56 Comments

1. Brian @ Debt Discipline December 19, 2014 at 6:11 AM

   My First checking account was in high school too, right around the time I landed my first part time job. My First credit card was in college, my mom and dad gave me one to help cover any gaps in the budget, gas, books etc. First loan, hhmmm I think it was from the bank of mom and dad. When the first Batman movie came out in 1989 I borrowed $1500 to buy a bunch of Batman toys to re-sell. Which I did for a profit. First investment (stock) was my 401k in 1995. First mortgage was in 1999 when I bought my first house for $160K. I’ve seen refinanced a few times, so wish I didn’t do that. So there’s my five!
   1. J. Money December 20, 2014 at 2:09 PM

      HAH! You’re a hustler, man!
2. Mrs. Frugalwoods December 19, 2014 at 6:46 AM

   1) I opened my first checking account when I was in 7th grade because I needed a repository for my babysitting and church receptionist jobs… I wanted to save up to buy a car, and I did!
   2) Junior year of college my parents co-signed a credit card for me, but I was mostly too afraid to use it :)
   3) My first real loan was the mortgage on the house we bought 2.5 years ago here in Cambridge
   4) My 401K
   5) 3.8% for our first home. Pretty happy with the rate!
   1. J. Money December 20, 2014 at 2:15 PM

      You bought your first car in all cash?

      #Baller
3. Brian December 19, 2014 at 7:36 AM

   1.I opened my first checking account in high school and did it with a credit union I had access to via my dad’s employer. Prior to that I had a savings account with American Fletcher National Bank (now part of chase) and it was called a “Squirrels Account” and came with a sweet ledger that had a squirrel with a hard hat on it. It’s amazing what you remember from your childhood
   2. Target Credit Card when I was in high school. My mom co-signed it. We got it because I worked there it was easier to pick stuff up for my parents and use my discount with that vs cash
   3. My first loan was for a motorcycle. I still have it and miss riding it, but kids make it hard to do it as much as I want. I’ll probably sell it this spring and shed a small tear.
   4. I purchased my first stock somewhere around the time I was 13 (well my dad executed the trade via a custodian account) and it was for Eli Lilly.
   5. What’s a mortgage? We paid, as Randy Moss said, Straight Cash Homey for our house. Our course we are thinking about moving this year, so I might have my first mortgage this year.
   1. J. Money December 20, 2014 at 2:18 PM

      Haha… both you and Randy Moss are bad asses, no doubt about it.
4. C@thesingledollar December 19, 2014 at 7:47 AM

   As a matter of fact, I paid off all my debt this week :)

   1) First checking account: hmm. Late in high school, maybe junior or senior year. I definitely remember writing a check in the spring of my senior year of high school. I can’t remember if you had to be 18 to have one (I turned 18 earlier that year.)

   2) First credit card: first semester of college. I got it from the credit union at my college, so it had a reasonable rate and I think a $750 limit — something low, anyway. I was pretty decent about it; I did build up a balance at times but then I’d tighten up and pay it down. There wasn’t much to spend money on in my town other than books, so that probably made it easier!

   3) First loan: the federal loan I took out for freshman year of college (subsidized Stafford.) I went to a college that met your full financial aid need — my parents paid what the FAFSA said they could, I took out whatever I was allowed to take out in subsidized Staffords (total of $14K in four years), and then the college met the rest with grants.

   4) First investment (stock): I was given 10 shares of Disney stock by my godfather as a high school graduation present. I had no idea what to do with it so it just sat around (at some point it split so I ended up with 30 shares) until I sold it 18 months ago and used the income to help pay for a car. First investment I made myself: into a Roth IRA (Vanguard retirement fund) in March 2014.

   5) First mortgage: HAH. Nope.
   1. J. Money December 20, 2014 at 2:19 PM

      Congrats on being debt free!!! What are you going to do with all that extra money now?? :)
      1. C@thesingledollar December 21, 2014 at 1:41 PM

         Put it in savings, of course! (OK, I’m also going to buy some boots.)
5. Emily @ Simple Cheap Mom December 19, 2014 at 8:00 AM

   My first times:

   1. First checking account – I remember having a bank book and card when I was about 6. I think the bank pitched in $5 when I opened my account. It was fun going in to get my bank book updated and seeing the interest add up.

