Money and Children

I remember riding my bike to the Sprouse-Ritz to buy my first tape-Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell." I was never great at saving up for a desired item, and would generally reserve my shopping interests to items that I could afford that day. JillyBoo's dad and I are bound and determined to raise a money-savvy child, and as such, we opened a savings account for her roughly the day after she was born. This was a brilliant idea, however, we have yet to find this account a useful tool in helping her understand money. "Hey, JillyBoo, you have some imaginary money in a bank that only exists online. Woo hoo!"

During a recent sick-day at home with JillyBoo, I realized that I had nothing to read (read that last line with dramatic flair). JillyBoo's dad had left a copy of SmartMoney magazine on the table, and so I decided, with a sigh, to flip non-committally through its pages. What a great magazine, even though I understood only 1/10th of it's articles!

By far the most impactful article was called Financial Literacy for Kids. It offered tips for teaching kids about money, which for me, tied in well to my recent desire to teach JillyBoo about the value of individual coins. I followed a few of the links from the article, and was pleasantly surprised by what they had to offer. First, I found ThreeJars Allowance tracker. I was introduced to the "three jars" concept in Arizona by some wonderful friends. JillyBoo already had "three jars," however, they had no connection to financial education or a plan. I decided to pay the $30 yearly fee to try out the ThreeJars website, which they only charge after you've been a member for the first month.

JillyBoo loved that she gets her own page on the site, and quickly designed a background and personal logo that only Prince could love. Really, how is it that five-year-olds have the same taste as circa 1970s pimps? Together, we picked a reasonable distribution for her weekly allowance-Save $1, Spend $0.80 and Share $0.20. I appreciated that the website let you input an initial "deposit" to the jars, as I was not anxious to calculate how we would divvy up the money that JillyBoo already had amongst the three jars.

The website, as near as I can tell, is worth every cent. It includes video clips from the "Today Show" financial advisor, Jean Chatsky, who shares advice from the point-of-view of a mom. I also love that you can assign tasks to your child, or that he/she can email the parent and say, "Hey, mom, can I do the dishes for a few extra dollars this week?"

Also, they recommend places for kids to donate their money. Inexplicably, JillyBoo decided that she would like every "sharing" cent to benefit dolphins, "Because I love dolphins, mom." Okay, can't argue with that. After a little research, and some reflections on the horrors of the movie, "The Cove," mommy has decided to help JillyBoo direct her money to http://www.savejapandolphins.org/.

As JillyBoo grows, I realize that the routines that we institute when she is younger seem to be the ones that stick. Just as this afterschooling website keeps me honest, so to speak, I also find that using threejars.com will keep us on track as a family in helping educate JillyBoo about smart spending.

Here are some other sites they recommended in the article:
Secret Millionaires' Club Entertaining cartoon clips of enterpreneurial children receiving advice from Warren Buffett (yes, that Warren Buffett)
FamZoo Another family savings site, somewhat like threejars.com
For older kids: WallStreet Survivor
Here's the original article from SmartMoney.com: