Product Review – ThreeJars.com

There are piggy banks. There are saving, spending, and giving jars. There are bank accounts.

And now there’s ThreeJars.com.

ThreeJars is an online money management tool for kids aged 6-13. Conceived and launched about a year ago by a dad of six, ThreeJars is a fun, easy-to-use online program that helps kids learn about saving, spending, earning, and sharing money.

But make no mistake. Although ThreeJars is not a bank in any way, the money is real.

When you first sign up for an account, economically priced at $30/year per family, you determine how much money your child will receive and how often. You can then decide together how much to allocate to savings, spending, and sharing using an easy to use and adjustable sliding scale.

Your child can then choose to do any number of activities: create a savings goal such as a bike, “boost” their money, or earn extra money by offering to do projects around the house.

Every activity your child chooses is approved by you, via a request sent in the form of an email to your inbox. For example, if John wants to wash the windows for $5 (your child can choose the task and suggest a value), with one click a request is sent to the parent’s email for approval (or not). When your child is logged in, she’ll see if you approved the request.

Kids can even choose and track a savings goal, and find ways to get to their goal faster. When it’s time to spend their money, just a click on an ATM icon sends a request for money to a parent’s email.

My favorite feature of ThreeJars by far is the “boosting” feature, which gives kids the chance to “invest” their money. Kids can boost their money by choosing an amount and a rate at which to invest in an account; the longer they leave the money in that account, the more they are rewarded and the more they can earn. You don’t have to track the investment in a spreadsheet, and it’s a great way to encourage your kids to save as the return on investment is generous and higher than a real bank account. Again, while the investing is done virtually, the money your child earns is real.

My 10 and 8-year-old gave ThreeJars a test drive. My 10-year-old needed no explanation or tutoring; she set everything up on her own, while I helped with registration. I registered my 8-year-old on his behalf, and he was immediately taken by the customization features and the ability to make friends. With safety utmost in mind, however, all friends are anonymous and there’s no interaction other than being able to see each other’s activities.

ThreeJars very deliberately has a strong charitable component. Kids can allocate a percentage of their earnings every week to one of number of charities that partners with ThreeJars (I like Bicycle Ambulances in Africa) or a charity of their choice. And every activity earns a child points on behalf of ThreeJars, which they can then help ThreeJars allocate to a favourite charity.

With its bright colors, large icons, intuitive navigation, and interactive features, this program is a winner, and there’s nothing else like it online.

Pros

• Teaches kids about all aspects of money management, including charitable giving
• Easy to use and set up
• Easier than a bank account, or money jars at home, and a heck a lot more fun
• Savings, earnings, spending, and giving are all tracked
• Safe and friendly

Cons

• Like any new program, can take a while to get into the habit of using
• In what the program gains in simplicity, it loses in some flexibility. For example, you can choose only one savings goal at a time from a drop-down list that might not include the goal your child has in mind. In an interview with ThreeJars, founder Anton Simunovic said many more features are on the way.
• Perhaps it was the novelty, but when my kids first opened their accounts, I’d receive 10 requests a day for projects, ranging up to $1000 for window cleaning. It was all in good fun, but there were a lot “rejected” requests. It also opens up the conversation about the value of projects!
• In our particular case, my kids earn money from a paper route. It wasn’t clear to me how to incorporate that into my kids’ accounts. It turns out you need to make a “deposit” and put the check in a real bank account.
• The subscription fee might deter some people, especially when so much on the Internet is free (but as they say, you get what you pay for and free products aren’t always the best).
• In some respects, the program takes away the physical handling of money (at least until your child requests a withdrawal). Younger children can learn from just handling and counting their money. (My kids are always pulling out their piggy banks to count and recount their money.)

Kim Dudra is a freelance copywriter based in Vancouver, B.C., and is the owner of re:fresh communications. She’s been known to juggle four kids’ schedules, three computers, two cats, and one cup of coffee, all at once. Kim is a featured writer for mommy.girlgetstrong.com.