   2. First credit card – in university I got a student credit card from the bank when I may or may not have had an income. The credit limit was $500, so I couldn’t get into too much trouble.

   3. First loan – never? I can’t think of one now.

   4. First investment (stock) – When I started my first career job, I walked to the bank next door to set up my RRSP. It was a high MER dividend growth fund. I still have it, really need to switch that up.

   5. First mortgage – after school I moved out of my parents’ home into my own 550 square foot condo. I put 10% down, paid mortgage insurance, reno’d the kitchen and paid the penaltied to cancel the mortgage when I sold it 3.5 years later. It was a great market, so I could afford to make all those mistakes. I think all in all I got paid to live there. I loved that little condo.
6. Cedes December 19, 2014 at 8:35 AM

   1. First checking account – My first personal checking was my first year of college. Prior to that I only had savings accounts and went to the bank branch to take out cash if I needed it for something.

   2. First credit card – Parents got me one for emergencies too when I was probably 13? Used it for some real “important” purchases at the beach one summer and it was taken away! My first CC on my own would have been the first year of college when I signed up for that checking account. They talked me into a credit card too, but it was through a school credit union, so the rate was low, and the limit was maybe $500?! so I couldn’t get myself into too much trouble (it was my second credit card that did that!).

   3. First loan – From a bank, would be my first (co-signed by my parents) car loan when I was 23. Even with their stellar credit I still didn’t get an awesome rate though. But still much better than had I tried to get one on my own!

   4. First investment (stock) – Besides my 401k, I think I made my first stock purchase 2-3 years ago. All dividend paying stocks that just keep reinvesting themselves. I’m hoping to pick up some extra OT this year and be able to contribute more to this account!

   5. First mortgage – 4.5 years ago. It as a “good time” to buy with the markets still being low and I got that first time home buyer tax credit. Though it was an FHA loan with the 3.5% down, so I’m paying PMI on it which irks me a little bit now that I know better. But, I just looked at the cost of renting apartments near my house, and I’m paying $300-$800 less for my 3be/2ba condo than I’d be paying for a 1be/1ba apartment less than a mile away. So I don’t feel quite as bad!
7. Gretchen December 19, 2014 at 8:36 AM

   Ok,

   1) My first checking account – I was 16 and had gotten my first job. I didn’t even research it, my mom did…..and you better believe she made sure I wasn’t spending too much of it!

   2) First credit card – after I get married at 19, sometime around my 20th birthday we decided we needed a credit card. I have no idea why…. But, we still have that card, and it actually has a pretty low interest rate (8.24%)

   3) First loan – stupidest decision I ever made. We bought a new, fully loaded focus and financed every bit of it. That was 4 years ago. It took us 3 more years of car payment to realize it was a losing battle. Since then, we’ve vowed to pay off our current auto loan and never have on again!

   4) First investment – A Roth IRA in 2012 with 90% in stocks…..I’m not 100% sure what the name of the fund is, but it’s a higher-risk fund.

   5) First mortgage – I was 22 and pregnant when I bought a house by myself. My husband wasn’t even on the loan. I bought the house for $46K and just had it appraised for $125K…..now to decide whether to rent it or sell it when we move…..
   1. J. Money December 20, 2014 at 2:23 PM

      I wish our house would appreciate by 300%! Great problem to have :)
8. Paul December 19, 2014 at 8:47 AM

   1. First checking account – I’m pretty sure it was right before I started college. I got a great scholarship that paid tuition and room, and my mom let me have the money she was getting for me from Social Security (my dad passed away when I was 3 yrs old). I think it was about $150-160 per month, and I needed a place to put that money.

   2. First credit card – It was at about the same time I got my first credit card. I don’t remember, but it was probably a store card or from one of those people you meet the first week of college.

   3. First loan – The first loan I ever got was the first time I bought a car on my own. I was 22 yrs old and my car had died. I bought the cheapest car I could find. It was a 5 year loan and I was paying about $150 a month.

   4. First investment – I think the first investment I bought was when I was 29 yrs old. I had paid off my student debt and I had been buying EE savings bonds through work. I was in the military and this was before the offered the Thrift Savings Plan. I bought some mutual funds and put them in a regular IRA.

