Teen parents--what do you make your teens pay for?

[mrsbornkuntry]

I am super excited, my 16yo DD has been applying for jobs for months with no luck and this morning she finally got an interview for a job at a local bounce house place (5 minutes away from home, yay!). Of course we don't know if she got the job yet, but she said the interview went really well.

So my question is, people with teens with jobs, what do you make them pay for with their own money? My DD isn't into fashion at all, she does have a hobby (and etsy store) of making her own jewelry and she likes tech stuff, but she is very frugal by nature. I plan on having her pay me gas money until she gets her license just to get her used to having that expense. I also plan on having her pay me something for insurance, I'm not sure how much yet, it depends how much she makes (I don't want to take too much of her income) and how much insurance actually costs with her on it.

What is a good percentage for her to save? She is planning on going to college so I think she should put something aside for that or her own car because any car we buy her will be shared with her 15yo brother when he gets his license, who will then share with his brother when he gets his license, lol.

 

[angierae]

My DD has only been working summers, so we haven't had to do a lot of this. This summer because she's going to be a senior and there's a lot of expenses coming up, she's putting 75% of her paychecks into the bank. This will go towards future car expenses and any "extras" she wants that come up during senior year (it's so expensive!)

She's also giving me $10 a week in gas which isn't REMOTELY covering how much I'm spending, but it's giving her an idea that getting places costs money.

If she works this school year (her course load is lighter) she'll have to put at least 25% of it into savings, pay towards her car insurance (depending on how much it goes up - if it's a LOT I'm not going to expect her to pay for all of it, but a reasonable amount) and putting gas in the car when she borrows it (so far she won't have her own car this fall but we're trying to figure something out) and then maybe a bit towards her cell bill. I want her to have spending money, but I want her to contribute, so how much and what she pays will depend on how much she's making. I want her to get used to the fact that bills and savings come first, and what's left is what you play with.

 

[lady9]

When I got a job at 17, I paid for my own clothes and entertainment. I am the oldest child of 4. I had a car to use most of the time and was expected to help with gas, but there wasn't a set amount. My parents paid for my insurance as long as I kept up my grades and got the good student discount. I had to put away 40% of my paycheck for college and 10% for giving.

 

[SC Minnie]

DD got a job about 3 months after turning 16. She had been babysitting during the summer for about 2 years and we encouraged her to take out $20 and save the rest. After 2 summers she had enough to buy an older used car for herself when she turned 16. When she got the other job we made her pay for her own gas. Occasionally I will fill up her tank to be nice though . If she goes out with friends to eat or whatever she pays for that herself. To be honest we don't give her any cash anymore for 'stuff'. We encourage her to save at least half of her paycheck and some weeks she does and others she doesn't. She has saved a good bit to use for spending money in college (starts next month). She also pays for her data plan on her phone. Actually when her tax refund check came back she gave it to DH for her cell bill for the next 12 months so she wouldn't have to worry about it.

We pay for DD's car insurance. She is on our plan and I think its about ~$80/month and we only have liability on her car. We pay for any work done on her car except for the routine oil changes, she pays for that. I usually buy her clothes for school or if she needs several new things for the season. If she is out with friends and sees a top or dress she like she buys that herself.

 

[Southernmiss]

I am super excited, my 16yo DD has been applying for jobs for months with no luck and this morning she finally got an interview for a job at a local bounce house place (5 minutes away from home, yay!). Of course we don't know if we got the job yet, but she said the interview went really well.

So my question is, people with teens with jobs, what do you make them pay for with their own money? My DD isn't into fashion at all, she does have a hobby (and etsy store) of making her own jewelry and she likes tech stuff, but she is very frugal by nature. I plan on having her pay me gas money until she gets her license just to get her used to having that expense. I also plan on having her pay me something for insurance, I'm not sure how much yet, it depends how much she makes (I don't want to take too much of her income) and how much insurance actually costs with her on it.

What is a good percentage for her to save? She is planning on going to college so I think she should put something aside for that or her own car because any car we buy her will be shared with her 15yo brother when he gets his license, who will then share with his brother when he gets his license, lol.

Congrats to your DD on her job! It's exciting to see them reach this milestone.

