Teaching Your Teenager The Value Of Money

Nowadays, it seems that there are more and more things for our teenagers to buy every day. There are video games, expensive clothes, mp3 players, designer sports shoes and so much more. If, like the majority of us, you do not have pots of money, then it is obviously hard to give your teenagers everything that they want and, as a result, it is important that we help them to understand the value of money.

It is vitally important to begin to teach your kids about money from an early age. Beginning at about the age 10 you should give them a few dollars every week that they can spend however they wish. This weekly allowance should not 'free' but ought to be dependent on their completing some household chores. You must however work with them and let them decide what they wish to do instead of giving them particular tasks. In addition, it is important not to set limits on what they can spend their money on and also that, once they are receiving an, you do not then go on buying them the things they want. They need to, and soon will, learn that if they spend all of their allowance as soon as they get it they will not be able to get some of the more expensive items they want.

In addition, it is extremely important for you children to grasp the ins and outs of budgeting at an early age and discover just how much things cost. Take them to the store with you when you go out shopping, have them help you with the household budget and allow them to watch you when it is time to pay the bills. It will not take them long to get a sense of precicely how expensive day to day living can be.

As your kids get older, and certainly by the time they get to the age of about 13 or 14, gradually raise both their level of responsibility and their weekly allowance. For instance, include their lunch money in their weekly allowance and make them responsible for buying their own lunch. As they learn to accept greater responsible, teach them to draw up a budget for bigger items such as clothes or an mp3 player, and then make them stick to this budget. Once again, you will discover that they will rapidly learn that if they wish to buy expensive items, then they have to make sacrifices.

Remember too that you can always backtrack. If you discover that your kids are not learning how to to use their money sensibly and for its intended purpose, then step in and take control of that money again until you are happy that they are able to handle it.

At some point, your teenager will decide to get a job and this is one of the best points at which to introduce them to the concept of saving. Teach them to put part of their wages into a savings account which they should come to see as a resource for funding major projects, such as their college education or other significant pursuits. Also, get them into the habit of putting a small amount of their wages to one side to pay for less important, but nevertheless expensive, things such as a video game system or computer. After they have made these provisions, you can then allow them to spend the remainder of their wages in whatever 'crazy' manner they choose and, if you are concerned about what they are spending their money on, then open up a checking account for them that you can monitor.

Teaching your kids about money can be a long and slow process that takes a number of small steps and will not be without its difficulties. Your children, and in particular your teenagers, will screw up but do not forget that we learn perhaps our most valuable lessons as a result of the mistakes that we make.

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