5 Things Teens Should Be Taught About Money

gchapman

I wish someone told me about the consequences of debt when i was at Uni... my mum aleays did say live within your means... but know one tells you what could happen if you don't!! I think the shock tactic would have worked better! Am now 25 and have a fair amount of debt built up with an annoying poor credit score...... can't do anything - no good accounts, no mortgage - great one!!!??
I think Martin's... 'will take 40 years to pay off a credit card with minimum payments'... is a very good one to start!!

pixiemuffin

I have tried to educate my children about the importance of money and the effects on the environment...........................global warming has killed the money tree at the bottom of our garden!!!!!

KK

Some excellent advice here already. As children we were given Post Office accounts and I loved seeing the money build up in it - especially at interest time. I also realised that spending it meant there was less in there. My 4 year old has a pass book savings account and her dad saves his loose change into a tin for her and every 4 months or so we go to the bank and change it into notes and pay it in at Nationwide. She knows the £470 in there is her money, but also thinks it is for when she is older (I don't remember telling her this).

Teach your child to save as early as possible, then it becomes a habit.

I got a summer job before uni and that money amazingly kept me in credit for my whole 3 years, but those were the days of grants and housing benefit. But after the first year, my parents had to pay my grant money as they weren't eligible.

Credit is not free money - it ALWAYS has to be paid back.

It is better to save for something you want, than buy it, borrow the money and then pay the loan back for ages afterwards. We have always saved for holidays, rather than put them on credit cards, as I don't want to be paying for a holiday long after it is over!

I was given a clothing allowance at 12 and my mum gave me the responsibility for buying my clothes from then on. She bought school stuff and winter coats and shoes, and I bought anything else I needed. It was a great lesson in budgeting and decision making. She used to give me my child allowance. As soon as we were old enough my brother and I got jobs and that was our money to do with as we pleased, but if you have struggled to earn it, you do spend it carefully!

Teach your teen about basic finances, how mortgages work, debt and credit cards, borrowing, saving, pensions etc.

Always open your bank statements and face up to any debt you have

MSE_Martin

A special note to Miss Surfer

First of all welcome. I was chuffed to read your post.

It's lovely to see you on here. And I have a feeling that with an attitude like yours at 15 you are already well on the way to becoming a MoneySaver.

And i think you're right many teens like many adults are abysmal with money. But many teens like many adults are also pretty good with cash and at taking the first steps to becoming top edge smart consumers.

We need to remember that

Martin

margaretclare

Hi all

As a grandmother, who has 'been there, seen it, done it and got a wardrobe full of T-shirts to prove it...'

I agree with much that has been said. 'Always live within your income' really means, always have something left over from what you've earned. Micawber in Dickens' 'David Copperfield' put it exactly all those years ago, and that advice cannot be improved on.

Always be aware of what you're buying. I agree with Martin 'Can you get it cheaper elsewhere? Will they give you a discount for cash? Can you get a deal e.g. if you're booking a 3-night stay, will they give you a 4th night free?' This is really from my husband, who has decades in business behind him - always look for a deal somewhere. Never buy the first thing you're offered.

Read the small print. If it seems to be too good to be true, it probably is.

No matter how small your income, even if it's a part-time job after school, always try to save a little of it.

Keep receipts, copies etc - if you want to complain or get something exchanged (which you have a right to do if it's 'not of satisfactory quality or fit for the purpose') how are you going to do it without the receipt?

Check your bank statements - I keep accounts using Quicken, and I always reconcile bank statements with my own accounts. Know how much you have at all times - don't wait for the statement to arrive monthly! Easy nowadays, with telephone banking, mini-statements available in ATMs, or online banking.

I've gone over the 5, but I don't apologise. All these are lessons learned mostly the hard way.

Margaret

MissSurfer

Thanks Martin,

I have subscribed to the email tips for ages but never actually signed up for the message boards.

Good to know my post has actually been read rather than ignored for being so long (I have trouble writing concisely...big problem when it comes to couserwork word limits!!).

Anyway...thanks for readin'!

amazon_2

Watch money programmes and try to listen to money news - bargain info etc (I think vouchers and freebies etc are associated with housewives/your mum trying to save a few bob in your supermarket rather than realising how sharp bargains make certain purchases or lifestyle possible even on a budget).

