Money wisdom for teens
Posted on October 20th, 2008 – 12:22 PMBy Kara McGuire
I spoke to two personal finance management classes at Forest Lake High School this morning and shared with them this list of what I think are five important money principals to get down before heading out into the real world:
1. Live within your means and find a way to track your finances that enables you to do so for the rest of your life.
2. Get into the habit of saving something, anything. And delay the purchase of something meaningful to you while you save so you can experience how good it feels.
3. Sweat the small stuff. Read the fine print so you can understand the numerous ways financial institutions can nickel and dime you. Keep tabs on fees and interest rates and surcharges. Understand fine print can also reveal jewels that can help you maximize your money.
4. Understand your money personality. Are you a person who can use credit responsibly? Are you better with cash? Are you a natural spender or saver? The sooner you undersrtand yourself, the easier it will be to find ways to optimally operate in the complex financial world in which we live.
5. Get credit. Not just open a credit card and learn how to use it. Get credit as in understand how it works.*
*I was surprised to learn that of the 60 or so students I spoke with zero had a credit card. I found this surprising. I learned to use a credit card when I was a junion in high school. I was an authorized user on my parents’ account, an arrangement that worked well.
Some might applaud the declining use of credit amongst teens. To me, I worry that it delays teaching them the basics until they are on their own, without watchful parents ensuring that they aren’t royally goofing up. What’s your opinion?
And what advice would you share with high school juniors and seniors?
9 Responses to "Money wisdom for teens"
Staying with your #5, get a credit card so that you can start building your credit history.
Give. Figure out what you value and research an organization/charity to support. There is great satisfaction in supporting a worthy cause no matter the size of the contribution. I wish I’d gotten into the habit at a younger age.
Take risks, and lots of them, especially when you’re young. Learn from your mistakes. Often, the easiest course or the one that pays the best isn’t the best choice in the long run.
-Ryan
I am surprised you think their parents are watchful…maybe they don’t have cards due to their parents credit or worse? At any rate, I would tell them to get a job!
I didn’t have credit until College and maybe ran into a late payment or two but never really carried much of a balance. I’d say that would be a good idea…
Personal finance management is something that should be taught in the home, by the parents and not by the schools with our tax money. No wonder kids can’t find Iraq on a map and newspapers are written at a 6th grade reading level - their too busy learning how to balance a checkbook or use a credit card.
I suggest they don’t wast their money on a shitty, agenda driven rag of a “paper” like your soon to be bankrupt liberal crap.
Slacker: Personal finance classes are typically electives and very few states require them.
I’d argue that there are many adults who don’t have enough financial knowledge
to teach their kids the basics.
So I’d rather use taxpayer dollars to teach kids how to manage credit and spend less than they make rather than use taxpayer dollars to finance a rescue package that could have been avoided if both banks and consumers acted more responsibly.
I’d also argue that many school districts don’t have the financial knowledge to teach kids the basics either. Look, if a school district wants more money - they just pump out another levy rather than being more fiscally conservative / responsible with the funding already in place.
The public education system is not the place to try to teach children what they think would be in the best interest of the county.
