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Health & Fitness

Money Is A Big Subject for Teenagers!

Teaching lessons on money can be different as night and day with each child.

Good Morning,

Today I want to share something that is very important when raising teenagers. I have two girls and they have different viewpoints about money and how it should be used.  One way, a very important way that children learn about money is from watching their parent use money. In my case, I haven't always been smart about money and I learned the hard way about saving. But now, I can help my kids learn money lessons that will help them now and later.  Saving is a big deal and the more you save the more freedom you have. Both of my kids have a debit card from Bill My Parents. I put their allowance on their card each month and they then can save or spend their allowance. My 14 year old is really tight with her money. She would rather save it than spend it. Yea for her! My 13 year old is easily distracted by anything she thinks she likes. Pretty colors are only the beginning of her list of needs and wants. Learning the difference between needs and wants is a fuzzy line for her. So training her to be wise about money takes a daily dose of examples.Two years ago, her Christmas list included about four thousand dollars of items. She has improved and last year she only asked for two things. Now, you may ask, how can you put humor in teaching this lesson? Well, a simple way it to understand that these daily lessons are not a big deal and when she messes up, well, its small in comparison with when she becomes an adult. I laugh a lot with her. I want her to make mistakes now while she is home and can learn from them in a safe environment and with relatively small amounts of money, like her allowance. Learning from mistakes is my job to make sure she understands what she did and how consequences work in life. One thing I expect is that she is learn these important lessons in life and be successful in her adult years.

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