning to continue saving.