My First Banking Experience: An Introvert’s Journey to Financial Awareness

Banking has always been a chore for me, especially as an introvert. The thought of small talk with tellers or navigating busy bank branches felt draining. But my first experience with banking—opening an account in the 1980s—introduced me to the value of saving and earning interest. Little did I know that this moment would spark my lifelong journey toward understanding personal finance and how introversion became a strength in managing my money.

My First Bank Account: A Lesson in Saving

I can still remember walking into the bank to open my first checking account sometime around the mid-1980s. I had just received a windfall inheritance from a deceased relative of $100, and my mom decided it was time to teach me the value of saving money.

We traveled to our local branch of the First of America, which was a large Midwest regional bank at the time. We waited in a long line and were eventually called over to a teller. My mom explained what we were there to do, and I stood quietly, observing as she filled out the paperwork for my account.

The teller engaged in small talk and asked some additional questions about where the money came from and the purpose of saving it. I'm not sure what the purpose of collecting that information was, especially for such a small sum of money. Looking back, it seems irrelevant and perhaps even rude.

The teller made some notes on the form and passed it over to me with instructions to read and sign it. This triggered an event that could potentially be at the root of my disdain for banking in person.

A Shy Introvert in a Loud World

I carefully signed my name on the form and the back of my check for $100, then passed them over to the teller. She glanced over the paperwork, then looked back at my mother and said, "He doesn't say much, and his handwriting is terrible. Is he in school?"

Shy and quiet were words often used to describe me as a child, so neither the fact that I didn't say much nor that my handwriting was bad was news to my mother. As the teller stamped some final forms and slid the ledger for my new account back to me, I just put my head down and collected them, holding closely to my mom for support.

I could tell my mother was frustrated. She simply replied that I was one of the brightest students in the class, and we were working on it. The last thing I remember from that day was the incensed look on the tellers face when, before turning to walk away, I told her that she had misspelled "inheritance" on the form.

The Extrovert Ideal and the Introvert's Strengths

Although I am a shy introvert, back then I definitely didn't know what that meant. But, as I just mentioned, "shy" and "quiet" were the words most often used to describe me, especially by those close to me. My immediate family never really pressured me to be more outgoing, and my teachers didn’t either—perhaps because they knew me and had seen others like me.

Don't get me wrong—there were plenty of people along the way, mostly those who were more distant, who felt the need to point out that I was quiet and needed to be more assertive and outgoing. But I always felt pressure from society to be more like the extroverts constantly making noise.

Putting aside my horrible handwriting... why did this individual feel the need to comment on the fact that I didn't care about bank gossip or the weather? She seemed to think these were alarming behaviors indicative of a lack of education or adjustment. In reality, I was more interested in the shiny new computer terminal next to her that apparently wasn’t used to open new accounts—and how it worked.

In her book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, Susan Cain spends the entire first chapter talking about the "Extrovert Ideal" and how society shifted to one that facilitates and encourages extroversion, perhaps to our detriment. I think the experience I outlined is a perfect example of this in action and also demonstrates a strength of introverts—perception and our ability to be highly observant and attentive to detail, such as misspelled words...

The Power of Compounding: My First Financial Lesson

The biggest takeaway from this experience, however, came about three months later when I received my first statement and was amazed that my $100 savings had grown to nearly $102! My mother had explained that the main reasons for putting my money into the bank were to keep it safe and prevent me from spending it. Even at a young age, I realized the power of compounding interest and passive income. I remember asking my mother, "Wait, I made money by having money?!" This simple yet profound realization marked the start of my journey to building wealth—one that was rarely a straight line, with many fits and starts, but one that has taught me invaluable lessons.

From Compounding Interest to Digital Banking

In hindsight, the lessons I learned through that first bank account paved the way for my transition to fully digital banking. Today, managing money without face-to-face interactions—and watching my savings grow effortlessly through online accounts—feels like the natural evolution of the journey I began as a child. With modern digital banking platforms, I no longer have to worry about awkward interactions or long lines. Instead, I can focus on leveraging passive income and managing my finances through tools that are much more suited to my introverted nature. I’d love to hear about your first experiences with banking and whether you've had similar encounters where someone didn't accept or understand your introversion—like my experience with the teller. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!