   5. First mortgage – I didn’t get my first mortgage until I was 37 yrs old. I was in the military and single, and I really didn’t have a reason to get a house. Then I got engaged the previous year and my future wife moved in with me. I think she had a lot of influence in the decision to buy a house.
9. No Nonsense Landlord December 19, 2014 at 9:24 AM

   My first ‘checking’ account, was a passbook savings account. They put your savings book in the machine and it printed the amount you had.

   My first rental mortgage was one of my first mortgages. I refinanced my own home to about 3x what I owed on it at the present time to purchase a couple of duplexes. I was between contracts, so I did not even have a job at the closing. My original house payment was a breeze, the new one was quite a bit higher. It gave me incentive to get to making money on it.
10. andy December 19, 2014 at 9:31 AM

    first checking acct – age 18. (credit union)
    first credit card – same day (age 18) (credit union)
    first loan – age 20 1/2…….first (new) car. had 1/2 the price of the car saved for a downpayment due to full college scholarship and co-op job during school that i could save almost all the income from (still living at home). was able to pay it off in 6 months.
    first investment – parents invested for me for a college fund (didn’t need, scholarship covered tuition, books, fees, and i lived at home and commuted). but started putting money away at age 21 when my job let me start their 401k.
    first mortgage – age 23 1/2 i moved out of my parents house and bought a house. wasn’t able to put the 20% down that i wanted to so i had to pay FHA insurance of about 30 a month for 5 years…..which ended this fall! refinancing now from a 5% loan to under a 3% loan so excited about that. house is worth 94k, loan was for 84k, have it paid down to 51k so i am also excited about that.
    1. J. Money December 20, 2014 at 2:28 PM

       I’d be excited about that too – you’re halfway to being mortgage-free!
11. Stefanie @ The Broke and Beautiful Life December 19, 2014 at 9:39 AM

    Hmmm… let’s see. (nothing dirty about virginity, just a lot of awkward not knowing what you’re doing- whether it’s financial and otherwise ;) )

    I think I got my first checking account when I graduated high school at the Chase down the street (I left when they started charging maintenance fees).

    I had a debit card in college and got my first credit card when I graduated (kinda late now that I think about it).

    No loans, thank goodness!

    Opened a ROTH when I was 24 and invested in a Target Retirement Date Fund (lazy ;)

    No mortgage- maybe someday.
12. Mortgage Free Mike December 19, 2014 at 9:45 AM

    1) First checking account: 16 years old, Bank of America. I kept this checking account until earlier this year. I now use Capital One 360 as my primary checking account.

    2) First credit card: I don’t remember exactly what it was, but I know I was also 16. I used it to establish credit quickly and the offers kept coming!

    3) First loan: A car loan in 2001. I was 17. I got 0% interest because it was right after 9/11 and the auto industry was in a bad place. I think my mother had to co-sign with me.

    4) First investment (stock): My parents opening up a ROTH IRA for me when I graduated from college at age 19.

    5) First mortgage: I got my first mortgage at age 22, 7 years ago. It was for a $200,000 co-op in Washington, DC. I remember the rate was in the 5-6% range, which seems high now. I took advantage of the federal first-time homeowner credit.

    (I withdrew from high school at age 16 to live on my own and go to college early. That’s why I got things going a little early!)
13. Chris @ Flipping A Dollar December 19, 2014 at 9:54 AM

    1 Got it in college. I got that thing down to under a dollar EVERY MONTH.
    2 Right after I payed off my student loans, I got an Amex. I still have it to this day.
    3 Student loan for my 5th year of college. It was over 20k at the end of 2010. $0 by end of 2012. BAM!
    4 Marvel comics. I was allowed to invest some $100 or 200 in the stock market, picked Marvel. It near immediately went bankrupt (~1996). I’d like to think that if I kept that stock, it would be worth something today, but I have no idea if that’s the case.
    5 Current home now. Paying it off early. Have over 4 years already knocked off of the 30 years (got it in mid-June).
    1. J. Money December 20, 2014 at 2:30 PM

       Guess that idea of “investing in what you love/use” doesn’t always work, eh? :)
14. S L December 19, 2014 at 10:21 AM

