Personal Finance For Kids & Teenagers

The one thing they do not teach you in school is the very thing you need to get through the rest of your life. They do teach you mathematics, however, if you fail to make any real money in life, I don't see how that really helps.

What needs to be taught and not to just teens is money management and personal finance. It would be very helpful to know after signing for all those student loans what exactly will happen after you graduate college. It would be nice to know even if you don't finish college.

Understanding annual percentage rates, deferment of payment, how to balance a check book, and how to use credit and credit cards to your benefit and not the banks is all useful information that never gets taught.

Leave sex education to the parents and teach children about not getting into debt over their heads or how to invest in themselves. They can learn how to turn their hobbies into a business.

Where can teenagers get the information if they aren't being taught in school and they can't get from their parents what their parents themselves don't know? For most children not emulating the lifestyle of their parents would be a great first step. Sometimes as with other areas of our lives, the cycle we find ourselves in is directly related to following in the footsteps of our parents. They followed the example of their parents and so on.

OTHER AREAS TO START TEACHING KIDS AND TEENAGERS:

1. Teaching our kids to get life insurance when they are very young to insure the lowest rates.
2. Teaching kids that they only need at most two credit cards and one should be an American Express for the emergencies life may throw at them.
3. Teaching children that they need to find a vocation that they will love doing.
4. Teaching kids that they can start their own business and usually make more money than they would working for someone else.
5. Teaching our kids that making money is not as important or fulfilling as family and friends.

Although his rich dad is somewhat of an enigma, Robert Kiyosaki's book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad for Teens has very good information in it and is a good place to start.

A great website for learning about personal finances and the importance of getting a hold of your finances are Mint.com. Mint is a free service and was named the best personal finance website by Money magazine. It's a great tool for adults so I'm know it will benefit teenagers. Another excellent website for parents to use in teaching their children is MoneyInstrutor.com.

It is far better to learn early than to try to fix mistakes later on in life. Actionable plans for teens is to learn about personal finances while young. Reading books, learning from adults and real life experience on Mint.com. Learn all you can learn about mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, debit cards, balancing your checking account, 401k plans, tax codes, starting your own business and investing.

One other thing I would recommend is for our youth to take the time to teach other kids. Teach your siblings what you learned. Teach your friends and know that this is important, but money is not everything. Some of the most unhappy people in life have the most money…

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