AHH the new year is among us. We start to go through sugar detox, pray for summer (because we just were wishing for winter), and begin to think about all the things we are going to change or implement. Why? Because it’s the new year ya’ll, and that’s what us Americans do. Lofty goals that we can’t keep and grand ideas that never come to fruition.
Let’s try something new and make it simple, mama.
Habits take time to form and bloom. There is a great diagram I saw at a continuing education conference once that showed how we form a habit. We start with an external or internal cue, which sparks a routine, and thus a reward. It’s pretty simple, and if you think about it, pretty accurate. Especially in light of kiddos. Kids get in habits, whether productive or unproductive/good or bad, just like adults. So if you are looking for a productive/good habit for the new year, one that will also benefit you (yes you mama!), check this one out.
Give – Save – Spend jars.
I implemented the ‘theory’ of these jars in my mind a year ago, but they didn’t launch into daily life until I was pulling my hair out because I felt like all I was doing was nagging kids to pick up their junkola. Yes. I, too, nag. I sat down one day and thought there has got to be a better way. I knew what made my kids tick. Random coins. I knew what made me tick. Less seemingly mundane chores. So the marriage of these, along with 6 empty jars (3 for each little lady) soon was celebrated.
Now first you may be thinking – she is paying her kids to be members of the household? To pick up every little item? To do things that they should do ANYWAY? First off – take your mom judging to the other street – because we ain’t here for that. We are here for so much more! Secondly, no, it took much refining to find a habit and routine that really hit home for my kiddos – and I know I am not the only mama who struggles in this same area – so here we are. I also wanted to teach my kids the importance of not only embracing a habit (different than brushing their teeth or pottying before bed), but also the importance of money management at young ages, in a tangible way they could understand and find fun.
Did you know that the average American has $38k in personal debt, minus their mortgage, and that 73% of Americans die in debt?
The current millennials top off the debt mountain, averaging $42k each, with 1/4 of that being credit card debt. No thanks. If I can have any influence on my kids future financial life, then I want to start it as early as I can. So that means now. Being debt free is a goal I have for my kids, and I am doing everything I can as a parent to help them jump start that prior to adulthood. The importance of money management can begin being learned at a very young age.
1 -SHARE THE PHILOSOPHY
Explain the need and philosophy to your kids, in a way they understand. I explained to my girls that mommy needs some extra ‘helping hands’ in the house (which would later be what we refer to their jar chores as) and that there are 3 ways we can use the money we earn when we are the ‘helping hands.’ We talked about saving our money, giving our money away to a good cause, and spending our money for things we really want. Why each of these is important, how mommy and daddy do this at the bank, and how it helps us learn about money. Have this discussion however you feel is appropriate for your situation. We are not following any sort of strict percentage base for each jar, but we found that the explanation and reiteration of each jar are key in this journey.
We are now at a point where my girls want to save almost all of their money, with a few random instances where they will place something in spend. The irony? We hardly EVER even touch the spend jar and have designated it as a jar where we save for things we may want to get someday. We don’t just go blow it on any random item we see. Can they pull a dollar or two out here and there? Of course! Perfect teaching moment. Grab a dollar from the spend jar and educate them on spending their own money on something they want. They may go for the farting putty (ps. who invented that and why?) or put that dollar back. Teaching self-control is another great aspect of this 3 jar method.
As parents, we make sure some money is also placed in give, but it’s not the majority, and when the time comes for a ‘giving’ opportunity, we encourage them to use that money for this instance. You will ebb and flow among situations as you play around with this money management philosophy. If you are a numbers person, keep it simple with an 80/10/10 or a 60/20/20 or what have you ratio. I suggest the highest number always being save, but do what works for you and your family philosophy, while realizing that you are instilling early understandings of how to manage money in these young minds.
2 – CREATIVITY ALA THE KIDS
I found mini mason jars in the dollar section of Target, in sets of 3, on a random spring day last year. If you are lucky enough to find these – grab em – if not use any jars that you can find. Grab washi tape, markers, construction paper, stickers, and whatever else you have to allow your kids to make these jars become their own. My girls made the GIVE SAVE SPEND signage to place on each jar, threw a slew of stickers all over them, and taped them up in all their glory. They literally own every aspect of these jars. Something that is huge for kids. It’s all about the buy-in.
3 – NARROW DOWN THE LIST
Think about what you really need help with. Come on. You know there is a list a mile long. What can you identify as activities your kids can do, consistently, that would actually help you out. This took me a bit. I needed activities that they would STICK WITH without my nagging mom voice echoing in the background. It actually took me longer then I realized. We eventually came up with about 4 activities each that they would have on their ‘helping hands’ list. A few were ‘together’ activities, like empty the dishwasher and clean up their toys from the living room & basement. Others were individual activities, like feed the cat and bring the water and snack cups up from the basement nightly (um that’s the biggest help ever!). We chatted with the girls and came up with these together. Another buy-in. When they feel like they have had a part in the decision making of what activities they will be completing, they will want to be a part of it. Keep the lists small and simple, but achievable.
4 – MAKE THE LIST AND REWARD VISUAL
When it comes to making a visual for the kids to tally and record their completed activities, there are tons of ideas. You can hit up Pinterest and find boards with magnets, paper, clothespins. Endless options. I personally went simple. I wanted something paper-based that my girls could fill out and color weekly. I found this chart, printed out multiple copies, and every Monday would have my girls sit down and color it (again – owning it!). We would list their activities (my first grader would do this herself – making it educational, also) and identify what $$ allotment went with each activity. We kept it small. 10-50 cents pending the activity. The best part – if they didn’t do something throughout the week, for whatever reason, they just didn’t fill in a circle. Mind you, it was explained that just like mama cooking meals and doing the dishes, that these were ‘helping hands’ activities that would be done daily. The catch? They ALWAYS wanted to fill in a circle, so, therefore, an internal motivation developed an excitement surrounded completing their helping hand activities daily.
Is it always perfect? No. But do they like filling in circles and thus completing activities? YES! MOM WIN! We posted these on the side of a lower cabinet where they could reach them and fill them out. Every week, or sometimes two, we would tally the money and they would be given that amount along with their jars. We made it a big deal! Sitting down, having them count the money and then decide where to place it. It does take guidance at times (umm, no you can’t put all of that in Spend), and other times you can tell they are really learning what it means to earn money to use in a variety of ways.
My girls have a nice stash of cash saved up now. They don’t hardly touch it, and we chat about how our save jar is for long-term saving, and if we want something big at the store, we just keep throwing money in our spend jar (which, ends up actually being a save jar – see that?). I could go on and on about what these 3 jars have taught my kids, but I actually suggest you try it and see what works for your family! It has been a win-win for all of us in this house.