    1) My first checking account – I don’t know — “I always had one” I know I changed banks when I got married at 18.
    2) First credit card – Sears card, for a lawnmower :)
    3) First loan – car loan, on a used turismo – with no credit, iirc – was impressed (and probably scalped on interest – cannot remember)
    4) First investment – 401K that I had to cash out with penalties(! cries) when I had been without a job for a year. Held out as long as I could.
    5) First mortgage – bought a little 2 br with the husband. He worked the loan. I was in charge of the monthly finances so paid the bill. No idea still what the percentage or amount was — a lifetime ago. I know a lot more now :D
    1. J. Money December 20, 2014 at 2:31 PM

       Yikes – pulling from 401k is my nightmare!
15. John @ Frugal Rules December 19, 2014 at 10:21 AM

    1. I got my first checking account, I believe as a Freshman in high school to have somewhere to put earnings from my first legit job. I had a savings account for a number of years before that.
    2. Freshman year of college. I co-signed with my parents as well. It was when I moved cross-country as a Junior that I fell for the free t-shirt/frisbee scam…if I could only go back and smack the college me silly!
    3. Student loans starting my Junior year in college
    4. AT&T stock. It was the old paper certificate and was for 10 shares. I ashamedly sold it in the height of my financial stupidity.
    5. First and only mortgage was on our first house we bought about 8 years ago.
16. Liz December 19, 2014 at 10:25 AM

    1. First checking account at age 18 when I was going to college. Before that I had a savings account at a credit union since age 12. Dad took all five of us down one Saturday morning and opened the accounts with just $5 for each of us!
    2. First credit card at age 21, I resisted the sign-up tables at college and used my debit card for all transactions. Started with a low credit limit (1500) that I kept until landing a full time job.
    3. First loan at age 20 was student loans for college. Had grants, scholarships and parent support that covered the first two years (public university), then my siblings started college (mostly private universities) and I told my parents to focus on them.
    4. First investment at age 19 was a Roth IRA CD (rates were good in 2000) that I later moved into a Roth IRA mutual fund at a different bank.
    5. No mortgage yet, happy with the apartment I rent!
17. Mysti December 19, 2014 at 10:27 AM

    I am 39…just for reference….

    1) Checking account at 16. It was through my parents’ credit union, and I still have that account today!! It is used as a vehicle for my car loans (no pun intended!). We direct deposit what we need to cover the loans, and the credit union auto debits it monthly. Way better rate!

    2) Credit card at 20. Just out of college (1996). Had a $500 limit and was used to start a credit history. Also through the credit union!

    3) First loan….17?? That would be my first student loan for college that was co-signed with my parents because I was 17. If we don’t count that and we are solely going on “as an individual,” then it would be at 22 to help pay for my wedding (Hubby and I paid for our own wedding and split the cost….roughly $6k each).

    4) Investment…..honestly……I might be a virgin! We have a retirement account through Hubby, but none of my own (that is a whole other ball of wax). And just this summer we opened an account for our son’s special needs trust…but investing for the sake of wealth building….nope.

    5) Mortgage at 26, in 2001. We bought our first home, which we are still in as of the moment. But we are selling, as we are relocating to SC! Wanna buy a New England vacation house? :)
    1. J. Money December 20, 2014 at 2:33 PM

       SC is fun! Especially if it’s Charleston :)
18. Lance @ Healthy Wealthy Income December 19, 2014 at 11:04 AM

    1-First checking account – In high school so I could put money in from golf course job.
    2-First credit card – after college I got one because I needed to build credit, almost never used it.
    3-First loan – first townhouse for $105k, sold it 2 1/2 years later for $200k, thanks housing bubble!
    4-First investment (stock) – Apple at $25 out of college, my family has a connection to the starting of the company and I had money out of college so I tried it. Had no idea what was going on, sold a little while later in the $40’s after iPod came out. Thought it couldn’t get any better than an iPod and stock had gone way, way up….sigh…I don’t buy individual stocks anymore.
    5-First mortgage – same as above on first loan.
19. Steve Kobrin December 19, 2014 at 11:37 AM

    My first checking account was actually a passbook savings account. It was with a local bank, and I was seven years old when I opened it. Through various ways of scrounging around and doing odd jobs, I had managed to save 700 pennies. I remember counting – and recounting – them all day in eager anticipation for my father to come home from work and take me to the bank.

