Teaching Teenagers Money Management - A Helpful Guide For Parents

Teaching teenagers money management skills could be a challenge for most parents. Teenagers usually want to be independent and they want to do things on their own. They want to have their own car, buy their own clothes, and do what they want, when they want. The problem is they need money to do those things. When you teach teenagers money management, the money they receive will go further and they will have more appreciation for it because they will know what the value of a dollar is.

Teaching your teenagers money management can be difficult , but not impossible. It is very important that they have an understanding of it before they get out in the real world. There are many ways you can do this, but you need to remember that teenagers are different and what may work for one, may not work for the other. Take your teenagers learning abilities into consideration when you decide how to teach them about money management.

The first lesson for teenagers money management is to teach your teens that they shouldn't depend on credit cards. Credit cards cause nothing but trouble for people. The interest rates are high, it's easy to overspend when using them, and they take forever to pay off. If you teach your teens how to live on the money from their checks, they will be much better off now and in the future.

It's always so much fun to go on a shopping spree. It's not so fun when the bill comes in a month later and you don't know how you will pay for it. Credit cards should be for emergencies only. Emergencies would be if your car brakes down on the side of the road or you have a flat tire and need it repaired. A shoe sale would not be considered an emergency. When you teach your teens this from the beginning, they will not know anything different and they will follow those rules.

Teaching your teenagers money management skills before they get a job will help since often these jobs are not set at a certain amount of hours each week, so their checks will fluctuate. This is why you need to teach them to only spend what they have to and save the rest. They should always have gas and insurance if it's at all possible. If they have a car payment, try to get a used car with small monthly payments. Teach them to only use the savings when they have an unforeseen emergency expense and not when they find a pair of awesome, must have, pants for a hundred bucks.

Teenagers have a mind of their own when it comes to money and their finances. When you teach your teenagers money management skills, from the very beginning, they will appreciate it in the long run and thank you for years to come when they are adults. Saving money, avoiding excessive spending on credit cards, only spending what their checks will allow, and budgeting their spending are all things you need to include when you teach your teenagers money management.

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Darlyn Burkle of www.I-Choose-Us.com, offers resources to show women how to survive a depression and thrive through the financial crisis. The 52-week Money Saving Toolkit helps women save and earn extra money. It covers practical money saving tips for saving on food, utilities, mortgage, gasoline, entertainment, college education, travel, gift-giving, and more.

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