Teaching Teens Good Money Sense

[Olympia Scott]

After reading Gail's post on Credit Cards and Students I thought about an article I read about teaching our children to have good money sense. In the current economic climate, I think this is of the utmost importance. The article detailed in brief 5 opportunities to talk money with your teen when he/she will listen. The five opportunities are:

1) When a catalog or advertisement comes in the mail, have them browse through it and choose the things they like, separating the list into wants and needs.

2) Take your teen grocery shopping with you and demonstrate budgeting to them.

3) Discuss the effectiveness of ads viewed on TV.

4) Have your teen help you with paying the monthly bills so they are aware of how much things really cost.

5) Praise your teen when he/she reaches a financial goal (saving money to buy something).

I use the term teen, but really, one could begin as soon as your child understands the concept of money, earning and spending. I already do these things with my 9 year-old daughter and she seems to fully understand the lessons she is learning.

The full article is available here. If you have other ways that you teach your child about money, or to teach a child about money, I'd like to hear about them in the comments.

[Rachman Crable]

This a topic my friends and I have talked about several times. Wishing we were taught more at a younger age about credit and the responsibility of having money. I definitely feel it is imperative our children are taught the value of money and how to budget it. The current state of the economy is not only going to affect us as parents in the next few years. It will have an affect on the implementation of new policies and law in regards to our finances. Which will have a lasting affect on our children. No matter how much income you currently make or hope to, we as parents owe it to our children to teach them these responsibilities and pitfalls of having, spending and budgeting money.

[Gail Cavanaugh]

People who are in debt have a habit of living over their means. It is not something that happened over night. This iwas learned over a number of years. Some people have what can almost be described as an addiction to debt. People in debt have gotten accustomed to wanting and buying everything now, instead of delaying gratification for it.

If you study the lives of millionaires, you will find that they actually live well below their means. They are known for being bargain hunters, even though they can afford to buy soething brand new. This is how they accumualted their money.

People can learn to live on less money. Some of the things that they can do (and some of us are being forced into it because of this economy) are:

1. to share a house or apartment with others, even though you can afford to live on your own.
2. Cook your own meals, rather than eat out.
3. Buy your clothing at consignment shops. If you go to the affluent areas, you will find quallity clothing at bargain prices.
4. If you sew, go back to making your own clothing and shop around for sales on fabric or buy it at a warehouse.

The less money you spend, the more you will have to save. Try keeping a record of what you are spending on a day to day basis and you will be amazed at where the money goes. As you look over your list, look for areas where you can cut back on spending. Make it a goal to start paying down your debt, instead of skipping payments because you spent it on something you shouldnn' have.

If you have not been diligent about saving money, begin to "pay yourself first" and put moeny into a savings account as soon as you cash your paycheck, even if it is only five or ten dollars per pay check. It is better than having no savings account.

It is also a good idea to read about how to handle your money. There are many publications on the market.