    The great moment finally arrived and we walked together to the branch in which he had his own account. (It was a neat feeling to be just like him.) It was also a very majestic experience to walk up to the counter and go through the formalities of opening an account.

    At last I was asked for the money with which I would start savings for my future. I handed over my jar of pennies and they were meticulously counted.

    And the final tally was 699.

    I suppose that with all my fervent accounting, one of my precious pennies had become waylaid. With a magnanimous smile my father kicked in a replacement.

    My account was officially open.
    1. Darrell December 19, 2014 at 5:22 PM

       This needs a like button!
       1. J. Money December 20, 2014 at 2:36 PM

          Awwww wonderful story!!! And gets me so excited to help my kids open up theirs too! Though, now everything’s online and they both already have one, d’oh. Maybe I just won’t tell them and go and open up “new” ones anyways for them later :)
       2. Steve Kobrin December 22, 2014 at 4:22 PM

          Thank you. This is a sweet memory for me.
20. Shannon in Utah December 19, 2014 at 12:12 PM

    “(PS: Remember how tricky colleges were too with allowing banks to come in and give away free t-shirts and mugs just to get you signed up to their credit cards?? Thank GOD rules came in after to change that messed up system… A single stupid shirt for years of bad debt and interest, what a scam…)”

    Oh yes! I did every single T-shirt, mug, water bottle, key chain offer I saw walking around campus in the mid 1990s. Amazingly I did not use ANY of them and had no intentions. I just wanted a stupid over-sized pointless shirt with bad logos for some reason. Then years later I discovered they were all still open on my credit report (hello blast from the past!). Since I had not touched them, my debt to available debt ratio was super low which probably gave me an excellent credit rating! They are closed now. Yeah, I know to keep the oldest one open supposedly, but I did get more adult-like credit cards with higher limits about 15 years ago.
21. Shannon @ Financially Blonde December 19, 2014 at 12:14 PM

    FUN!!
    First checking account – College. I had no idea how to write a check until I was 18 because I worked in nothing but cash paying jobs until that point and my checking account was my sock drawer before that.
    First credit card – College. Capital One with a $200 limit
    First loan – Hmmm…I guess this would have to be my first mortgage (see below).
    First investment (stock) – I have always hated buying stocks and have only owned pooled investments. My first time investing, though, was in my 401k at 22.
    First mortgage – My first home with my hubby in Florida. It was a town home that we purchased in 2004. We sold it in 2005 and made 20%. Then we lost that 20% in 2008 when the housing bubble burst.
22. Cassie December 19, 2014 at 12:31 PM

    First checking account – I want to say I was 12. I also seem to remember inquiring about an RRSP account with them a couple years later and being told I had to wait until I was 18 (which wasn’t true)

    First credit card – I believe I was 19? Still have it actually. It wasn’t cosigned and I handled it quite responsibly until being brainwashed in the ways of poor money handling a couple years into university. Glad I got over that.

    First loan – $2000 to pay for the damage to another car after getting into a slow motion accident with my then boyfriend’s SUV *cringe* It was so slippery out the other driver and the tow truck driver both fell getting out of their vehicles. I was young and didn’t want the massive insurance rate increase, so I took the loan out and paid it off quickly.

    First investment (stock) – I had two of them: Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (CNQ on the TSX), and Lululemon Athletica (LLL on the TSX). I spent the summer working for CNRL and listening to the guys I worked with crow about how much money they had made in company stock, talking about 3 and 4 way splits (wrong reason to buy, I know). I was in love with Lululemon’s products, so I figured that was a good investment too (less of a wrong reason, but still off). I lucked out and basically doubled my money in both, which a few years ago I pulled out and used to pay off my credit card.

    First mortgage – $250k mortgage at 3.99% on a trashed foreclosure. It was more than a little stressful living in it while fixing it up, but four years and about $20k later I sold it for $320k, so it ended up working out in the end.
    1. J. Money December 20, 2014 at 2:39 PM

       Great ends to all those stories!
23. Crystal December 19, 2014 at 12:54 PM

    1.First checking account – I was 6 1/2 years old in 1989. My mom waited in line with me at the DMV to get me an official Texas ID card (I still have it though it was cut in half when I got my DL). Then she took me to their DOW employee credit union and I opened my first savings and checking account in my own name. No parental or anybody else access. My mom sat down with me and showed me how to balance my checkbook. She also explained how everything worked and why I should never spend money that I don’t have. I will say that my parents and I have had many issues over the last 25 years, but I am thankful that my mom was in the teach-about-money mood when I was little.

