'Three Cups' becomes teaching lesson for children

Jennifer Khadivar's eyes light up when talking about a financial education book that changed her life.

But the biggest effect wasn't on the Valparaiso mother. It was on her 6-year-old son, Ryan.  

Now, Khadivar, associate campus director of the University of Phoenix in Merrillville, is working to spread the message of financial literacy for children in the region after incorporating the lessons from a book called "Three Cups" into her household.

Released in July 2008, "Three Cups" is based on lessons Indiana businessman Tony Townsley taught his children when they were in elementary school.

Townsley, chief financial officer of Hokanson Cos. Inc. in Indianapolis, said his now-17-year-old son Jake and 15-year-old daughter Emma were asked to divide a portion of their weekly allowance into three cups. One cup was for saving, one for spending and one for money designated for charity.

"My hope was that we could (not only) impact children but also impact families," Townsley said.

Khadivar said the lessons in the book are simple for children to understand and are important to help them develop responsible spending habits. She said if her son wants something and he doesn't have enough in the spending cup, it doesn't get bought.

"We never teach them balance that by the time they get to college, they over indulge," Khadivar said.

After reading the book, Khadivar said she found an immediate application in her life. She bought three of the ugliest mugs she could find, stuck them in a beautifully decorated box and presented the box to her son Ryan on his sixth birthday.

It was initially a tough sell for her son even though there was $13 and the "Three Cups" book under the mugs, Khadivar said. On the book's inside cover, she wrote an inspirational letter, and by the time Ryan reached the end of the book, "He said, 'Mommy, this is the coolest present I got,'" she said.

Khadivar said Ryan's kindergarten class adopted a family for Christmas and she said he was excited to buy a gift for one of the children with money from his charity cup. He also has taken money from his savings cup to the bank and learned how his money could gain interest while in an account.

Khadivar and her husband plan on providing three cups for their two other sons, Jericho, 7, and Hunter, 4, in the coming months. She said she has mailed about 50 copies of the book to her contacts.

About 33,000 copies of "Three Cups" have been distributed, 3,000 of which were translated into Spanish, Townsley said.