If you have a teenager in your life, there’s a chance that they are a handful. It’s hard enough to get them to behave themselves and not break anything or get themselves in trouble with the law, let alone teach them about some of the finer points of life. Sometimes it might seem as if you are just trying to survive long enough to send them off to college. I know it’s hard, but you’re going to have to teach them some money management skills so that they do not end up moving back in with you later! If you have a teenager, here’s what you can do to teach them about money.

If they don’t have any money coming in, they won’t be able to learn about money because they have no money to manage. This doesn’t mean offering them an allowance, instead offer them a commission. Make them work for the money you give them. Make it worth their while, don’t just make them mow the lawn and give them a pittance for it, give them what they are actually worth. When they have some more money to manage, they’ll be much more likely to be willing to learn to manage it.

Once they have an income, you have to be able to teach them what to do with it. I suggest that you teach them to save for their first vehicle. Tell them that you will match however much they save for a car. This will give them something to shoot for and a reason to save money.

You will also have to teach them to spend and give. Consider making them give 25% of any money that you let them earn from the company of mom and dad to some sort of charity. This can be a local church, an orphanage, or something of the source. You also have to be able to teach them the power of giving and show them that their money is truly doing good. Take them to an orphanage or some sort of other charitable foundation and show them what happens to their money and show them the good that it does.

Finally, let them spend some money on themselves. Let them use some of their money to buy clothing, fast food, or a trip to the movies. We don’t want to teach our children to be huge tightwads with money either. You will definitely want to get them a checking account for their money and show them how to balance a checkbook and to make sure not to overdraft their checkbooks. They will need to know this later on. A savings account is also a good idea for their savings.


 Related Content: