The $2 weekly allowance I received as a kid was exciting to me.  My parents were giving me money!

But I had a tough time handling it the way that my dad was directing me to.  I’m glad I was able to navigate this challenge in elementary school years and not simply after college.

The $2 allowance would sit on the kitchen table every Sunday morning.  It consisted of a $1 bill, two quarters, and five dimes.  Dad also gave me three envelopes with the labels: Spend, Save, and Offering.

I was to handle my money accordingly:

10% to the church offering
10% to savings
80% to whatever I preferred

Even with 80% of the money at my disposal, I desperately wanted that other 20% as well.  I remember a time when I was skimming from my savings envelope to be able to buy another pack of baseball cards with my spending money.  Dad wasn’t too happy when he discovered that my savings envelope was suddenly “lighter” than those of my two brothers.

I don’t know why, but we have a bent toward greed.  An attitude of give me more and give it now was something that I had to really work through as a youngster.  It is important that we raise up our children with an awareness of this greed and share what the Bible says about it:

1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

Proverbs 3:9
Honor the LORD with your wealth
and with the best part of everything you produce.

The three banks (Offering, Saving, Spending) are a good way to introduce the concept of handling money as we teach about first fruits, saving/wise spending, and making decisions about the things we spend money on.

Question: What did your parents teach you about money management? Click here to reply.