4 Ways to Teach Teens About Money

Teaching a teenager anything is no easy feat, and unfortunately, there aren’t many high school classes that will teach your child about the important of money management. Here are some great tips to try out from Daily Finance for making sure your teen is on the right track when it comes to saving, making and spending money:

Start with a Game

Kids and teens (and some adults for that matter) tend to learn best when they feel like they’re having fun. So games are the perfect way to sneakily teach a teenager some valuable lessons.

Sites such as Practical Money Skills and Learn4Good have great free games that teach teens about managing their money. For example, Learn4Good has games like “Record Shop Tycoon” and “Burger Restaurant” that help teens to learn about running a business. Practical Money Skills, on the other hand, has a game called “Road Trip to Savings” to teach about why saving money is important.

Put Them on a Monthly Budget/Allowance

If you don’t already give your teen an allowance, you might want to consider setting up a monthly one. Instead of just giving them a $20 every time they want to go to the mall or movies, it’s better if they have to budget their monthly allowance and keep track of how much money they need to save in order to do the things they want to do. You just need to be prepared to say “no” if they blow their allowance and ask for more money.

Pay Them to Save

Much like your employer might do for you with a retirement contribution matching system, you could actually match some or all of what your kids decide to put into savings. Whether you throw 10% of whatever they earn into a savings account, or even if you decide to match what they save to give them the incentive to save more; your child will be more excited and likely to save.

Give Them a Budgeting Project

Whether you need a new cellphone plan or are planning a vacation, ask your teen to do the research. A teenager may be better than you are at wading through the various mobile phone options, and will have a vested interest in boosting the availability of data for her iPad or smartphone. A teen can also help look for deals for a family vacation for hotel rooms, flights, or car rental and develop a spending plan based on your budget and destination.

Find more great advice over at Daily Finance’s 9 Ways to Teach Teenagers About Money.