Developing the financial awareness of teenagers

2019 Blog, Other

The older the child is, the more he / she realises about the surrounding World, meaning we need to handle our financial affairs with the proper awareness around said child, and have to teach them how to economise their income.

Between 11 and 13, most children start getting pocket money, this is when they can start economising their spending. It’s important to teach children how to make a roster of their income and spending right away. If they wish to buy something, but have insufficient pocket money saved up, the parent can also lend the money, but setting a deadline for repayment is advantageous, since the child can also learn about the nature of loans.

Young adults between 14 and 18 already understand how money works, at this age, they manage their finances alone, for better or for worse. Usually, the deciding factor is the example of the parents. In this phase, getting them a junior debit card is recommended, and the parent can also deposit a smaller amount of money, teaching them to use their cards with relatively low risk. Teenagers are prone to think that once they’re out of the school at their twenties, a good job is waiting just for them, with a high-end wage. However, the facts show that this is relatively rare. In most cases, naive faith is caused by how the money topic is taboo at home. Many are surprised at how much the average wages of their parents are, which is when they are forced to rethink their idea on the future, and their lives without financial problems. This false belief needs to be weeded out much earlier, and every available tool needs to be employed in order to make them see financial matters as they are, from as early an age as possible.