The 3 Jars

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I promote the idea of attaining financial literacy andwealth, now please understand that I believe God gives us everything and cantake it away. We also cannot take itwith us but does that mean we are not good stewards of what God has blessed uswith in the interim? 

“So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldlywealth, who will trust you with true riches?” Luke 16:11 

I build wealth for the sole purpose of having control overmoney in my life and using it for good causes and to eventually retire youngand have the time and resources to commit my life to worthy organizations andcauses.  

I teach my kids these same principles not because I hopethey will become rich and famous someday, but for the sole fact that I wantthem to have a working knowledge of finances and how to be in control of themrather than money controlling their lives.

I read countless stories of Christians and Non-Christiansstruggling with money, debt and not knowing how to get out of the situation, soI choose to educate my children from an early age to be in control of money,manage it properly and use it for good.  

“The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whateverthey get.” Proverbs 21:10 (NLT) 

When my children were around 5 years old, we implemented a specialteaching tool in our household, the 3 Jars. The 3 Jars are 3 large pickle jars that sit in our children’s room; eachone is labeled for its purpose. Charity,Investing, and Spending. Our childrenare given $5 per week to manage. Fromthis $5, one dollar or 20% goes to charity, two dollars or 40% go to investingand two dollars go into spending. Theyalso split all money received from birthdays, Christmas, grandparents, etc inthis same way. 

The charity money goes to church, church functions, youthgroups and even homeless or poor people. From an early age, my kids understand that giving is a part of the moneyprocess and that all this money is really God’s in the first place so we needto give it back to causes that support God’s work.  

“Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits ofall your crops” Proverbs 3:9 

The investing money sits until it accumulates to around $100and then it is placed in my children’s investing account, this is then matchedby my wife and I similar to what a 401k does. I place the money in investments and sometimes the kids also researchinvestments and decide whither to invest in them or not. They are learning from an early age theprocess of investing and compounding interest. Last week my kids made a paperprofit of $1000 in their accounts from a stock I selected, my son said hementioned it at school to some of his friends but none of them believedhim. However, we were practicing math ina food court a few nights ago and I asked my son “What would be a good returnon investment?” My son replied “20% ROI” A couple sitting next to us overheard it and were amazed, they also said some encouraging comments to my son. The amazing part is not what my son said, butthat an 8 year old understands a financial concept that most adults do not. 

“A good man leaves an inheritance for his children'schildren, but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous.” Proverbs 13:22 (NIV) 

The final jar is spending. Once a month we have spending day, the kids can take their money and buyanything they want or they can decide to save that money until the next months spending day to buy something bigger or more expensive. 

Since we have introduced this concept we have seen amazingresults. Our childrenunderstand giving and charity and often come up with their own ideas on how togive to charity. Our children understandthat investing money and getting a return is a smart way to make money work foryou rather than against you. They arealso learning delayed gratification, that if you want to buy something, you mayhave to wait until you have all the money to purchase it. These simple skills will be ingrained in themfor their entire lives as a result of the 3 Jars. Most adults I meet with financial problemshave not learned the lessons of the 3 Jars which is why they arestruggling.  

The next step for our children will be getting their owncheckbook (at age 9) that requires a parent also sign the check. We will place money in their checking accountand then they will have to buy items like school clothes, shoes, school itemsand other relevant purchases. The ideahere is that the kids will have to decide, "Do I spend all my money on a $100 pair of Air Jordan’s?" Or do I buy a morepractical pair and also buy some new pants and shirts? 

Financial education is not taught in schools, it is taughtin the home. It is up to the parent toset the example in all areas including money.

What example are you setting?
Doyou tithe and give to charities?
Are you investing regularly?
Are we delaying gratification or buying that new gadget on credit?

Whatever example you set in your home, yourchildren will take with them the rest of their lives. While the 3 Jars do not guarantee yourchildren will not face financial struggles, it does give them a foundationbased on biblical principles to understand how to face those financialstruggles.

“Direct your children onto the right path, and when they areolder, they will not leave it.” Proverbs22:6 (NLT) 

The chart below gives you an idea of what is possible in theinvesting column using this 3 Jar method.

Sowchart

More Comments On Strong Kids

After my recent discussion on Tim Kimmel's book Grace Based Parenting, I received and email from Peter B., executive manager for Family Matters, which teaches and promotes Pastor Kimmel's philosophy.  His words were encouraging and his email offers further clarification of this philosophy.

