SHARE SAVE SPEND
Talking with your children about money is an essential part of helping them grow into the
kinds of adults who are responsible and faithful stewards of the gifts given to us by God. Many
families at St. James’ have found a simple exercise called “Share, Save, Spend,” to be a helpful
tool for talking as a family about financial priorities. (And the concept has value for parishioners
of all ages!)
One family shared their experience with modeling faithful financial stewardship: “Starting at
age three, we gave our son fifty cents allowance every Tuesday, and he puts 45¢ in the jar
to save and 5¢ in the jar for the church. We hauled in something like $2.75 in coins here in
December, and he put it in the collection plate and we explained that his money was going to
help people that don’t have what we have.”
All you need is three jars, labeled:
share save spend
Collect 10¢ of every dollar
to share for God’s work in
the world. Even children
are invited to contribute
to the offering basket! Collect 40¢ of every
dollar to save up for
something special. Collect 50¢ of every dollar
to spend more intentionally
on “needs” and more
mindfully on “wants.”
Visit sharesavespend.com for ideas and resources for your self and your family.
14 · SPRING 2018