Financial literacy is not something that is usually taught in school, and that makes it even more vital for us parents to teach our children about money and how to manage it. An excellent technique to help your kids learn how to manage money effectively is called the Save, Spend, and Give Jars. These three jars are where children keep their earnings. Children will divide the money they earned or received into these jars in a specified percentage. This technique teaches how to sort their money and what to prioritize.
SAVE
The first jar is called ‘save,’ and this jar is used for bigger things that they want to buy in the future, but they will need to save for it. This teaches children to think about what they might want or need in the future and plan with a goal in mind. If there are distractions in the middle of the way, they can focus on achieving the big goal and make better decisions.
SPEND
The next jar is called ‘spend.’ this jar keeps some money that the kids wish to spend for themselves, such as slime, stationary, candy, etc. This teaches children to keep in mind that spending money isn’t bad. We just have to plan, be careful, and think before buy.
GIVE
The third jar is called ‘give.’ This jar helps teach children that not everyone is as fortunate as they are, and therefore the more fortunate ones should help the less fortunate as much as they can. That’s why a portion of what the child receives in pocket money can be kept in this jar. Parents and children can decide what they think is the right amount, whether it’s 10% or 20% of the allowance. To make it easier for younger kids to understand, once the amount of money collected is large enough, they can buy essentials like food, soaps, and toothbrushes and directly give them to charities.
INVEST (Optional Extra Jar for the Teens)
For older kids, you can add a fourth jar called ‘invest.’ This is where you can explore the opportunities in growing their money, to keep it somewhere to get more benefits in the future. For example, keeping money in a savings account or term deposit that gives you interest.
It's never too early to teach children about money and finance.
Families with children.
Open a savings account for your little ones!
Ikea has great jars for this!
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