The Money Pit

"Mom, can I have some money?"
How often do parents hear this? How do we teach our teenagers the value of money?
Laura Buddenberg from the website, "Parenting.org" asks the question about allowance, "What do you want your teen to learn?"
Buddenberg explains that teens need to learn how to manage a budget as soon as possible so they can grow into financially responsible adults. So how do we teach or kids this important lesson.
Giveme20.com is a website created to help parents teach their teens how to manage money. The first thing a teen needs in order to learn about money...is money. A weekly allowance is a good first step. But just handing them money every week is not really teaching them the value of money. The value of money comes from earning it. So, give them chores or duties that help them earn credit towards their pay.
Once they have money, they need to learn how to spend, save and share their money. What kind of things do you want to teach your teen about how they spend their money? Do you want them to contribute to church or charity? How much do you want them to save? These are all things you should discuss with your teen while setting up a budget.
A budget is important because it teaches them how to manage their money. Set up a priority list of the things they need, and then set up a list of things they want. Organize those things in order of importance.
Your teen will learn the importance of being accountable and staying inside the budget guidelines. They need to know they can't have whatever they want; they must live within their means.

Better they learn this lesson now, rather than after they move out and buy a house they can't afford along with three car payments they can't pay for.

For more tips on how to help your teen with money management, go to http://www.parenting.org/flight/l_current.asp

http://www.giveme20.com/