Teens today are in control of more money than ever. Therefore, it is important for parents to teach their teens how to use their money wisely and to be smart about where their money goes. I see this as a wonderful opportunity to help our teens learn the importance of financial planning long before they are out on their own where a mistake could lead them into money troubles or bankruptcy. The following tips will help get started you teaching your teen how to be money smart.
A ten question quiz that will tell you how money smart your teen is. This is a good place to start if you are unsure about what type of financial information your teen should know.
A money goal is a wonderful motivator for a teen to create a savings for the future or for a specific item(works for adults too). When we look forward to getting something we want, make a plan to get it and then work toward obtaining that goal, we learn commendable personal values like perseverance, a strong work ethic and decisiveness.
All too often parents hear, "I need this!" when they take their teens shopping. As the parent looks at the item, they can clearly see that it is a 'want' not a 'need'.
While you may not want your teen to learn by handling all of the family finances, you can give them a particular item to budget out and follow through like the grocery money for this week or this year's family vacation budget.
Books and the
internet are excellent resources for all kinds of financial information. Here is a list of financial books and internet sites on money that I recommend parents read and use with their teens when trying to teach smart money skills.
