Managing The Money You Make During The Course Of Your Career Can Help With Overall Success
Career prep and development throughout high school, and even started as early as middle school, is now vitally important for greater career trajectory, work satisfaction, and even lifetime earnings. But, strong earnings in your career are not enough to guarantee financial success. A big paycheck may not help you as much as you think, if you can’t properly handle your finances. Being able to budget well, save a decent portion of your earnings, and also invest your finances wisely will be key to healthy financial growth that can support you throughout a lifetime.
Learning how to implement foundational financial guidance during your teen years creates a solid start for managing money, as a college student and working adult. So, to help bolster monetary literacy, here are four basic financial tips that teens can use to build beneficial skills immediately.
Financial Tip #1: Set up both checking and savings accounts during your teen years
While you are still in high school and living at home with your parents, it’s a good idea to have both checking and savings accounts set up in your name. This will help you to learn the basic functions of each of these accounts. It will also teach you how to balance checking and savings booklets, manage a budget for the accounts, write checks, and how to access online bill-pay, and more. Having parents close by, to assist in the learning process, also aids in a strong financial start.
Financial Tip #2: Get into the habit of saving a portion of the money that you receive
“Pay yourself first,” is the golden rule of savings. What this means is that you should be able to plan out a rough estimate of what money you will have coming in during a given month, and then according to that amount, you should set a savings goal. Planning to save money first will reign in impulse spending, allow you to pare down to the bills that absolutely have to be paid, and will sow the proverbial seeds of monetary growth in the long-term. As a teen, this is applicable to any money you come into through part-time jobs, gig work, birthday gifts, etc.
Financial Tip #3: Create a monthly budget to manage your finances as a teen
Even though you may still be living at home and will have the bigger financial bases covered, like housing and food, you may also currently be paying for things on your own from working a few hours… such as gasoline, car insurance, clothes, cosmetics, and toiletries. Be sure to track the money that comes in and the money that goes out on a monthly basis, so you can see where you might be over-spending, and where you might be able to save even more for the future.
Financial Tip #4: Educate yourself on the perils of debt
This is a big financial tip to remain aware of at all stages of your life, and it is vitally important to be introduced to this money management concept as a teen… before you go off to college or begin your career. Debt is a very slippery slope. Be wary of using student loans and credit cards to fund your lifestyle. This is a trap that is difficult to get out of the longer the spending habits go on. It’s easy to spend money in the moment and think everything will just work out in the end, but it can actually take years (even decades) to pay it all back. And, this can damage future earnings, as you work to service the debt (with interest) that you’ve come to owe to your creditors.
To sum up, these four financial tips for teens should help to delay spending for things that bring only instant gratification, and reinforce habits that lead to greater savings and monetary growth. Once you have a handle on your own finances, especially early in life, then the more prepared you will ultimately be to earn, invest, and build a prosperous future.
To find out more about financial literacy, check out this Stride Career Prep podcast: https://www.stridelearning.com/insights/what-can-we-do-to-improve-financial-literacy-in-underserved-communities.html
And, get a Stride Success Coach’s perspective on Financial Tips For Teens, here: https://www.stridelearning.com/insights/financial-tips-for-teens.html
Wondering if the college track is for you, and what educational investment might serve you best? Take a look at this Stride article: Do You Really Need A 4-Year Degree?
Considering enrolling your child in a Stride K12 school, for further education and career prep options and experiences? The best time is always now!
