Savings scheme in a box

We have embarked on a household savings scheme - B1,000 every pay day - to create a small income buffer should one of us need an urgent visit to the dentist, or meet some other unexpected big-bill expense.

It is something we should have started years ago. Previously, I would ask my parents to send me savings from overseas.

I don't like using that money for anything other than truly deserving cases. A dentist's bill, for example, while no doubt important, is still just routine spending, even if a toothache does arrive unexpectedly.

Maiyuu went shopping while I was at work last night.

Today he presented me with a simple handmade wooden box.

Not knowing what it was, I opened it - and found a B1,000 note inside, which he offered as the first instalment in our savings plan.

'You lovely kid,' I said, and gave him a big kiss.

Maiyuu says he understands the need to save, and is willing to help me do it. I wasn't sure I'd be able to get him to agree...it is so much easier to just live for the day, after all.

I know I should deposit the money securely in a bank, but I want to see the notes piling up every week.

Deposit interest rates are so miserable these days that whether I keep it in a bank, hidden under the mattress, or left in my little box really makes little difference.