I live in Arizona, and the desert environment is extremely harsh. 120 degrees in summer, long days, not a lot of shade; then in winter, when the temperature drops below freezing, the damage is instantaneous and severe; the soil is clay, rocky, and like a dry sponge so that when the monsoon rains come in July and August, the ground floods with rapid moving water – it takes a lot for plants to survive. If a young plant begins its life in a greenhouse with the perfect climate, the perfect amount of water, the best soil, you would naturally think that this plant has a head start on native born plants. Yet when you move that plant into the real world’s environment, it will either whither and die in the sun, the foliage will freeze in the cold and kill the plant, or the monsoon rains will rip the plant out of the ground because its roots are not firmly planted.

Interesting, though, when we plant a new plant in our yard, we will place a shade clothe on top of it during the hottest days and a blanket on the coldest days. The young plant is able to grow strong roots that penetrate deep into the ground finding the scarce water supply and protect it from flooding. As the leaves grow, they become accustom to the relentless sun. The young plant, through a supervised encounter with the real environment, will have no problems surviving when it reaches maturity.

Mammals have endoskeletons, shellfish have exoskeletons. If I cracked a lobster’s shell, foreign bodies would invade the lobster’s internal organs and the lobster would die. If I broke my arm, a doctor would reset the bone, immobilize it for a few months, and I’d be good as new soon.

Is parenting molding behavior or building character? Any parent can force a child to comply with a standard of behavior while they live under their roof. And any parent can keep everything deemed evil from their lives by not allowing them to watch TV, not allowing them to surf the net, not allowing them to see certain movies. Parents will say they are building character by forcing good behavior because the behavior models the character they want their kids to own internally. But these kids are going to leave their parent’s home and will have to deal with more perverse and more worldly versions of the very things their parents never allowed them to interact with in the early years – except this time their kids are not under the roof of a loving home and the consequences are more severe.

Dr. Kimmel offers a comprehensive parenting philosophy: Create an atmosphere of grace, focus on meeting the three driving inner needs in your children, do not react to their behavior but instead build six character traits into their lives, and aim them at true greatness rather than the world’s shallow lure of success. Is it that simple? No. It will take a lot to learn how to do that. Moreover, it’s not lists of what-to-do, but the good news is that you can apply a paradigm to any situation – and no longer need the what-to-do books.

These concepts are supported through scripture. The atmosphere of grace is not what you do, it how you do what you do. It’s how God treats his children. For instance, if you were driving 60 in a 35, you may suddenly see a fast approaching police car with siren blaring and lights flashing forcing you to pull over. But instead of stopping behind you, this police officer decides to rear end your car for good measure, after which he come tearing out of the cruiser screaming at you, then rips your drivers license from your hand, stomps back to his cruiser only to return (still screaming) with a ticket that he throws at you. That’s not how God disciplines his children (and fortunately for folks in Arizona we have photo radar, so it’s unlikely that you will ever get pulled over for speeding, but if it did happen, the police don’t act like that either).

The three driving inner needs are exactly what the serpent distorted to deceive Eve and are what Satan used to tempt Jesus.

The six character traits will produce behavior, but will not guarantee it. Our kids will make the mistakes, but let’s be happy if they make them when their still living under our roof and the stakes aren’t as high.

And true greatness answers the question “What do you want for your kids?” Most people will say, “I want them to be successful, find a good job, a good looking mate, have a life of self-determination (e.g. not get kicked around by an arrogant boss), and make a name for themselves (basically – wealth, beauty, power, and fame). True greatness is a different target to aim your kids toward – humility, generosity, gratefulness, and a servant spirit.

As I said, it’s not simple, but if you read Dr. Kimmel’s work, you will see that these ideas are not tiny nuggets just discovered while mining through the depths of scripture, but large boulders of truth you can’t help but trip over.

Short disclaimer: I have known Tim Kimmel for the past 10 years, he teaches my Sunday school class for families (we started out as young families…), we serve our church together, and I work for Family Matters, the ministry he founded 25 years ago. Moreover, over the past 10 years, I have seen Tim’s four children grow into adults who really did turn out right. The proof isn’t always in the pudding, but if the pudding doesn’t offer the proof, then it’s not worth looking at the recipe.

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Real Me Leave A Legacy. Legacy Dad

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