    2.First credit card – I just turned 18, it was 2001, and my mom told me that credit was an important thing to have. It was a Capitalone Visa with a $500 limit. I used it occasionally for small online purchases and then had it’s limit increased in college so I could buy text books. I moved over to Discover to get cash back as soon as they would take me in my sophomore year.

    3.First loan – $2500 from my parents at 5% in 2002 when I was 19 years old (I was getting 4.5% in savings in ING Direct, so it wasn’t an insane rate back then). We signed paperwork and everything. Overall, I owed them $8000-$8500 by the end of college in 2005 (age 22). I made 3-4 payments and then they forgave the loan. My first non-family loan was in 2005 (age 22) when I bought my first new car – the 2005 Chevy Aveo. It was $11,800, 6% interest, I put $1000 down, and I paid it off for a grand total of $13,200 in 2.5 years.

    4.First investment (stock) – That would have been the Fidelity Freedom 2035 target-date mutual fund that my 401k was in starting in late 2005 at my first job out of college (I was 22). My husband and I invested in Johnson and Johnson in 2006 as our first individual stock.

    5.First mortgage – We bought our first home in 2007 when I was 24 years old. It was $114,000, we put down 20%. The $91,200 left was at 5.375% for 15 years with Washington Mutual. Our payments were $740 but we paid $900 from day 1. In 2010, we refinanced to 4.5% with Chase when they bought WAMU (they offered a no cost refi…I think they needed paperwork on hand after taking over). In 2011-2012, my online business grew pretty quickly. We used the extra money to buy our new house in late 2012 (20% down again), and we paid off our first house in full in early 2013. I was 30 years old. We are aiming to pay off our current home by the time I’m 45. It is a $275,000 home that has about $200,000 to go at 4%.

    Thanks for the fun Fridays!
    1. J. Money December 20, 2014 at 2:43 PM

       Thanks for participating!
24. Jessica December 19, 2014 at 1:24 PM

    1. First checking account- I got my first checking account sometime in high school. I splurged for Disney Princess themed checks.

    2. First credit card- I held off on getting a credit card for a looooong time. I had other forms of credit and didn’t plan on going into debt to spend, so I didn’t see the need. I didn’t get my own card until after I graduated from law school in 2012! Now I just use it for the rewards and pay it off every month.

    3. First loan- My first loan was for a car when I turned 18. I paid it off early. :)

    4. First investment (stock)- My first investment was in my SIMPLE IRA after I got my first job as an attorney. I actually waited almost a year before I moved the funds out of the default money market account into actual stocks/funds because I didn’t think I knew what I was doing.

    5. First mortgage- My husband and I bought a house when we were 21 and 19, respectively. A low real estate market (Kentucky), healthy financial habits, and having a mother-in-law as a mortgage broker contributed greatly.
25. Kim December 19, 2014 at 2:43 PM

    1) 1st checking account when I was 16. I was working at a blue jean factory making those labels that say machine wash warm etc. Needed a place to stash my minimum wage.

    2) Honestly can’t remember but probably signed up for a t-shirt. Stupid girl!

    3) First loan was at beginning of optometry school.

    4) SIMPLE IRA at my first real optometry job.

    5) $89.5K mortgage for our fist home. Wish we had kept that one. It would be a great rental.
    1. J. Money December 20, 2014 at 2:44 PM

       “I was working at a blue jean factory making those labels that say machine wash warm etc.”

       Hahaha… didn’t see that one coming.
26. nic December 19, 2014 at 3:18 PM

    1) First checking account was 15 1/2 when I could start working…had to save for my first car!

    2) Right before College. I got all signed up and ready for some debt with no thought of how it would be paid off…Huge mistake not working in college to finance my purchases until the final quarter before I graduated. Wife made it pretty clear I needed to pay it off AND save for a ring before getting engaged…Demanding!

    3) I didn’t take out a loan till it came time to purchase a truck…because I clearly needed a truck, car and a motorcycle for a while, so I took out a line of credit at my local credit union (since the mileage was higher than the bank would finance). A few short months later I decided I didn’t need 3 vehicles, sold the car and paid off the line of credit.

