What is the best way to teach teens money saving tips? Most teens I know only love to spend money. For a parent teaching kids about savings it basically involves the fine art of motivation.
Kids are certainly all about instant gratification. Although teens are starting to look and act like adults, they are still very much kids at heart. The maturity around setting limits, especially with money, has not been instilled in their development. But, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t start teaching your teen money saving strategies. Just be patient, knowing that your advice and tips will probably not have significant impact until the teen years have come and gone.
Even though teens do love to spend and are not completely ready to live freely with money, they are at the beginning stage to learning valuable adult skills. Being able to effectively save money is one of these talents that many adults are still learning. Why not give your teen a leg up on entering the adult world and help him before he is off on his own.
Although teens are almost young adults, they still often think like kids. Combine that with a rapidly expanding materialistic and commercial society and the ability to resist the temptation to spend is greatly challenged. If you are the parent of a teen, look at some of the following five tips to help your teen save money.
1. Be a good role model. Often this is the hardest thing for parents, but your teen is still watching and learning. Although she may resist hard any attempts to be like you now, your influence is ever present and everlasting. Let your kids see you saving and be sure to also tell them why.
2. Train them first hand. Start to involve your teen in your finances. Without disclosing personal details, you can begin to include him in some of your financial processes. Why do you save how you do? How much do things really cost? How long did it take to save to buy a home or a car? How much less money do you actually spend when you save for something vs. buying it on credit?
3. Motivate your teen to save. Have you heard the saying – a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Why not use this philosophy with your teen? For every dollar of allowance or paycheck she puts in a saving account, consider matching it. This will offer a direct reward for savings.
4. Structure big purchases. Does your teen want a car? A cool new bike? Or, some other big expenditure? Instead of loaning him the money or buying it for her, set up a savings schedule. Even if you plan to help with some of the cost, let her save a portion. Show him how to set aside a certain amount of money each month or week until he can get to where he needs.
5. Begin conversations about interest and credit. Often young adults, still very much teens, go off to college at 18 and get their first credit card. Please don’t let this be their first introduction to credit. Why discuss credit as part of savings? Because it is very important for teens to understand the true cost of borrowing. This allows them to compare the advantages of saving for what they need vs. buying something on credit.
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