on June 4, 2019
If you have a teenager at home, you know what it’s like to be treated like a walking piggy bank. Whether it’s a cell phone, the latest shoe trend, a video game system, or simply a night out at the movies, you’ve probably heard the phrase, “Can I get…”
And here’s the thing: sometimes it’s tough to say “no.” A cell phone can be a practical means of communication. A pair of shoes might be necessary for your growing-like-a-weed kid. Even so, freely handing out money can be a slippery slope. It can make your teen unappreciative of the value of a dollar and could lead to careless spending in the future.
So, how do you teach your child about the real-life connection between work and money? How do you instill good spending habits in them without getting too preachy? One great solution is encouraging your teen to find a summer job.
Today, it seems that sports, camps, and other extracurricular activities are taking priority over summer jobs. I’m certainly not advocating that your fifteen-year-old drop everything and work a forty-hour week, but they can probably find ten hours/week in their schedule to devote to summer work.
I also understand that, in some ways, it’s easier to give your teen some money every once in a while, rather than driving them to and from a summer job (if they do not yet have their driver’s license). However, I would argue that the lessons they could pick up from earning and managing their own money far outweigh the inconvenience of figuring out how they’ll get to and from their place of employment.
What lessons, you may be wondering? Here are five big ones:
1. Savings Practice
Hopefully your teen already has a savings accounts, but if not, starting a summer job is the perfect excuse to open one. Before they start earning money, have a frank conversation with them about saving part of their paycheck. As tempting as it may be to spend it all, make sure your teen is tucking away a certain percentage of their earnings. They could then use the money they save at the end of summer or allocate it for future expenses, like college or a trade school.
2. Budgeting Practice
Related to savings is budgeting. Though budgeting may not sound like fun to your teen, it doesn’t have to be hard. Have them download a budgeting app (I covered a few in this past blog post) and use it to designate certain parts of their paycheck to certain items (e.g. new clothes, entertainment, future schooling, etc.)
3. Money Appreciation
Most kids don’t think a lot about money. They don’t have to worry about a mortgage, car payments, or credit card payments. Because of that, they may not have a real-life grasp of how much something is worth. Working a job helps them put things into perspective. They can experience, first hand, how many hours of work they need to put in before they can afford that new pair of Vans or video game console. On the flip side, if they’re putting money into a savings account, they can have the satisfaction of watching their stash of money grow.
4. Loan Lessons
Sometimes, summer work can also be an opportunity to teach your child about loans. In my son’s case, he really wanted to purchase a motorized scooter, which would allow him to travel to and from his summer job (an added bonus!). Since he didn’t have the funds, I offered to loan him the money he needed to purchase the scooter, with the expectation that he would pay me back a certain amount after each paycheck. Though interest isn’t involved, this arrangement helps teach a valuable lesson about debt and the importance of making consistent payments to pay back what is owed.
5. Pride in Work
There is a lot of pride to be had in a job well done. This is something that’s difficult to teach—it simply has to be experienced. Give your teen the opportunity to understand what it means to put in an honest day’s (or half day’s!) work. Summer jobs are different than doing chores around the house—they are a step into the “real world” of adulthood.