    4) 401k and a few stocks at the same time. Once I graduated and got hired full time, I decided I wanted to try my hand as a day trader with a little extra cash. I learned a valuable lesson and lost a good 30-40% of it (mostly in transaction fees). I will say prior to that (and underage) I invested in online poker for a while (We’ll call it “investing”), I’ll say it ended up as a net in total which really wasn’t so bad (and made me a much better poker player, which I’ve used a few times at the casino and have made more than I’ve lost in the long run).

    5) $225k first house (which is more than reasonable in my area). Out “Just looking” since we saw some new homes this way —–> signs and wanted to see what was out there. I stumbled across one that was reasonably within our budget at the beginning of our careers, and now it’s a much smaller portion of our salaries, which is great.
    1. J. Money December 20, 2014 at 2:45 PM

       All I know is that you have a pretty smart wife ;)
27. Emily @ evolvingPF December 19, 2014 at 3:26 PM

    1) I think my parents opened a checking account with me when I was in HS, but I barely remember it except that I was told by the bank after I turned 18 that it wasn’t actually legal for me to write checks without my cosigner when I was under 18. I consider my first real checking account to be the one I opened when I got to college (age 18). It was with Bank of America and became a HUGE pain in the butt over the years and I was ecstatic when I closed it and switched over to internet banks exclusively.

    2) I chose a ‘responsible’ credit card (only 10% interest) post-college (age 22) that was supposed to be only to build my credit and perhaps for emergencies, which thankfully never occurred.

    3) Student loan, age 18.

    4) My Roth IRA, opened at age 22! I made the mistake of not actually choosing a fund so I ‘invested’ in cash in the money market account for over a year! Then I figured out what I had done and switched to a target date retirement account. http://www.evolvingpf.com/2012/03/my-biggest-financial-mistake-and-why-im-glad-i-made-it/

    5) I don’t have a mortgage now and probably won’t for quite some time.
    1. J. Money December 20, 2014 at 2:47 PM

       I’ve never met one person who actually likes Bank of America… It amazes me how big they are!
28. Darrell December 19, 2014 at 4:51 PM

    1 and 4) First checking account was after I worked a summer before college just before my first year of college. I made it through the whole summer in ’98 and just collected all the checks because I made enough on weekend cash jobs to pay for minimal social expenses. At the end of the summer, I took all of my checks to a bank and said, “can I have this money?” I ended up using it as my first investment: I put them in a CD. If I remember correctly, I want to say it was a 4 or 5% interest rate.

    2) I got a credit card my first week of college from those people giving away free t-shirts on campus. I still have the card today, but don’t use that particular one. I remember expenses going as high as $1,200 a month sometimes during college. What the hell was I spending money on?

    3) First loan was an engagement ring. 0% interest for 12 months. Paid it off before getting charged interest.

    5) August 2011 for $350k. Refinanced a year later. Bought at the bottom. Super low rate…couldn’t be happier.
29. Lisa December 19, 2014 at 5:15 PM

    1 & 2) First checking account and credit card were opened during freshman orientation at a bank our family used in the town college was in. A memorable event indeed as all previous visits to that bank were as a child and involved my grandmother’s banking needs. The credit card was only for EMERGENCIES, so when Mom found out I was actually using it she had her name removed as a cosigner.

    3) First loan was for $5,000 in 1995 for a portion of the purchase of a new car to establish installment credit. This was memorable also, as this was the last brand new car I owned.

    4)Purchased shares in 4 individual stocks in 1991 based on dividends and performance.

    5) First mortgage was in 1999 for $73,600, after putting 20% down. I sold it 4 years later and pocketed more than 20%.
30. Brittany December 20, 2014 at 9:23 AM

    1. First checking account was opened when I started making “big bucks” via my 6th grade paper route job. Does anybody remember how cool it was to have a paper router am I just a complete weirdo?
    2. I didn’t get my first credit card until I was 25. Late bloomer.
    3.my first loan was a student loan when I was 18.
    4. Technically my first investment was in my 401k at work
    5. Still waiting on the right time, place, and house to lose my mortgage virginity.
    1. J. Money December 20, 2014 at 2:50 PM

       I never had the privilege of having my own paper route but I remember playing that Nintendo game and loving it! :)
31. James@StartingNegative December 21, 2014 at 1:20 PM

    1) First checking account: Freshman year of college. Ended up at US Bank because it was on campus and I needed a place for my scholarship stipend. Also, they gave me free stuff to sign up, and off-campus was scary and new.

