How to Teach Your Young Teen How to Budget Money

Parents wonder when it is a good time to start teaching your children about money. Being able to handle money and budget is of up most importance in today's economy. As a teacher, I feel that a child is ready to being to seriously learn how to handle money and budget around the middle school years. When they are approaching their teen years, money starts to take on more importance. My 15 year old teen daughter is beginning to see the importance of money and how to budget appropriately. Here are a few suggestions from a mother and teacher on how to help your young teen learn to handle money and budget it wisely.

1) Sit down with your teen and help them make out a budget. For example, my teen daughter wants her teen magazine every week , and nail supplies, and an occasional CD. I suppose I'm lucky, as her list of needs is slim. With a budget, she knows what she needs to save money for.This is where we talk about needs versus wants.

2) Decide with your young teen, what you will be responsible for and what they are responsible for. I still manage large items, such as clothing and school supplies. But the smaller things, like makeup and CD's, I feel our daughter should save money for.

3) If they have a job, sit down with the teen and show them how to budget. I explain to our daughter how to set aside a certain amount of her money for savings. She of course wants to give ten percent to church. She then saves ten percent

4) I don't think teens are ever too young to start to learn about how money multiplies. We went to our nearby credit union, who just happened to have a program for preteens and young teens. Although the account isn't earning a lot at the present time due to the economy, 2.9 percent return on money is better than nothing .

5) I give my daughter an allowance as she does not work. School is more important than a job. This is where the parent must stand firm. If your teen wants that new CD that just came out, but they have blown their money on other things, tell them they'll just have to wait until they save the money, as it isn't in your budget either.

If parents will follow these tips with your preteen or young teen, chances are they will grow up knowing how to handle their money and how to budget wisely. I wish someone had sat down with me and discussed money issues. It took me years to figure out how to decide what a need versus a want was, and how to budget. In the long run, your teen will thank you for teaching them how to budget their money.