Top o’ the Mornin’ to Ya!
TLDR: Discover why financially literate kids grow up to be financially literate adults with freedom and growth, and how three simple jars can teach your children money management from a young age.
What?
Are your kids financially literate? It is time to make a change. Financial literate kids grow up to be financial literate adults. You know what? I wasn’t very financially literate growing up nor half of my adult life. In our house growing up, Mom and Dad didn’t talk with us about their money at all. It was a secret. We had an allowance which I don’t think is the best way to do it. And it was too small, which makes it even worse than not the best way to do it.
But financially literate kids grow up to be financial literate adults. And they grow up to have financial freedom and growth. As we’re growing and teaching our kids, we need to make sure that they have a high level of financial literacy. The basic part of that is a combination of ideas from me, from Dave Ramsey, his daughter Rachel Cruz, from Ramit Sethi, and Robert Kiyosaki.
At the bottom level, kids up to nine years old just need three little buckets or jars. You can grab little jars at the house and set them up. One is a give jar – we start with our giving or tithing. We teach tithing and giving from a young age. The second jar is our save jar – we’re gonna save for something, some big toy, some big fancy thing that we want. And finally, our spend jar.
As we give our kids commissions for things that they earn, they can divide their money up into those jars and assign it and allocate it. Then we can watch and talk about and count. Growing up all our kids love to pull out their jar and count and see where they were with their saving money. Once they reached that point where they had the money they needed for the thing they were saving for, we made a big scene about it and went to the store and picked it up and grabbed it. The spend money – they had money in their spend jar they could take for candy sales or fairs or crafts or take this place, that place, or the other place to go out and have fun right now.
Why?
I share this because Kingdom Family Leaders often avoid money conversations with their kids the way our parents avoided them with us. We keep finances secret, thinking we’re protecting them. Instead, we’re setting them up for the same financial struggles we faced.
When kids aren’t financially literate, they grow into adults who struggle with money, debt, and financial stress. But financially literate kids grow up to be financially literate adults with freedom and growth. The pattern starts early – and it starts with us being intentional.
Lesson
Financial literacy isn’t about how much money you have – it’s about how you manage what you have. The three-jar system teaches fundamental principles that apply for life: give first, save for goals, spend what’s left. These aren’t just money principles – they’re Kingdom principles about stewardship, delayed gratification, and generosity.
Starting with tithing and giving teaches kids that money isn’t just about them. The save jar teaches goal-setting and patience – waiting for something you want rather than instant gratification. The spend jar teaches that after giving and saving, you can enjoy what remains without guilt.
The key is commissions, not allowance. Kids earn money for work completed, learning the connection between effort and reward. Then they manage that money across the three jars, making real decisions about allocation. Watching the save jar grow toward a goal teaches them that small consistent actions lead to big results.
The celebration when they reach their savings goal matters. Make a big scene about it. Let them experience the satisfaction of achieving something they worked for and waited for. That experience builds the foundation for financial freedom as adults.
Apply
This week, set up three jars for each of your kids: Give, Save, Spend. Talk with them about what they want to save for. Print a picture of it and put it on the jar. Create a commission system for work they can do to earn money. When they earn, help them divide it across the three jars and start tracking progress toward their savings goal together.
You be blessed!