DH and I have been a bit lax in what we "require" the kids to pay for. 2 of our teens have cell phones. We pay for those. We originally said they would pay for their texting $10 per month, but I never remember to follow through.

We pay for DS 18 auto insurance. DH and I disagree on this, but it's not an area that I want to rock the boat on. DH said his dad paid for his insurance, and he wants to do the same for our kids. But I think they should pay something. As we have more teen drivers to pay for, we may have to negotiate on this one.

DS had our old family car, but let the engine burn up in it. So he had to pay for his current car himself, about $2000. He covers his own gas, maintenance and spending money.

Also, my 3 oldest kids have referreed soccer since they were 12 and along the way they have completely paid their way for a class trip to Disney and some school incidentials like club fees, field trips, or food at football games along the way out of their pocket $ that I am never aware of.. And they do pay for many of their own clothes.


We have encouraged them to save for college, but did not give them a percentage to save. Just a discussion every now and then of "How much $ do you have in your wallet?" When it would reach $50-$100 or more we'd say I think you need to put some of it in the bank which they always do.
Oldest DS is going to college in August and has about $4000 saved doing this.

Now that oldest DS is needing to buy stuff for college he's a bit surprised and noticing the prices of stuff. The other day we were in Bed Bath and Beyond to buy some of his things and I said, "Ok, I'll put this on my credit card and then we can settle out once we get all the things you need for school." He was a little taken aback, but realizes that it's gonna start to be more and more on him.

 

[denise5374]

DD19 has been working since she was 16. She pays for her own gas and her car insurance and all entertainment. We still buy her clothes(for the most part) and any other "necessities".

I am trying to get her to save some of her paycheck and sometimes she does but other times she spends the whole thing. This is really the first summer that she has had consistent hours and is working about 25-30 hours a week. When college starts in the fall, that will be cut back.

 

[2disneyboys]

my kids are not teens yet so I have some ideals, but things may change by the time they are teens so who knows!

Speaking of myself, I babysat from the age of 11 - 15 and then @ 15 got a summer job, and then @ 16 got a part time job that became a full time career.. anyway, I have been working to earn money since I was 11. I'm one of the oldest kids in my family. we were an upper lower class/lower middle class family. not a lot of extras for anything and quite frequently, not a enough for the monthly needs.. just to give you some perspective.

I knew I was not going to be able to have a car until I could buy it, maintain it and insure it. I was allowed use of my parents but as they worked full time, it was not something I could use all the time. Once we were working, we were expect to pay for anything extra (like fast food with the friends, movies, prom stuff, senior year stuff) mom gave us a set amt of $ at the beg of the school year towards school clothes etc (less than the younger siblings as they did not have jobs where they could contribute) and we put $ towards it to get what we wanted for school clothes.

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a working teenager to pay for any entertainment (this does not mean you can't contribute to special occasions like prom etc, but they should not expect your contributaton) as well as $ toward auto expenses (gas, insurance etc) and I know several families that the teenager also pays thier own cell phone bill. I think in a perfect world, the teen's "expenses" should not be more than 50% of thier income which would allow for some fun money as well as at least 25% savings toward future needs (College, car, apartment, etc) The best thing about a teen working and learning responsibilities with money is that they learn budgeting (and make mistakes) while they are still under your protection.. meaning they won't go hungrey or get evicted because they made a mistake in this month's budget. You learn from your mistakes so this gives them a safe way to learn. You as the parent just have to stick up for what you say, even if it means the teen has to miss a night out at the movies with friends because they didn't "budget" that $ correctly. YMMV.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

It sounds like my expectations are reasonable. 2disneyboys, that's what I was thinking about teaching her to budget while it was still "safe" for her to make mistakes.

When I was in high school I babysat alot because of some family drama with an "evil stepmother" I was expected to pay for clothing, toiletries, school expenses, etc. Saving for a car wasn't even on the radar until I was 18. I don't want my DD to have all of that stress, I definitely don't want her wondering if she'll be able to get a sitting job on a Saturday night so she can pick up some toothpaste and soap . On the other hand, I do want to prepare her to budget and pay bills.

 

[Happy 2 B Me]

I would ask her to make a list of expenses she would like to be responsible for. % of insurance, gas and car maintance, tech supplies kids decide they want. Any extra items that normally would not be provided by you and husband.

