Personal finance for teens

[Dan Sheeks]

I think we would all agree that personal finance is something that all of our youth should be taught, but it's not getting done on a consistent basis.  In your opinion, whose job is it to teach teenagers (high school age) about personal finance?  Parents?  Public schools?  Other?

[Ashley Wise]

@Chris Szepessy I would recommend the current card or one of the “debit cards” for teens for hands on experience—far more beneficial than just reading. They get paid based on the chores you assign to them. My kids have a requirement to save (pay themselves) 20%, 10% donated, 10% investments. The rest is up to them.

My older two are a bit older than yours. 15 and 17. My younger two are both 10. I don’t really buy things for them—I encourage them to get creative to see how they could generate the money to purchase or do what they want to do. It helps with developing the entrepreneurial spirit.

Books the older kids have/are reading:

Think and grow rich by Napoleon hill

The richest man in Babylon

A walk down Wall Street

Money master the game by tony Robbins

Your are a bad *** at making money by Jen sincero

Secrets of the millionaire mind by t Harv ecker

The millionaire next door

I also have them playing with stocks for free with fake money in wallstreetsurvivor.com

They get first hand experience with running numbers, negotiations and rehabs because in an agent and own a construction company with my partner, mike. They also help with designs and budgeting because I do that, too.

I’ve taught them that college isn’t everything. (Ex/ sisters are both in medical field. One is a nurse practitioner and the other a nurse anesthetist. Both making roughly the same and both with a boat load of debt. And both really not loving what they do—and then there are friends who went to trade school and are making significantly more as electricians, carpenters, etc with no student loan debt.) They have college paid for if they want or they can invest it and turn it into quite a bit more.

So they are experiencing leveraging crews, marketing, leads, etc. it’s been hugely beneficial.

My recommendations:

Play the double your money “game” with them for a round of golf. Start with a penny on hole 1 and each hole the amount is doubled...showing them compound interest.

Every chance you get let them budget hands on. My kids do this for school clothes and supplies, and birthdays/holidays in lieu of gifts. They’ve learned to thrift store shop and bargain/comparison shop to stretch that dollar even more. :)