    2) First credit card: Ah, my path to financial delinquency. Got a Capital One card I think when I was 20 or so. Maxed it out pretty quickly and kept a balance for years.

    3) First loan: If we don’t count the timeshare, my first loan was my student loans that I took when I came back to finish my degree in my 30s. I did get some payday loans in my early 20s, though. Eesh.

    4) First investment (stock): My first attempts at gaining financial literacy resulted in me opening a Sharebuilder account in 2007 or so. Bought some big name tech company with $100, but I can’t quite remember which.

    5) First mortgage: Timeshare in 2004. If we don’t count that (I wish!), then I’ve never had one.
    1. J. Money December 23, 2014 at 12:37 PM

       Oh man, the timeshare thing is a whole other ballgame… it’s a hit or miss thing, but more often than not a miss. I used to be a timeshare salesman and I learned quite a bit! Didn’t realize how shady some of them were since we had been using ours for years growing up (my father had one) and we loved it… But talk about the worst type of sales techniques, bleh! But no where near as bad as pay day loans, so I’m glad you’re over that one ;)
32. Megan @ Megan And Eggs December 21, 2014 at 6:47 PM

    1.First checking account: I was going into my freshman year of college and it was all of my graduation money. Before that I used a passbook savings account.

    2.First credit card: It was an American Eagle credit card my mom cosigned for my sister and I. I must have been 16. We only used it like 2 times so we clearly got it for the sign on discount.

    3.First loan: My student loans.

    4.First investment (stock): I was 23 and opened my first 401k. I let the big man do my investing.

    5.First mortgage: Still renting, probably won’t be looking into buying for another 5 years or so.
33. Justin Murphy December 21, 2014 at 7:25 PM

    First checking account
    In High School (Mid 80s) but I think it was a passbook savings technically. May have had an ATM linked account when I went to college.
    First credit card
    After college. Cash and carry until then.
    First loan
    Mom lent me the price of my first new car after graduating college. Would have qualified for a bank loan but this was less hassle. Paid her back in 4 years (~$10,000 for a 1990 VW Jetta)
    First investment (stock)
    During college I bought some shares of PanAm stock. Can’t remember why I picked that company or how many shares I bought. It was just a few hundred dollars worth. Terrible choice, and commissions probably ate most of any return, but you have to start somewhere. Lol
    First mortgage
    First home in 1993 after 1 year of marriage. $337,500 against $375,000 price. I remember saying: “If they’re stupid enough to lend me the money, I’ll be stupid enough to take it.” Sold that house in 2009 for $790,000 and have been mortgage free ever since.

    Happy holidays!
    1. J. Money December 23, 2014 at 12:39 PM

       Hah! Good for you!!

       And funny about PanAm. I used to collect old paper stock certificates and my favorite ones were of PanAm :) They were pink and kinda cool looking!
34. BrokeSLP December 31, 2014 at 9:15 PM

    I’ve been stalking this blog for a while, but this is my second post. So, I’m almost a sexy virgin commenter , right? Anyway:

    1. First checking account: I was 14 kind of working possibly maybe underage for Mcdonalds. I socked away my pennies into that account from my first job.

    2. First credit card– Recent! As in not even 2 years ago. But kind of late in terms of age maybe? I was 22. Got a Bank of America Travel rewards card and a Discover card at the same time (I didn’t think they’d BOTH approve me) and I love them.

    3. First Loan: About 2 1/2 years ago, when I started grad school.

    4. First Investment: I had a $1k laying around in 2008 that I wasn’t in desperate need of, and I thought it would be fun to try. So, I set up a tradeking account and I bought Bank of America, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Amylin, and a penny stock. Up and down, across the portfolio, but I think I did pretty well :)

    4. First mortgage– uh.. can I count my student loans? They might as well be a down payment. Otherwise, none yet.
    1. J. Money January 7, 2015 at 2:47 PM

       You’ve had a few new financial firsts recently – thanks for playing along and commenting! :)