Moonjar Teaches Children Hands-On Money
Management

Teaching a dry, abstract concept like money management to children can be a difficult task, especially when they see parents pulling money out of cash machines and flashing plastic. A Seattle company has made it easier with Moonjar; an inexpensive, hands-on tool for teaching kids how to allocate their funds.

Each Moonjar kit comes with three brightly colored boxes – one for spending, one for saving and one for sharing or charity – bound together wit a yellow band. It includes a family guide for setting up the Moonjar budget boxes and a passbook for recording transactions. The boxes provide a visual way for children to think about money, says company Marketing Director Angela Heine. They can be allowed to choose their own ways to distribute their money to reach their dreams, and can decorate their boxes with pictures of items they are saving for or people they want to help, she suggests.

The company’s founder, Eulalie Scandiuzzi, is the former managing director of Coyote Junior High for the Arts in Seattle. At the school, she observed how students learn best through hands-on, tactile experiences. Working with inner-city children motivated her to help them build financial safety nets by gaining an understanding of saving and spending, as well as giving them an opportunity to play a part in their community through sharing.

Scandiuzzi was inspired by the example of John D. Rockefeller, who reportedly maintained three jars on his kitchen window for saving, spending and sharing money. Last year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of King and Pierce County used Moonjars to teach children the same concepts.

Order a Moonjar for $6.95 by calling 1-888-323-0001 toll free or visiting the Web site at www.moonjar.com. It is available at local retailers, including Hullabaloo Books and University Bookstore in Seattle (see Web site for full list of vendors). Moonjar is also one of eight corporate sponsors of Jump$tart Washington (www.wajumpstart.org), a nonprofit coalition promoting financial literacy.

Wenda Reed
Editor