A Natural Born Saver, meet Mrs Nguyễn Thị Thúy

Mrs Nguyễn Thị Thúy joined TYM in 1999, before that she had never had a savings account. She has used TYM’s loans and savings products to grow her business and better manage her finances. Thúy currently has three different term savings accounts with TYM, she has used her savings to fund her children’s education and build a bigger home.

Q: Tell us about when and why you joined TYM

A: I joined TYM in 1999 after hearing about their services from the local Vietnam Women’s Union. I thought the repayment methods were well suited to my situation; at that time my children were very young and I wanted to take out loans to sell vegetables at the market.  I remember taking my baby along with me to the orientation training TYM gave us – It was the first formal training I had ever done, I felt a bit apprehensive but I soon discovered it was all very useful for me.

Q: How did your husband feel about you joining up?

A: My husband works in the construction industry building houses. He was very supportive of me joining TYM if I have trouble making repayments he helps me out.

Q: What did it feel like taking out your first ever loan?

A: The first time I took out a loan it was with a group. My friends and I took it out together. One of the members of our group get sick so we had to all chip and help with the repayments.

My first loan was 500.000 VND. I was nervous that I wouldn’t be able to repay it. But because I went to the market every day it was actually really easy – I put aside my daily profits until the end of the week when I made repayments. I felt excited when I realised I could repay it so easily, I was relieved. The next time I felt more confident and decided to double the loan size and borrow 1 million VND!

Q: Have you managed to increase your savings?

A: The compulsory savings account at TYM was the first ever savings account ever opened, that was back in 1999. Three years later I opened a short-term savings account. Today, I have three different term savings accounts: a one month, three months and 12-month term savings account.

I have a savings strategy, every day I put aside the money I want to spend each day. Whenever I receive a lump sum of money I put it away for the term-savings accounts.

Q: What projects have you carried out with your savings?

A: Thanks to our savings we have been able to renovate our home and send our daughter to university. I feel good about the future knowing I have money aside in case we get sick or there is a wedding to celebrate. I get happy when I see my balance in my savings book it makes me feel much calmer about the future.

Q: How is your business doing?

A: Very well! Now I breed chickens and sell them at the market, it’s more lucrative than selling vegetables.

Q: How do you feel about the future?

A: I have one son and one daughter. One is married and the other is at university. My daughter is studying water management at the University of Hanoi, so I send her money every month.  I am happy with the quality of life they have, but I guess I’ll always worry about their future a little bit.

Would you recommend other women to join TYM?

A: In my experience, everything has been very positive, so I would recommend that other women like me take advantage of the services. Small sized loans are really suitable and easy to pay back.

Q: What other services do you think women in your community could benefit from?

A: I think it’s very important to have health insurance. It would be convenient if the same organization could also cover for us.