When I was a child, my favorite animal was a pig. I used to get all kinds of stuffed animals, figurines, shirts, etc. and I loved them all. For my 11th birthday I received a Pig piggy bank from a girlfriend, it was hand painted and large enough to hold all the money I was going to save for the trip around the world I planned to take when I graduated High School. The Pig was perfect!
As childhood preferences turned to preteen disinterest, I realized that pigs were no longer cool and I traded them in for black lights, lava lamps, and Kurt Cobain. My collection of piggy paraphernalia got boxed and loaded into the basement. The fortune I had assessed thus far was transferred from the Pig to a much trendier water bottle. For 12 years the Pig sat in my parents basement useless, empty and unappreciated.
After college I joined AmeriCorps and moved to South Carolina for 2 years with the dual benefit of serving my country while postponing adulthood. Following AmeriCorps I moved to Chicago and faced the inevitable. As soon as I moved into my big girl apartment my parents as most parents do, required that I go through my childhood items and take what I didn’t want discarded, to my new apartment. Upon inspection of my youth-filled treasures, I found the Pig and decided to give it purpose.
When I moved to Chicago I found myself unemployed and close to broke, but full of optimism. I did not have the money to start a savings account, but I could start putting my spare change and occasional dollar into the Pig. When I got employed and started earning money I opened a savings account, but I did not take my money out of the Pig. The Pig became my rainy day/escape plan/trip of a life time piggy bank, again. Over the last 11 years I have continued to add my spare change, occasional dollar/five dollar/10 dollar/20 dollar, and super special occasional 50 dollar and 100 dollar bills.
Today I counted the Pig and found that I had a little over $2,000 in coins and bills. Tomorrow SFR and I will open our first joint wedding/plan for our lifetime account. Thanks to a beautiful, reliable, hand painted Pig.
Change of Plans 