Financial Tips for Teens

Do you have teens or young adults in your household? Have you talked with them concerning financial and asset management? Perhaps you have wondered how your teens will handle their money once they leave you to go off to college or move out on their own to go to work. Once your child is a young adult between the ages of 14 – 18, it will be a great time to begin teaching them how to take control of their money.

One of the best activities, as recommended by experts, is to get your teen thinking. For example, simply sitting down with your teen and getting them thinking about their future and how will they deal with emergency situations in the event you are not around. Ask your teen, “Say you are living on your own and an emergency arises, such as an unforeseen vehicle breakdown, and you need to raise $1,000 quickly; what strategies would you use to raise the money on your own?” Is a Car Title Loan a viable option to them?

Another example is to show them real world exercises concerning living on their own. Find out what their plans are after high school and then have them go through the very tasks they would have to perform if today was their last day of high school. For instance, if their plan is go to college and live off campus, have them go to apartments.com and look for actual apartments. Help them price out the apartment with electricity, phone bill, and transportation costs. How will they pay for their expenses while doing their schoolwork? Based on the total cost of the expenses, have them type out a plan and budget so they understand how much money he or she will need in order to continue to live comfortably.

The third thing is to help them to find a mentor. Someone who is perhaps a celebrity blogger or someone respected in the financial mentorship community. Your teen will be able to follow this mentor’s blog and get financial advice on an ongoing basis. What’s more important is that financial advice tends to change to match the economy surrounding your teen. What may have been good advice a decade ago, may not suit your teen today.

Finally, giving your teen the power to earn money now through chores or schoolwork will help them to learn the value of earning cash. Let them learn how to manage their own funds. Also, the experts recommend letting your child make their own mistakes with their money so they start learning from a young age with small items rather than making a large mistake in adulthood.

In conclusion, once your child turns between 12 – 14, it will be time to start talking to them and planting seed in their mind of money management.