I recently wrote a post on how to get your kids excited about fundraising and giving back to the community. Today I’m going to tell you exactly how we got Logan saving up for his favourite charities. Our secret? The Moonjar Moneybox.
This is a great tool for teaching kids about finances. It’s never too early to start talking to your kids about money and the importance of saving. In my opinion, the Moonjar Moneybox is the best place to start – earning its PTPA seal of approval.
The Moonjar is a set of three canisters that helps kids separate their money into categories: saving, spending and sharing.
This system helps kids learn how to budget (something even I could use some help with). It also comes with a passbook, which helps kids track their money by having them document what comes in, how it’s allocated, and what goes out (again, something I should really be working on myself). And finally it comes with a guide to help walk parents through talking to their kids about money (phew).
It’s a complete tool for teaching kids about finances and one that I think all kids should have. So many adults are atrocious at budgeting their money (think Til Debt Do Us Part) so kids should be taught the basics at an early age.
When we first sat down with Logan, he didn’t really have a good understanding of finances – I’m not sure how many six-year-olds do. That was until we received the Moneybox to test.
When we gave him the Moonjar, he immediately wanted to put 90 per cent of his allowance into the sharing tin (bless his heart). While we want him to be generous, it wasn’t exactly a realistic financial plan for the long-term. We walked him through the guide and it helped him see how he should be prioritizing his money. We helped him set financial goals and discussed what he wanted to save up for as well as how much he should allocate to savings and charity. Suze Orman would be proud.
Now he has a better understanding of how finances work in the real world (instead of just passing GO and collecting $200) and it’s all thanks to the Moonjar Moneybox. I think I even learned a thing or two in the process.