Money Matters

...or does it?  Perhaps for you, money in of itself does not matter, but I think we can all agree, your relationship to money does matter.
 
Are you dependent on it?

Is it your security?

How careful are you with it?

Do you spend it all? save it all?
Both could be wrong depending on what God would want you to do with your riches.

We have tried to teach our children to separate their money into categories: giving, spending, and saving. It is our way of relating to money, and we want to share it with them.
 

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How we teach our children about money:

We use a three envelope system.  Into each envelope a certain percentage of their money is placed.  When we first start the envelope system, we use a 10/50/40 ratio.  As the child matures, the percentages may change or remain the same.  It depends on them.  They need to 'own' their money choices.

The first envelope is for tithe. When they were young, we had the child address the envelope 'To: God.' In this way the child can see the connection between giving a tithe at church and giving the money to God.

Another envelope is for savings. This money eventually makes it to the bank and into their own savings accounts.

The final envelope is spending. Each child decides how and when they will spend their own money. Some of their spending money gets put into the giving jar. It is each child's choice how much to put into this jar, as this is not a required act of giving, but an opportunity for them. The extra money collected in the giving jar is used by the children as they decide where to donate it or spend for others.

This is our system. It's what works for us.  There are many great ways and resources to teach your child about money and how to handle it.
~ Dorie