Remember she is going to be busy working so movies, and time with friends is going to be limited. I remember my first job after HS graduation. I was so tired I didn't even have time to cash checks. Co. will send you a notice if you have not cashed a check for 6 months after it was written-- LOL. Regular work hours was an eye opener for me.

I hope she will WANT to save for college. Not have a school loan to pay after college is the best feeling. I do not think parents should feel obligated to pay for college for their children. I have seen some families put their home in deep mortgage to pay for their kids continued education.

I am sure she will remember how hard she worked for her money and spend accordingly. Have a job as a teenager is a lesson on why they should want to continue their education after HS.

 

[veraletta]

We always told our children that half had to go in the bank and they could do what ever they wanted with the rest. We only made them paid their car insurance once they got their license, as we would pay for only the first 6 month then they were on their own.

 

[Jenny3]

My 16 y/o works part time; she generally puts half in the bank and keeps the other half for spending. The bank money will be used to pay her car insurance once she has her license. I also told her she will also be responsible for her gas once she is driving.

Other things she pays for are unnecessary clothes that she 'has to have'; make-up, jewelry, entertainment, dinners out, etc. Pretty much anything that I consider a luxury and that is outside of basic everyday use (like I will pay for her shampoo, but draw the line at a $25 bottle of hair gel)

 

[disykat]

We generally don't make our boys pay insurance or gas money on the family vehicles. The exception is "road trips" if they're driving places further afield with their friends. Most of their gas is used getting to work or school or just around town. We pay for all their clothes (we have boys so extras really aren't an issue.) Cell phone enhancements beyond being on the basic family plans are given as gifts for birthdays. We give them money for meals if they're out with their youth group or school trips. All they are basically in charge of is their own spending and saving for college, during which they know they'll be in charge of all their own extras.

Our oldest was a saver and every penny was being saved towards college so it wasn't an issue. He pretty much had every penny he'd ever made and he started mowing lawns at 12.

Our youngest we've had to keep an eye on. We've helped him make out a budget which basically turns out to anything above about $50 a month ($600 a year) should be going into long term savings, for college and other expenses. He's 17 and we still make him run those "other expenses" by us if he wants to take out of savings. He's always been one to spend every penny he has. He's going to be in a world of hurt next year if he doesn't get his savings up. He saved $500 for college last year, but hasn't gotten many hours at work this summer so is probably barely going to manage to earn this year's spending money.

Youngest knows the pressure will be on to earn more money next summer or he's going to have to play catch up with an on campus job right away. It should be easier since he won't have summer school, band camp, etc. after graduation. He's hoping to work during the year a bit after marching band season is over.

 

[wvjules]

Since DD got a job, and a car, she's responsible for her car 'payment', gas and 1/2 of her car insurance. I fill her car up once in a while though and I still give her fun money once in a while.

She has two jobs this summer so she gets one of her paychecks and I get the other one. When shcool starts and she only has one job again her checks are split 50/50. She gets half for her wants and I get half to pay her bills and save.

I still pay for pretty much everything I paid for before she got a job, except for her car expenses and entertainment. The girl eats out WAY too much! I still buy most of her clothes, shoes, all school related stuff, hair appontments, etc. She's still my responsibility.

Or I could have just said "what she said"

Other things she pays for are unnecessary clothes that she 'has to have'; make-up, jewelry, entertainment, dinners out, etc. Pretty much anything that I consider a luxury and that is outside of basic everyday use (like I will pay for her shampoo, but draw the line at a $25 bottle of hair gel)

 

[disneysteve]

This is always a work in progress. Generally, we pay for necessities - food, necessary clothing, etc. We also pay for youth group activities and trips though she covers spending money for souvenirs, gifts, snacks, etc. Sometimes we will split the cost of something if she wants what we feel is beyond "necessity" such as if she wants the $70 sneakers instead of the $50 sneakers. There have also been times when she has offered to pay for something and we told her that we would take care of it as the item in question, though not necessary, was modest and reasonable and we are her parents after all. We're not running a business. She isn't a stranger renting a room in our house. So she gets gifts from time to time that aren't for any occasion - just because we love her and she's a good kid.

