The Lacher Family

This year we have spent a lot of time thinking about how blessed we are and how we can help others. We have had some great opportunities along the way, like adding another sponsored child (we now sponsor two girls in Uganda – a tremendous blessing to pray for these young ladies and expand our children’s worldview). But we were really looking for a way to make helping others more a part of our daily living. And so, The Jar was born.

May was the first month of the Helping Others Jar. As a family that uses their debit card for pretty much everything, a real jar wasn’t going to cut it, so I printed a clipart jar and labeled it Our Helping Others Jar. At the bottom there is room to write the month and the organization that we are supporting that month. And now the fun part – you know that rush you feel as you are leaving Meijer and at the top of your receipt it is printed how much you saved? Well, we write that amount in our jar, which hangs prominently on our fridge. Target, Kohl’s and JCPenney’s all print this on their receipts as well. Our house rule is that if the receipt tells us how much we saved, that goes into our jar. The girls love going through the Meijer ad with us on Sundays and helping plan out the meals based on what’s on sale because they know if it is on sale that means there will be money going in the jar. And they are always thrilled to hear the grand totals when we check out.

So far, I think our goal of teaching our children to help others is working out well. We, as a family, discuss where the money goes each month. And the money adds up quickly because I am a sucker for a good deal. I LOVE saving money. And when I am saving that money to give to someone else who needs it more than I do? Well, it’s hard to not be motivated by that.

Hope this little idea inspires you to think about how you can help others too.