Today is Thursday, and I have quite a treat for you. Our message was sent in by a Very Big Man - no less than the head if ICT at the National Lottery Authority, Mr. Tobias Aryee. He wants to share an inspirational story he once read. It was originally written by Kenyan Inspirational speaker, Zack Mwema. I've titled it "Jewish Jars".

The Jews are some of the smartest money managers and wealth creators that we have in the world. You have often heard that whatever a Jew touches, it prospers, simply put, they have the Midas touch. I have read a lot of books that teach on how to manage your money wisely or how to get out of debt. I have also read widely about Christian perspectives on money management.

                                          
But it is this simple yet practical approach from the Jews that captured my attention and imagination. It is what the Jews teach their children about money.

The Jews start teaching their children about money as soon as they know how to talk. This is part and parcel of their culture. Children have a teachable spirit; they are good listeners and are excited about learning new things.

To train their children about wise money management, the Jews will use five jars. Each jar is carefully labelled and has a slot at the top; akin to what in modern times we call a piggy bank. The jars are labelled TITHE, OFFERING, SAVING, INVESTING, and SPENDING. Every time a child is given 10 Shekels, the child is expected to put one Shekel (10%) in the Jar labeled TITHE, another Shekel (10%) in the GIVING & OFFERING jar, another Shekel (10%) in the SAVINGS jar, two Shekels (20%) in the INVESTING jar and the last SPENDING jar receives the remaining five Shekels (50%).
                                       
The child is then expected to open the offering jar only on Sundays, while the TITHE jar is opened on month ends. The SAVINGS jar is opened only on special occasions like when the family faces sicknesses, while the INVESTING jar is opened only when it’s full.

The child takes a full charge in deciding when and where to invest the money pool they have accumulated. The parent does not intervene, even when the child is making a mistake, they let them learn from their failures; after all, failure is a great teacher. This way, their children learn to become creative in decision-making and, most of all, take responsibility for their own decisions.

Research done has shown that one of the most difficult skills to master in our lives is dealing with money. When you get this part right, all other areas of our lives become relatively easy to deal with. Jewish children then grow with a high sense of responsibility and experience, more satisfaction and success than their peers from other ethnicities.  The divorce rate in Jewish American families is 90% less than the rates experienced by other American families. Even as many Americans and Europeans struggle with Credit card debt, the Jews, who by the way are scattered all over the world continue to thrive in their businesses and personal finances.

So what happens for you and me who were not lucky enough to have undergone these transformative lessons in our early lives? First, let's make deliberate plans to train our children; this is one of the best investments we can ever make for them. Secondly, let's each of us have a trainable attitude and begin the steps ourselves, however, old we may be are. It may seem like a wild idea, but it’s worth giving a trial. It may even be more fun to do it separately but simultaneously with our kids.

King Solomon said in Proverbs 22:2: “The rich and the poor have this in common; the Lord is the Maker of them all.” You may be struggling with debt right now, your business may be suffering, your promotion may be overdue, but remember this: you were made by the same God who made Bill Gates, Sam Jonah, Ibrahim Mahama, Aliko Dangote. So if they have made it, then you certainly have all it takes to rise out of your current predicaments and enjoy a life of unlimited success.

My name is Kojo Yankson, and I thank Tobias Aryee and Zack Mwema for inspiring the nation.

GOOD MORNING, GHANAFO!