Teaching Teens About Money

[pennypinch]

It is never too early to begin teaching children about budgeting and saving money, especially teenagers. Before they know it they will be on their own and they really do need to have learned money saving skills.

You need to teach them the difference between things that they need to have and things that they want. The needs have to come before the wants.

You need to teach them the importance of saving money for the future.

Too many teens never get these skills from their parents and they end up getting a bunch of credit card debt and have unpaid bills when they get out on their own.

They end up with bad credit which can hurt for a long time.

[moneysense]

Maybe a good way to give them a lesson in money management would be to have them sit down with you and see how much money you have to pay bills with, and the actual bills themselves and when they are due.

Then let them work at how to pay the bills, figure out due dates, and when they think they have it all figured out, lay it on them that you still need gas for that pay period, plus food and household necessities.

By the time they redo it all, they should have some idea of just how little their parents make per pay and just how much expenditure they have when it comes to paying bills, gas, food, household expenses, sports necessities, and so forth.

[Rae74]

Even when my kids were little I made them work for any extras that they got.Like candy and treats that they want,soda and trips to fun places.

They got an allowance for house chores and they also helped me on the farm and made themselves a little money that way to.

They would save their money and plan what they wanted to do with it once they saved enough and they were pretty good about that.

I think that they will do ok when they are on their own.

[carol b]

It is important to teach your children about banking at an early age. I don't just mean about saving I mean about loans and credit and the like. This is important to there future as much as saving money is. Being able to get a loan and live up to its terms affects there credit and they need to know about that also. Here are a few tips provided by my credit union.

Borrowing Terms Before you borrow any money, learn these words:

• Borrow – to get money that you plan to pay it back
• Lender – the person who gives you the money to use (or lends you the money)
• Loan – the money that you borrow
• Payment – money that you give back after you borrow it

Make a Plan to Borrow—and Pay Back—Some Money When you borrow money from someone, even if you borrow from someone in your family, you need to decide when you have to pay it back. The best thing to do is to work out a plan with the lender. Put your plan in writing, so both of you will remember what you agreed on.

Your plan should include these things:

• The amount of money that you’re borrowing
• How many payments you have to make
• The amount of money each payment should include

When you decide these things, you will know how long you have to pay the money back.

For example, if you borrow $50, you can pay back $5 each week for 10 weeks. Or you can pay back $25 each month for 2 months.

Whatever you and the lender decide, you must pay the money back when you promise to do so. Otherwise, your lender won’t want to loan you money any more.

Take the time to discuss any current or past loans you have. Talk to them truthfully about it good or bad. These lessons come from experience and will allow them to think it out before they start signing for a loan themselves.