I've sat and watched "Bank of Mum and Dad" with my 13 yr old the last few weeks and he has been fascinated (and often appalled) at how stupid we grown ups are with money - these are the eye openers we needed when we were still at school. Sorry guys - but many teens just don't want to hear it from their parents. that's what being a teenager and forging your own path in life is all about. They need it to come from others - ie. role models. We need to hear how kids from slums with every disadvantage overcame adversity to be pop stars etc...
not everyone is going to sit counting interest rates on their post office account (this is unrealistic just as with adults)...

On the "can you get it cheaper somewhere else"...does it have to be new, can you trade with a mate (we used to take turns buying the real cassette and the other kid recording it - may not be recommendable now but you get the gist)..can you be bid for it on e-bay - can you sell the old version... kids are big big consumers and don't realise how much power they have to take their money and spending power elsewhere...

don't drink your money away - especially useful one for students here - apart from student bar huge debts build up just from social time being linked with drinking and it is literally p*****d away.... look at the profits drinks companies are making - choose cheap boozers, get mates round for home cooked pasta and bring a bottle - whatever....

there's no such thing as a free lunch - don't believe what advertisers tell you - think about it.....what are they getting from you...

cook and learn to cook again - most popular skill (and well underrated) - everyone will want to share a house with you as a student if you can get a few cheap recipes under your belt and they are literally lifesavers when you have NO money left at all. Looking at your post on feeding 6 for £1.00 odd - v impressive - we put in £1 a day food kitty for all our milk, bread and evening meals 6 of us joined the kitty and some could only cook one meal so we had the same one every week - but who cares if it was good - it saved us a packet. Unf we were all carnivores or we could have saved more and half of them were rugby players so the size of portions was huge. Instead of kebabs on the way home after a few drinks at student bar it was the trusty sandwich toaster which saved us from starving....bargain!

work = money!
it's all very well to budget - but sometimes you just don't have enough cash so you need to generate some - how to make money - entrepeneurial spirit!! Babysitting - do conversation classes - whatever skills you have try to use them - work in shops over sales time to get the cash in for Christmas - find a niche market taking photos or entertaining at kids parties - work in an office over Summer hols - reward yourself - work hard and then you can afford that holiday with your mates you really want....without going into more debt. there is loads of work out there to get some money coming in..as was said earlier if you have worked for that cash you are much less likely to blow it so easily.

For students - ifyou really want it and have no cash then search and search to find all grants, scholarships, prizes etc you can - there are lots of private foundations, grant giving charities all out there and finding them is half the battle as people mostly just can't be bothered. believe in yourself and go for it..you can get yourself nominated, travel on scholarships to Europe, States etc...Americans are more clued up to this but it is there for all. I was not a scholarship student and got funded trips to EC countries, a week all paid in Berlin funded by Euro parliament etc - all of which I'd never heard of until I started researching them...

For teens to buy into the whole money thing they have to see something in it for them - if it is unlikely they would ever be able to afford to. It's no good just appealing to middle class kids whose parents/grandparents may bank roll them or help with house/uni etc. Some do just want it now, and paying later doesnt bother them - what do people suggest? Kids should see what it is like for kids on the breadline in cr##py housing estates with no choices and need to know how to break free of that...before they have messed up and are there themselves..it's no good talking to them about ISA's - they need to know what grants they can get to stay on to take their GCSE's - how to get a job and afford the clothes to get their foot in the door and how to afford the fares to get there and still give money to their family. Maybe this doesn't fit in the 5 points - but lifelines to help yourself to get out through role models, boosting your own esteem, finding training etc are all vital.

Congrats again to the v sensible teenager and his first post!

gchapman

Trust me, I think Uni is the hardest time stick with the morals of money even if you have the best intentions to....... no parents, lots of (borrowed) money, friends to socialise with, places to go..... it all adds up to one big nightmare really and i didn't go out far as much as some people.

MissSurfer

Congrats again to the v sensible teenager and his first post!

Thanks amazon (I assume you're referring to me)..should be "her first post" though

Problem for me (about getting a job) is that I have yet to find an employer to employ me!! Of course I can do a paperound but I quit at the end of the summer because being a papergirl last winter was the most horrible job in the world (when it rained anyway). I do have a babysitting/first aid certificate so occasionally get work but it's not a reguler income!!

Maybe I'll start a new topic about this...where can I get a job being under 16?! (I've applied to Boots as they -according to head office - employ aged 15+ but no success yet probably becuase I have no experience).

Any help about this would be appreciated!!

MissSurfer

MissSurfer

There were just too many spelling mistakes in my last post! Hehe...reguler?