What is some financial advice you would tell a teenager?
Depending on your age and phase of life, the bottom will defer -Start saving. Doesn’t matter how much, it must be consistent. So choose an amount that you’re comfortable with. i.e. A dollar a day, everyday. Every coin matters.Always aim to be “debt-free”. Meaning, in your uni/vocation school years, try to clear as much school fees as possible. Within reasons, of course. Not to the point of exhaustion and screwing up your studies.Start understanding the impact of interest rates, bank rates and hidden fees in whatever you purchase.Don’t lend money to friends if you can’t afford it. Money given has a 50% chance of not returning. If your bank only has $100, you could lend $10-$20 depending on your generosity and trust - but be aware that there is a chance they will not return you at all.Usually I’d ask myself if the item in my hand is a need or want. If it’s a want, is it a must that I have it? Do I use it everyday, all the time?Separate savings and spending account.Avoid luxurious lifestyle like eating out 5 times a week at expensive restaurants, buying things you can’t afford toAlways have disposable cash by your side for emergency, and never let your bank slide below a certain amount. i.e. Less than $500 a month in my bank is unacceptable. In the event when I do let it slide below, the following month I will do what I can to try to let it go back to $550.Buy timeless stuff - clothes/accessories you could wear for a long time and you’re comfortable with.Buy items that can last you extremely long. The inital cost will set you back, but in the long run it saves you money. i.e a good school bag costing SGD50 could last me for more than 6 years compared to a SGD10 bag that could wear out in a year or so.Books. I realised I bought a lot of books and comics but I never re-read them. If you can, borrow. If you have to own it, make sure you’re gonna re-read it.
What’s the best way to teach to teach a teenager financial responsibility?
Model good financial behavior.Assuming they are old enough to get a part time job, encourage it. This will help to teach them how hard it is to earn a dollar.Talk to them about budgeting and saving a portion of their earnings. I had a discussion with my daughter about it, and asked her what % of her earnings she thought she should save. She determined 50% and I was good with that. Each paycheck I made sure she was sticking to her budget. If she had come up with a smaller %, I would have asked her how she came to that number. Discussed it, suggested reasons why I thought the amount too low, and asked her to think about it. I also shared with her something my dad shared with me. When making a purchase think about the effort it took to buy the item. How many hours of work did it take to make the purchase? Sometimes after making that calculation, it is easy to see that item is not worth the effort.
How can I build financial assets as a teenager?
You have three advantages that a 50 year old multi-millionaire doesn’t. So I would focus on opportunities that play to your strengths.Youth. If you learn or build something now, be it a skill, a small business, or new relationships, you will be able to use them for 35 years longer than the multi-millionaire. So while we often think and focus on money as compounding for us, you have a small base, so you are likely better off putting your small amount of capital towards something you can accelerate income with, rather than letting a couple of thousand dollars compound.Your time and opportunity cost is low. A 50 year old with major financial responsibilities can’t take the same chances (mortgages, kids college tuition, needing to save as they near retirement), they will struggle sacrifice a secure job in the same way that you can by spending the next three months to learn a language, how to write software, or gaining experience from starting a small business venture. And since the cost of your time is low, you can earn an outsized profit on your time, as a percentage of cost. The return on money for you and him in the S&P 500 mutual fund for example, will be exactly the same, ignoring taxes.Less competition among your peers. How many of your friends have a small business or enterprising venture? Probably not many. How many of the multi-millionaire’s friends and network are competing with him? Likely a whole lot more. The challenge is your friends don’t have as much money to spend, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t tap into that market with a smart business strategy. Appealing to parents, sharing your understanding with grown-ups who are “out-of-touch”, or do not have the save level of access as you do.
Family's financial problem and jobs for teens like me?
Okay so basically My mom and dad have decided to buy a car can she and my dad have to pay about $565 per month 3 years for the car so that means none of us will be barely spending any money anymore. Also even though they only pay half each, they still have to pay the bills so thats another $200. Also, I take guitar lessons and the monthly fee is $140 but my teacher is EXCELLENT and the best instrument teacher I've come across, and my mom says I have to quit cause she has to pay for other ****, but I don't want to give up the guitar so I want to get my own job to pay for my lessons, save for college and my personal expenses. I am 14 years old.. is this possible?
