The Barefoot Investor Scott Pape's 3-minute money hack
<p>Barefoot Investor Scott Pape is on a mission to create a generation of kids who know how to handle their money and make smart financial decisions.</p>
<p>“There’s a lot of people out there who are highly-educated but they are still stupid with money,” says Pape, who has thousands of people following his advice after becoming a financial phenomenon.</p>
<p>And according to Pape, learning how to deal with cash starts at a young age and in the home – with basic rules a lot of fun.</p>
<p>In his new book, <em>The Barefoot Investor for Families: The Only kids’ Money Guide You’ll Ever Need</em>, the farmer and stockbroker writes about a simple approach that every Australian family should follow.</p>
<p>His game plan includes three things: Three jam jars, three jobs and three minutes.</p>
<p>He says that’s all it takes for kids to become successful money managers.</p>
<p>The jars are responsible for separating money into three categories: Splurge, smile and give.</p>
<p>“Three jam jars, three jobs that can be done on a Sunday afternoon and three minutes for the parents to check it all off,” Pape said.</p>
<p>How money jars really work</p>
<p>Mother-of-three Teira Jansen says she taught her children from a young age that “money doesn’t grow on trees".</p>
<p>Mrs Jansen’s children each have a spend, save and give jar, and they must do small tasks to earn money.</p>
<p>“We are fortunate in our situation that we have a reasonable amount of money and I don’t want my children to take advantage of that,” Mrs Jansen, of Forestville in NSW, said.</p>
<p>“If they want to earn money, they need to do jobs and work for it.”</p>
<p>Jobs include emptying out the dishwasher and taking out the rubbish.</p>
<p>Each time Chloe, 3, Alana, 6, or Lachlan, 8, completes a job they earn one marble – this is converted into 10 cents at the end of the week.</p>
<p>“We also give them interest on their save jar, so they get rewarded for that,” said Mrs Jansen.</p>
<p>“It’s simple, and it does take a bit of discipline but it’s important to talk about money.”</p>
<p>And Mrs Jansen isn’t the only parent finding the hack successful as mother-of-two Niamh Gantley says the activity has helped her sons learn about money.</p>
<p>Drew, 7, and Sean, 4, have three jam jars each – a spend, save and give jar – and each time the boys complete a task they are then rewarded with coins to add to their relevant jars.</p>
<p>“They do jobs like emptying the dishwasher, feeding the dogs and simple things,” she said.</p>
<p>“They might only get 15 cents – five cents for each job – and they drop it into each of the jars.”</p>
<p>Mrs Gantley believes it’s important to teach children to be financially smart from a young age.</p>
<p>“They have a comprehension that they have to do something to earn money,” she said.</p>
<p>“They know they have to work even at age four to earn money.”</p>
<p>Mrs Gantley and her husband Andrew Inglis have both picked up tips and tricks after reading the Barefoot Investor's book, saying it has helped them become better money managers.</p>
<p>Will you be trying out the 3-minute money hack with your grandchildren? Let us know in the comments below.</p>
