| In today's money-driven society, teens are | | | | such as clothes, gifts for other people, |
| constantly bombarded by magazines, television | | | | things we wanted, and so on. Because my |
| ads, and peer pressure which make them feel | | | | parents did not buy everything for us, it |
| less than ideal if they do not wear the | | | | taught me the value of hard work, to think |
| latest clothing style and drive a "cool" car. | | | | before I spend, and to look for the best buy. |
| Briefly visit your local mall and you will | | | | |
| observe multitudes of young people who shop | | | | 4. Teach Your Teens the Value of Hard Work |
| as if credit cards have no maximum spending | | | | |
| limit. With all this push for extravagance, | | | | In a day when laziness is rampant, teach your |
| is it even possible to raise your teens with | | | | teens instead the importance of being a hard |
| money sense and save them from making serious | | | | worker. What you work for, you usually |
| financial mistakes? | | | | appreciate more. If your teenager has worked |
| | | | hard to buy themselves a car, it can be |
| Although I have yet to have teenagers of my | | | | almost guaranteed that they will appreciate |
| own, I was blessed to be raised by parents | | | | it more and take better care of it. |
| who taught me from a young age to be a wise | | | | |
| steward of money. Let me share some things my | | | | 5. Train Your Teens to Think Before They |
| parents did to instill in me that money is a | | | | Spend |
| limited resource and must be spent with care. | | | | |
| | | | This might seem like a no-brainer, but |
| 1. Start Early | | | | learning to think before I spend has |
| | | | literally saved me hundreds of dollars over |
| Just because your child is too young to have | | | | the years. Teach your teens to ask themselves |
| a real job, does not mean it is too early to | | | | at least three questions before making any |
| start teaching basic financial principles. | | | | purchase: |
| From the time we were little, we always | | | | |
| received an "allowance" from our parents. We | | | | 1. Do I have the money on hand to pay for |
| only received this money if we had done all | | | | this? |
| of our daily/weekly chores. This taught us | | | | |
| that money is not free; it is earned. | | | | 2. Do I need this? |
| | | | |
| 2. Set An Example | | | | 3. Can I buy this somewhere else for less? |
| | | | |
| You cannot expect your teens to wisely spend | | | | Oftentimes, in asking these questions, I will |
| money if you do not set a good example for | | | | talk myself out of making the purchase! I |
| them. Do your children see you buying things | | | | will realize I don't really have the money to |
| on credit because you want them now and do | | | | pay for it or I don't need the item. Other |
| not have the patience to wait until you are | | | | times, I will think of a way I can purchase |
| able to save up enough money? My dad was an | | | | this item for less. |
| excellent example in this area. Before making | | | | |
| any large purchase (such as a car), he first | | | | 6. Encourage Your Teens to Get the Best Buy |
| decided what he could afford. Then, he began | | | | |
| shopping around. Sometimes it would take him | | | | In addition to asking these questions, also |
| close to a year to find what he was looking | | | | train your teens to look for the best deal. |
| for, for the price he wanted to pay. His | | | | It is amazing what variation in prices you |
| patience always paid off and it left an | | | | will find out there. For instance, the water |
| indelible impression upon me. | | | | pump burst on one of our vehicles recently. |
| | | | When we took it into auto shop for repair, |
| 3. Don't Buy Everything For Them | | | | they said that we would have to take it to a |
| | | | more specialized shop, since the engine would |
| It is easy for many parents to want to "help | | | | need to be taken out in order to replace the |
| teens out" by buying most everything for | | | | water pump. The first price we were quoted |
| them. But, is this truly "helping"? When your | | | | was $775. Knowing that was out of our current |
| teenager enters the real world on their own, | | | | budget, my husband began calling around to |
| they are going to have some hard lessons to | | | | different body shops. One place quoted him |
| learn if you always bought everything they | | | | around $500 another quoted him a little over |
| needed and wanted for them. As soon as we | | | | $300. By calling around to find the best |
| were able to begin earning money, my dad had | | | | deal, we are going to be saving hundreds of |
| us start paying for some of our own things | | | | dollars on this repair job. |