The 5 Jars (part 5)

Jewish people are known to be astute money managers.

So recently while in Israel, I did some digging to find out why this is true. I was interested and inspired to discover that one of the secrets lies with what they teach their children about money. It turns out that from a young age many children a taught a basic money principle using 5 jars, which develops a lifelong habit of managing money well.

The golden rule taught using 5 jars is simple…

• Put God first
• Be generous,
• Invest over the long-term
• Save up for short-term needs
• Only spend what is left over

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)

Parents have taught the timeless 5 Jars principle to their children from a young age. It has been passed down from generation to generation. By the time young children reach their teenage years, they already have a healthy understanding of how to manage money in a God-honoring way, which also helps to eliminate bad debt, live within one’s means, and build wealth.

In part 1, we unpacked the 5 JAR PRINCIPLE…

• JAR ONE – TITHE JAR
• JAR TWO – BLESSING JAR
• JAR THREE – INVESTING JAR
• JAR FOUR – SAVINGS JAR
• JAR FIVE – SPENDING JAR

Each time the child receives money, they are required to distribute it among the five jars. If a child receives ?10 Shekels (this is the Israeli Currency), the child is taught to put…

• ?1 in the TITHE JAR, 
• ?1 in the BLESSING JAR, 
• ?2 in the INVESTING JAR, 
• ?1 in the SAVINGS JAR, and 
• ?5 in the last SPENDING JAR. 

In part 5, we are going to drill deeper into JAR 4. 

But let me give you a quick re-cap…

JAR ONE – TITHE JAR

Whenever a child receives money, they are taught to place the first 10% in the Tithe Jar.

By the way, a tithe means one-tenth. Jewish children are taught that the first 10% doesn’t belong to them but to God.

“A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.” (Leviticus 27:30)

Once a month, this jar is opened and taken to their place of worship where the money in Jar 1 is given to God.

The principle of giving the first 10% of your income and earnings to God helps to teach children not to be selfish, but rather to put God first and love him. It is acknowledging that God is our Father who cares for his children (us).

By putting God first with your money, God remains at the center of all your decisions, and your life!

Children are also taught that giving to God opens doors of opportunity, where God will bless his children for giving their first and best back to Him.

“Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” (Provers 3:9-10)

So, the first 10% goes into the TITHE JAR and this is given back to God each month.

JAR TWO – BLESSING JAR 

Children are instructed to place 10% into the Blessing Jar.

These are funds set aside to help people in the community who are going through tough times or who are less fortunate.

Being a blessing in your community also helps you to become part of your community. The networks you build by being generous may even lead to business opportunities in the future. 

By creating a generosity fund to bless others, you not only help those in need, but it also helps you not to be selfish and think of others. 

Jars one and two help children to love God and love people. 

“One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” (Proverbs 11:24-25)

With the first 10% in the TITHE JAR and 10% set aside in the BLESSING JAR, you can start looking after your needs. 

JAR THREE – INVESTING JAR

Children are encouraged to place 20% of the money they receive in the Investing Jar.

The aim of this Jar is to build up a Wealth Portfolio over the long term. The proceeds in this jar are to be invested to generate income and growth. 

Children are encouraged to dream, plan, and make their own choices. 

“The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” (Proverbs 21:5)

Children are encouraged to learn entrepreneurial skills and to think of ways to grow the 20% in their investment jar.

Whether the child invests their money in an investment or uses money in this jar to buy a packet of seeds to grow vegetables to sell to the community, the decision is to be left to the child. You will be amazed at the ideas children come up with!

The 20% in the investment jar must be put to work to earn more money. It is to be used to make a profit, grow the investment portfolio, and generate income. 

Over time, through trials, errors, and successes, the child will come up with creative ideas to earn income. At the same time, the child will be building business experience, and may even find their niche in the world before they reach their adult life. 

The process of coming up with a variety of income-generating opportunities will also help build problem-solving skills and develop a business mindset that looks for solutions to problems, that in turn can generate cash flow. 

With the first 10% in the TITHE JAR and 10% set aside in the BLESSING JAR, and 20% of your money put to work to build your wealth portfolio in your INVESTING JAR, you can now consider building up savings. 

So let us look at today’s jar…

JAR FOUR – SAVINGS JAR

Children are encouraged to put 10% of their earnings into the Savings Jar, with the purpose of building up funds that may be needed over the short-term, for needs or opportunities that may arise.

In an emergency, it is vital to have liquid cash available. Money set aside in the Savings Jar can be accessed at any time to cover an unforeseen event. 

Look at the ants…

“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. (Proverbs 6:6-8)

Just like a car has a reserve tank, where the light goes on if you are running low on fuel, and where you can still drive to the nearest fill-up station, so children are trained to build up a savings reserve for emergencies when unforeseen storms hit.

The sacrifice of saving helps children build up a nest egg that can be used to avoid unnecessary debt later in life when they grow up, as they have learned to make provision in their money management for those unexpected events that do arise.

The Savings Jar also ensures there is money available for opportunities that may pop up, where the child has money available to do things they usually wouldn’t be able to do. 

With the first 10% in the TITHE JAR, 10% set aside in the BLESSING JAR, 20% of your money put to work to build your wealth portfolio in your INVESTING JAR, and 10% set aside in your SAVINGS JAR, you can now spend what is left over.

Next week we will close off our series on the 5 Jars by looking at the 5th Jar. We will also put it all together to show you how using this method can lead to financial freedom.

The 5 JAR PRINCIPLE helps people to put God first and to be generous, thereby helping one form a habit of loving God and loving people.

The 5 JAR PRINCIPLE also encourages people to save, invest, and build a business, thereby securing income, building a wealth portfolio, and having cash flow available for short-term needs and opportunities.

The 5 JAR PRINCIPLE also helps one to take a disciplined approach to one’s money management, which helps to eliminate debt and encourages people to live within their means.

Why not teach your children the 5 JAR PRINCIPLE to money management? Why don’t you consider using it yourself?

By setting up a deliberate plan to train your children, you will be making one of the best investment decisions you can ever make for your children. It will set them up for a fruitful future!

If you stick to the 5 JAR principle, you will…

• Learn to honor God and be a blessing to others with your generosity
• Develop a business mindset and valuable entrepreneurial skills that will help you to build a wealth portfolio over the long term
• Build up savings for unforeseen short-term emergencies, and have funds available for opportunities that may arise
• Learn to eliminate debt, make good money decisions, and live within your means

Join us next week for as we wrap up the 5 JARS METHOD and help you to implement the strategy.