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Ages 11-14
This is an especially important time for learning about money. Your kids will have more cash now, along with the maturity to begin making decisions about how it’s handled. Give them control of the money and the room to make mistakes and learn lessons.
More Money, More Responsibility
Increase the amount of your kids’ allowance and add the responsibility of paying for school lunches or other needs. Make the allowance large enough to cover their entertainment expenses. Let them decide how these fun-time dollars will be spent: movies, video rentals, snacks, bowling with friends. Provide additional decision-making opportunities by setting a spending limit on purchases and letting your kids shop for birthday gifts for others.
Money frees you from doing things you dislike. Since I dislike doing nearly everything, money is handy. —Groucho Marx (1890-1977)
Life Lessons
Use more complicated financial situations as opportunities to teach your preteens and teens about money. Let them see how your major financial purchases involve trade-offs. If your family is buying a new computer or car, for example, ask your kids to help you research which one to buy. If you are refinancing your house, show them how small differences in interest rates equal big savings.
Earning and Saving
Continue to stress the value of saving. If your kids want something that costs more than you’re willing to spend, suggest ways to earn the difference: odd jobs around the house, baby-sitting or washing neighbors’ cars. Give your kids free reign over their spending money, even if they seem careless. They may blow all their earning on frivolous buys, but when they realize they’re broke, they will learn to be more frugal.
Truth in Advertising
Advertisers spend millions of dollars trying to hook young adults on spending—or influence their parents’ spending. To prevent your kids from being lured by glitzy ads and fads, talk with them about the ways advertisers make people want to buy. Discuss the fact that ads are often short on facts but use lots of false promises. Or, in the case of celebrity endorsements, explain that celebrities are paid to sell products they may not even use or like. By learning how ads use the power of persuasion, your kids are less likely to be influenced.