Should I help my mom out financially (I'm a teen)? And she's messed up?
My moms gotten into lots of legal trouble and stuff and has lots of fines. Occasionally I get paid to sit with the elderly. She's always been asking for my money and I may mouth about it but I give it to her. She's done some messed up things and annoys the hell out of me. I'm probably going to have a real job soon and make a decent amount of money. Should I help her or not? I don't want to. I've had to miss out on too much because of her and often go hungry etc. I'm a minor but, if I'm financially independent does that mean I'll be able to do as I please and come and go as I want to? I'm homeschooled and tired of being socially isolated! It is just my mom and I living together. I've had to miss out on years and years of my life, my health and well being has suffered etc. when I did go to school I had to miss out on field trips. When I went to homeschool prom she got rid of Netflix (we do not have tv programs) saying if I'm going to prom I'm not getting Netflix! Help?
What are the best financial management tools to help teenagers learn about spending and investment?
FamZoo is a great Palo Alto-based startup in this space. The company won Best in Show at Finovate last year, and has an engaged user base of families with kids who are too old for the piggy bank but too young for real accounts. The company emphasizes learning and family values. www.FamZoo.com
Parent of pregnant teen, who is financially responsible for her medical bills?
My daughter is just barely 17 & 5 months pregnant. She does not want to live me. She & the father of the baby have the option of staying with my ex-husbands niece. She currently recieves Medi-Cal ( state funded free health care) which will cover herself and the baby-if she lives with me. She can qualify on her own if she moves out. My question is who is responsible for her medical bills then as she will no longer be included in my household? I have recieved confusing answers from the "state"--one says that I will be billed for any assistance that she recieves. If I am financially responsible then why aren't the baby daddy parents, and her own father responsible as well? I will have private insurance in March but I suspect that I cannot include her if she does not live with me. I can't lie about it because auntie lives in another County.Seeing a doctor in that county will send up red flags. There are of course other issues, but I need to know about the legal implications.~Thank you.
Parents, how do you feel about helping your children financially?
I cannot believe some of these answers. This is why people should at least have to take a class to have children. From the majority of answers here you get the feeling that a child is a toy with a lifespan of 18 or so years. Parenting is a lifetime commitment in my opinion. I feel great about helping my children as well as the children of anyone else where I am able. I don't believe in "tough love". I think it is a cop out for those who are just too selfish to admit that they don't enjoy sharing. If a person raises a child and that child is not yet prepared to completely care for themselves by age 18, then there is an equal responsibility for the people who were supposed to raising the child to become an adult. One size does not fit all. We aren't raising crops or cattle here, but human beings. Human beings develop at different rates. So, if the child is lacking in confidence or just not smart enough to get into school, someone is going to kick that child to the curb because he/she hasn't matured yet? This is cruel and irresponsible in my opinion. Children with learning disabilities are more in need of help than those who are at the top of the class, but people are saying they only want to reward the winners and let the weakest learn to fend for themselves. So much for the theory of human evolution. The weakest need the most help because the world is already going to reward the cream of the crop. This is just not a private issue as it effects us all. When the parent shrugs off a child in need, that child might very well turn to crime, drugs, or other unhealthy lifestyles that end up costing society a heck of a lot more in the way or prisons and rehabilitation centers. The loss of potential can not be measured financially. I am also quite aware that people are very fixed in their own chosen style of parenting. Those who are harsh will probably taste the same some day, if what comes around goes around. Or if they are judged by the same measure they use to judge their own children. As for me and mine, I will continue to share finances with my children as well as my parents. I will never give up on teaching them, giving them the tools to make it on their own. I will not turn away my children to the streets, no matter how old they are. When they fall down I will help them get up again and again. It isn't the easy way out, but I don't have any trouble sleeping at night.