Teens and money handling

[Tiggeroo]

Do you guide your teens or set limits on how they spend money from their summer jobs? My sons will be working for their 2nd summer this year and have nothing saved. They do cover all their own expenses during the summer and paid some of their sports camp money, but when the summer job is over they have no money. They are both going to need car insurance money at the end of this summer and they are jr's in hs and only have 2 summers til college. I'm worried about their lack of money handling skills when they go off to college. My thought right now is to help them create a budget. They can have alot of input into that budget. Then force them to put some of their money into an account they don't have easy access to. I'd like to see them have some pocket money, some short term savings for things like surfing gear, and some long term savings for winter money and car insurance, and maybe even toward college. But it is likely they will resent this since they are not babies. However, if they don't get a handle on it, there's no way I'm going to be able to trust them to manage their finances while away at college, and they also won't be getting their licenses.

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

Definitely teach them now how to budget. I would make them put half their paycheck in for savings. My DBF is horrible at budgeting and he is 34. He gets paid once a month and by the end of the month his money is already spent and he doesn't have any savings. He just had to put $1,000 into his car but couldn't afford it so I had to loan him the money because he lacks savings. I am trying to teach him how to budget, he wants to move in together but until he learns how to save it is not possible.

My mom and dad taught me at a very young age how to save money. They gave me $25 at age 9 to set up a saving account and I would have to put in half of my gift money for that year into my saving account. The years after they never had to ask me to put half my money I got in because I learned to save and enjoyed watching my account grow so I would put it in on my own. When I got my first job I automatically put 1/2 my paycheck in if not more and I still do it today.

 

[crazelion]

I would ask them to set 20 dollars a side for savings from each paycheck. Have them to put the rest of the money in a checking account. The bank has student checking accounts. That way it would teach them to budget there money better. If they overdrive from there checking account make them pay for the overdrift charges.

That way by having a checking account they is building there credit up.

My Mom never had to tell me to save my money because I am cheap. I hardly ever buy anything.