I would not hold fast to a watering 'schedule'. The humidity of your home, the temperature of the air, the direct sunlight hitting the soil - they can all change day by day and are most likely different from the vendor's location of growth (greenhouses tend to be much more humid than homes or offices).

I learned my jade plants dropped leaves or developed spots when not watered enough. They are succulents, after all! But they're rather easy to care for and not that finicky.

Too much water will cause root rot, so water until the soil is moist, but don't over water.

The best way to handle watering for jade (in my experience) is to test the soil with your finger. If you stick your finger in the first inch of soil and it's dry, then water! Do not let it completely dry out between waterings.

I had one that would grow new leaves and then drop them and the cycle would repeat. The top of the soil was covered in the dead leaves. When i looked at it yesterday even more of the good leaves had fell do i just tossed it in the trash.

It was only a dollar on clearance and was very small anyway.

Good luck!

Well you mentioned your first problem to tackle. "No drainage holes " jades are succulent plants. They store water in their leaves. Succulents tend to rot when they are over watered. The first thing you need to do is repot it into something with drainage holes, when you take it out of the original pot , inspect the roots looking for black slimy roots. This will mean those roots are rotted. You'll need to remove the bad roots before moving it into its new pot. If the roots are fine, just repot it. I wouldn't water it for about a week. Then when you do, don't water again until the soil is dry. Half cactus soil, half perlite will get you by for a soil. But if you are really wanting to make a good mix for your plant, search Al's gritty mix in the search bar on this forum. You might not want to put that much time in effort into it though. Some do some don't. All my plants are thriving since I made the switch. Good luck!

I'd return the plant. If the top rotted off the roots within 5 days, there is little question that root rot wasn't already an issue at the time of purchase.

Al