Being a teenager: it’s the best of times and it’s the worst of times, and it’s all because of money, something that has a major pain-in-the-you-know-where knock-on effect for all us Dad’s hoping that our kids will finally stop being a cost-centre and start having their own money to spend.
We don’t really care what they spend their money on – within reason – we just care that they’re spending their money, which is why we’ve pulled together a list of money-saving hacks you need to teach your kids today.
1. A Dollar A Day
When your kid gets their first job (whether it be part-time or full-on), tell them to tuck $1 away on their first day. On the second day, tell them to put $2 way, $3 on the third and so on. We know this won’t be attractive to them at first, but when they see $1000 sitting in their piggy bank after just a couple of months, they’ll come around.
2. PA Jobs Pay Well
If you or your kid thinks being a personal assistant means sitting at a desk at the front of an office, you are missing the bigger picture. Busy professionals want PAs for all sorts of things, from dog walking to babysitting. So print out some flyers, give them to everyone you know and hand them out at your local hairdressers. You’ll get a call soon enough.
3. Student Savings
We know how much it can suck for your kid to pull out their student card and risk everyone seeing that dorky-slash-psycho picture of them, but these cards give you ten percent off at more places than just the school cafe. Urban Outfitters. Check. J. Crew. Check. Oh, and if your kid wants to be super-savvy, have them put that 10% saving straight into the savings.
4. Play It Legal
When you’re a teenager, it can be way too easy to feel you are invincible, which is fine and well until you a) push it too far, b) get caught or c) make a mistake. That’s when the law can really sting you (just as this author). One minute their bank balance is looking okay, and the next minute they’re in court with a charge of failing to yield. Or one minute they’re on their way to buy a jumper with their savings and the next they’ve been caught jaywalking. Little mistakes can cost lots of cash.
5. Sell Their Clutter
Every parent’s nemesis is the teenage trend or fad. There you are having to fork out a small fortune on something you child absolutely has to have and the next minute it’s laying discarded on their bedroom floor. Our advice: have your kids sell their old and unwanted things as a means of paying for new things. Clothes, games, tech, gadgets, shoes – anything like this. There are a thousand sites out there, so point them in the right direction, show them how to take good photos (for example, use a white background) and encourage them to make their own money.
