Your first bank account/credit card

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How old when you when you opened your first bank account?

What about credit card?

I was 6 when I got a savings account, and 16 when I got a credit card. (Or was it 18 - whatever the lowest legal age was). My Dad also had his name on it too.

What age do you think people should get savings accounts/credit cards?
 
I had a saving account around 15 when I got my first job. My dad gave me an emergency credit card about 16 (i.e. my name for my credit score but it was jointed to his account).
 
I think I was 17 when I got my first checking account, and that came with a visa check card.

I don't remember how old I was when I got my first credit card. Probably around 20. Was sometime in college in any case. I never really used credit cards until grad school when I had a bit more money and a better grasp on finances and started using one and paying it off in full each month to start building a credit score. I still do that today both to keep my credit up and to earn reward points.
 
I had my first savings account when I was young, no idea when. Between 5-10 is my guess. Opened up a checking account and debit card when I was 18 and had my first job. Never had a credit card and don't plan to for some time in theory (22 now).
 
[quote name='2DMention']How old when you when you opened your first bank account?

What about credit card?

I was 6 when I got a savings account, and 16 when I got a credit card. (Or was it 18 - whatever the lowest legal age was). My Dad also had his name on it too.

What age do you think people should get savings accounts/credit cards?[/QUOTE]


I think my parents basically setup my first savings account the week I was born. Every time I received money from relatives on a holiday, it went into the savings account.

I opened my first checking account the week I turned 14 because on the actual day I turned 14 my parents woke me up and said "Guess what, you have a job now. This is where you need to walk to after school is over, don't be slow getting there."

I was given credit card under my parents' VISA when I was still in high school for emergencies. I can't remember if I was 16 or 18.

I got my own credit card when I was in college because the bank manager told me that having one in my name would help build my credit since I had nothing reporting to the credit bureaus at the time (the way I understood it, rent and utility bills only reported if you missed payments).

I think everyone should have a savings account as soon as possible. Credit card is more based on how responsible the person is with money. Some of my friends are 30 years old and are still so piss poor at managing their money that I don't think they should have a credit card. On the flip side, I've seen teenagers who are responsible enough with money to have one. It just depends on the person.
 
I think I was 18 when I got my checking. It was about the time I graduated high school. I just got a savings account after I started my job after college.

I don't have a credit card but I do have a debit card which I use for all my online purchases.
 
I got a credit card with a $500 limit as soon as I turned 18. I had no need for it, but if you want to build credit you kind of have to have one. All I did was make everyday purchases with it and paid it off as soon as possible. Don't have it anymore though, or any credit cards...
 
I think I was around 16 when I first opened both a checking and savings account at WaMu. My dad advised me it was better than giving those check-cashing places a percentage of my paychecks from my summer job.
 
I got my first checking account when I was 17. I wasn't allowed to have a check card until 18 due to my bank using the Visa network for transactions, though. I got a savings account when I was 23, I think. I didn't get a credit card until I was 25.

I think people should get a savings account as early as they can. It's saved me financial strain more than a few times. If only I were smarter in my youth...
 
Day of my 18th birthday. Went with my parents bank, which was/is a local one. Still regret it. Had to wait 3 months to even get a ATM card then another month for a Visa check card. That was their policy too. I closed it 2 1/2 years later after a teller got very hostile towards me for no reason. Went to a credit union and never looked back.
 
First savings account I opened when I was about 12. I got my first store credit card when I was 15 and my first real credit card when I was 16.
 
I opened my first checking account at 16 when I got a job, and my first credit card was an AAFES Card I got at 17 when I went into the Army.

I think that getting a first credit card when I did, and how I did...worked best for me. If you didn't pay the minimum amount, they took the whole outstanding balance right out of your paycheck (even if that left you with no money). It basically forced you to have a good credit rating.
 
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First credit card at 18. APR was 29% fixed at the time!!!
Building credit took a lot of time.

I was at 6.99% fixed prior to market crashing.
Now it's this 12.99% variable crap.
 
I had my first bank account at 5 and I got my first credit card at 18 with one of those student cards you can get for being in college.
 
I got a savings account when I was 12-13 and could only get money until I was 18

don't have a credit card, they scare me :eek:
 
My folks opened a custodial savings account for me when I was 5 and put $25 a month into it, by the time I went to college the principle was maybe $4,500 or so but the interest had it well over $10k. I somehow managed to blow this on a custom shop Jackson Soloist and a custom shop BC Rich V, neither of which I have any longer and paid all the college by myself.

According to the "member since" line on my card, I've had credit since I was 20.

The checking account in my sole possession was probably 16 (I had a good relationship with my bank and they let me open it even though the minimum age was 17 or 18).
 
I've had a savings account and stock since I was born, thanks to parents/grandparents. I remember growing up we always had to put at least 1 birthday check and 1 christmas check into that account, no matter what. That stopped when we were in our teens, I think.

My siblings had to turn in their accounts for various issues (car troubles and such), but I've still got mine. The stock took a 90% dive back when the market crashed... thank goodness it was only worth pocket change to begin with. It was still dissapointed when I realized my quarterly $30 was now $3. (It rebounded up to $9 last quarter though.)
 
[quote name='nasum']My folks opened a custodial savings account for me when I was 5 and put $25 a month into it, by the time I went to college the principle was maybe $4,500 or so but the interest had it well over $10k.[/QUOTE]

That is one hell of an interest rate.
 
[quote name='Jimbo Slice']That is one hell of an interest rate.[/QUOTE]

hell yeah that is. Those days are long gone... I remember savings accounts and cd's back in the late 80's early 90's with 11% interest! today, good luck finding 1.5%
 
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