Everyone is talking about money these days, so why not start that conversation with your kids? Or, better yet, start teaching them about money and how to manage their “income”. The Moonjar Moneybox is a fantastic tool that allows your children to put into practice the money management skills you are trying to teach them. (And let’s face it, some of us could us a little refresher course on this stuff ourselves!)
So what is this wonderful thing called the Moonjar? Basically, it’s piggy bank with three sections: spend, save, and share. While the spending section is pretty obvious, both the save and share sections are excellent starting points for discussions about the types of things to save for (vacations, large purchases, etc) and the people or causes you would share your money with (food banks, church/temple/synagogue/mosque, school fundraisers, etc). Included with the moneybox is a Passbook which allows your child to track their income and divide it into the three sections. Moonjar suggests assigning each section a percentage: 20% savings, 2-5% sharing, and the rest spending. If you are really keen, this is also a great time to practice percentages with your kids, too! But don’t fret if Math isn’t your strongest subject. Inside the Passbook is an example of how to calculate the amount of each deposit.
I really wish I had something like this when I was a kid. And by kid I mean anytime between the ages of 5 and 25! Being one of those people who got married and started a family in my 30′s, I spent the first few years of my professional life livin’ it up with those paycheques that were so novel after living six years as a poor university student. I’m just now getting a handle on the concept Moonjar is promoting, and I can’t help but think that I could already have that beautiful kitchen I dream of if only I learned these money management skills at a younger age.
You are able to purchase Moonjar products on the Moonjar Canada site and the US site. If you are in a different country, the US site has links for international customers. The standard boxes go for $11.95, or you can buy the retro tins for $29.95. And if you are a teacher or want to pass this info on to your child’s teacher check out their Moonjar Canada Classroom Contest where you can win an entire class set of moneyboxes!
