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Teaching a child about money management can better prepare them for their financial future. Knowing how to create a budget is not something that children are born knowing. It is something that is taught. The Save, Spend, Share method is a fun and easy activity to educate children about money management.  

Your child may receive money for their birthday and holidays or may earn money by doing chores or other tasks around the house. Instead of allowing them to spend their earnings all at once, have them set aside some of their funds for saving and sharing, too. This is a great way to teach them about money management at a young age.  

Purchasing and making a Moonjar is an option. A family can also make their own Save, Spend, Share jars. All that is needed are three different containers, each labeled Save, Spend, and Share. The simplest way to divide the child’s money is evenly between the three jars. As the child grows older and is more understanding of money management, you can change the percentage that goes into each jar. 

Save

Always pay yourself first. The Save jar is a great tool to teach such an important habit. Perfecting this habit now will provide the foundation of maintaining an emergency fund later in life. The Save jar will allow your child to visually watch their money “grow”.  

Have a conversation with your child about the differences between needs and wants. Sometimes in life we will have to save for things we need and things we want. Ask your child what they would like to save for. Allow the item to be expensive enough to provide your child with a long-term goal. The item they worked so hard to save for will encompass more value than the monetary worth of the item.

Spend

The Spend jar is for the child’s money that can be used to spend on themselves, their family, or others. This is the jar to use when they want to purchase a new video game, buy their best friend a birthday gift, or treat themselves to an ice cream at their favorite little place around the corner. The Spend jar provides the child the freedom to choose how they would like to spend a portion of their earnings. 

Share

Pay it forward. Give with no expectation of receiving anything in return. No matter the size, sharing in any way will make the world a better place! One’s time, talents, and money are all examples of ways to share. A child can help pick up trash at the neighborhood park, babysit a younger relative, or donate some of their earnings to a local charity or cause. The Share jar is often the favorite jar of them all!

Each family and child have different ideas of what is important to them. Did your child have someone close pass away from cancer and would like to donate funds to cancer research? Maybe they want to share their money by purchasing trees to plant in their community after many were destroyed in the past storm. Or are they an animal lover and wish to provide aid to the local animal shelter? The opportunities to share are endless and grant us the wonderful feeling of charity! 

Educating our youth about money management isn’t something that can happen overnight. With some tools and encouragement, we can help guide children into a life without financial stress.