 

[DisneyCrazyX5]

We try to pay for the needs and he pays for the wants.
We own his car, so we pay for the insurance. We fill up the gas tank ever 2 weeks, if he needs more he pays for it. But in addition to his job, he works on our farm so that is how we pay him.
He pays for tracfone minutes after he used up the $100 card he got for Christmas.
He pays for paintball supplies , movies and food when he is out with his friends.

I try to get him to save most of his paycheck, but he is or oldest and we are still trying to figure this all out too.

 

[pigletto]

We're just getting to the place where we are negotiating these kinds of things. I pay her cell phone currently. When our contract is up, I will find a much cheaper one. I'll still pay her talk and text, and if she wants internet on the phone she can pay that portion.

Clothes I do 95% of. She fell in love with a dress online and really really wanted it. She didn't need it.. has a ton of clothes.. so she bought it with her money.

She is dogsitting for the summer and babysitting. We implemented the 60/40 rule. 60 goes into the bank, 40 can be spent. This covers a variety of things. I don't really care what she does with the 40. The 60 will need to be saved for school. We are going to be able to help her a great deal, but it will be a stretch and I don't want any of us to walk away with a ton of debt so we're all trying to plan for it now. We're only 3 years away.

She wants her hair done again. I will pay for cut and tip she will kick in 40 for the colour. Normally I would pay for that too but we all wanted to go on a Disney trip again and we're bringing her friend so she's got to help out where she can on the little things.

She wants to go on a school trip to Paris next spring. It is 2800 per student.
She'll need to save her money for as much as she can. We will cover what she can't with a combination of birthday and Christmas money and just giving her 1000 towards it. They also do some fundraising.

So as you can see we will pay for almost everything but when it's strictly a want instead of a need then I am starting to expect her to contribute something to get used to the idea of paying her way.

 

[ceecee]

DD is 16 and she does odd jobs for us as well as the occassional babysitting job. She doesn't make much and spends a whole lot more. We should have started teaching her the value of $ way before now, we just didn't stick to it. Her bestfriend's grandma gave her $100 a month and her parents hand out $ like it's water so she has a hard time keeping up with things she wants to do. We paid for her King's Island pass (amusement park) and she is expected to pay for food, they went last week and she packed a lunch and still managed to spend $25. To rent a locker it was $20 they split it 2 ways at the water park area.

 

[Chelley00]

My boys are heavy involved in sports, so the hours they have available to work is pretty minimum. Oldest DS has been working all summer and saving his money for college expenses, but he does pay us for his cell phone plan above the $9 add a line cost we cover (he has an Iphone). DS16 works only 8 hours a week, more if he can take a shift no one else wants. He's just too busy. They pay for the gas in their car and anything they do out with friends and then clothes or whatever they want on top of what I budget to spend on them.

 

[nsmith]

My teens pay for their cell phones, we have a plan through metro so it is only about $25 month. We really expect them to be completely responsible for a car when they buy one (gas, ins. repairs) so have encouraged them to hold off and drive my husbands and mine. We care for them, pay for repairs and insurance and usually pay for gas.

Senior year was very expensive. We paid for 2/3 of her senior trip, her prom dress and ticket. She paid the other 1/3 of her trip, her spending money. For the prom she bought her shoes, paid for her hair, nails, limo (I found a groupon) after prom entertainment (they went bowling) and her "prom house" for after prom weekend down the shore. I did give some spending money and sent drinks and some snack foods with her.

We threw her a graduation party and told her the senior trip was her graduation gift from us.

We usually purchase need cloths IE: shoes, coats, a few outfits for school, special occasion clothing. Any other cloths they want they purchase.

On occasion we will pay for an outing or give a little spending money, but on the whole they are responsible for their own entertainment.

DD is going to college in August and is taking the loans offered by our state $5500. After the scholarships she received, the money we are giving her and the loan she is left with $4000 and will use her savings to take care of that.

All in all I feel like my kids really have a good grasps of what things cost and understand that money doesn't grow on trees.

 

[eliza61]

So my kids didn't have jobs until the we're 18 due to sports and music teams. The cars they drive are all old cars we've kept so no expense there.

They must save 10% of their checks. They pay for their entertainment, gas and clothes.