Improving Your Teen's Financial GPA 

While personal finance curriculums are expanding in schools nationwide, much of a teen’s money savvy is learned in the home. With a little financial home-schooling, your teens can enter the “real world” with the ability to balance their own budget – and an impressive balance in their savings accounts.

Use these five tips to teach your teens to make smart financial decisions now – and they’ll be equipped with the know-how to spend and save wisely in the future:

1. Get a job! Jobs help teens understand that earning money requires hard work and sacrifice. Foregoing a night out with friends in order to work may shift and strengthen their appreciation for the value of a buck. Moreover, as kids get older, their wants and “needs” become much more expensive. Your teen may think twice before spending his or her own hard-earned cash on lavish or impulsive buys.

   Additionally, a job will help your teen understand the impact of taxes on take-home pay. After the government takes its share, your kid’s paycheck may seem pretty meager, especially since most teens earn minimum wage at entry-level jobs. This lesson in “gross” v. “net” will help drive home respect for the almighty dollar.

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