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I received very early lessons on managing finances and investment from my father. Read more on my about page. I feel teaching your children about money is an essential part of their education. Unfortunately it’s not taught in schools, so it’s your job as a parent to make them financially aware which should help them become a better at managing their finances. I had written about early financial lessons to your children and financial advice for young adults. This is a guest post from Patrick he runs the blog Daytodayfinance. Enjoy the post!
Are you parent of a teenage girl? If yes then you already know that your little girl is all set to take her own decisions and plan her future. All she needs is your guidance and advice. If you think that she is too young to manage finance then you are wrong. Teenage is the perfect time to explore all the fields of life and learn financial lessons.
Parents think that if they talk about finance with their little girl then it will not appear as an interesting topic for them. This is very difficult to talk about something uninteresting with your teenage daughter and make her realize the importance of it. Let check if we can make the thing bit interesting.
(Related – 5 Financial lessons I’d teach my child)
Teenage is the perfect time to talk about finance
Do you think that teenage is a very tender age to learn finance management or discus money. In the contrary it is the perfect age when you your girl can learn things easily and can be prepared for future endeavors. As we age, our capacity to learn new things gradually decreases. Your teenage daughter is all set to take money decisions and she will love to handle financial matters by her own.
There are few basic things about money management: such as savings, budgeting, and investing. Make the thing more interesting open a bank account for her and let her manage it. You can deposit her pocket-money directly to that account instead of giving it in her hand. This way she will learn banking formalities.
Involve her in family finance decisions
Share your past financial experience with her and tell her about few bad decisions you took so that she can learn from your mistakes. You can also play a budget game with her. It is not only about discussing things. You have to make them involved in financial decisions so that they feel that their decision is also important for you.
Let them plan the monthly budget of a specific month for you. Set a goal for her and help her to reach there. You need handle the situations very tenderly if you disagree in aspect. Give her a small present when she meet the target of monthly budget.
Don’t reject their expensive wishes directly
Sometimes teenage girls demands about costly gadgets or items. They might wish to do a certain hair treatment or go to an expensive beauty salon. It is very natural and you need not worry about it. Ask them to save a certain amount of money to fulfill their wishes.
When they have saved the certain amount of money you can provide the rest of it. This way they will understand the value of savings and will be able to develop a habit to save money. This way need not to break their heart by rejecting their wish.
Have patience
Credit cards are hot favorite of new generation. You teenage girl is almost near the age when she can apply for a credit card. So she needs to know how a credit cards works. Tell her about all the technicalities before you let her use any credit cards. You can give her credit card to spend money and monitor if she is doing the things right.
Have patience if she makes any mistake. If you show that your are dissatisfied with any of their decision then they can be discouraged. Help them to learn from their mistake.
It is very important for you to make your teenage daughter realize that you love her and support her no matter what. Have confidence on them and they will do very good with finance in future.
SB’s thoughts on educating girl child about money
I do not have a teenage girl, in fact we do not have any kid! But, as I said in the starting paragraph, learning money at an early age helps us manage our finances in better way. More over, women lag men in terms of financial literacy. So, it’s more important to tlak about imparting financial lessons to your girl child.
Patrick brought some excellent points here. ‘d like to add here some of my thoughts. Once you finished talking on the above points and you feel that she’s still interested to learn more. Let her have lessons on taxes, investments, etc.
I chanced upon other good resources; talking to young girls on finances and money, a list of things you need to talk to her about and few tips for talking to her.
Readers, if you have a daughter, how are you teaching your child about money and finances?
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Great article, my daughters are a ways off from the teenage years but we are already teaching them about saving and the value of a dollar. I have already made her save for toys that they want. I like the idea of involving them in the family budget and teaching them early as it is easier for them to learn things at earlier ages. JB
That’s a great habit Joe. Keep it up and I hope your daughters will grow up money wise.
Excellent! Educating the younger generation on how to responsibly manage their finances is extremely important. Money definitely should not be taboo. We need to talk about money more.
If you are believing in family then the lady has the important role not only to help your financial problem but also to make your future bright by educating your children
Good point. Children are usually closer to their mother. so its definitely works out best when the important life lessons they learn from their mother. When woman is financially aware then it makes the children more wise in making future financial decisions in their own life.
yes exactly, if you cna teach them social skills, science skills , etc then why not money?
Parents definitely need to talk to their kids about money. When I was little, my parents didn’t necessarily sit me down and how me facts and figures in regards to their budgeting, but I did often overhear how they never carried any consumer debt, and how they paid off their home mortgage in only 6 years (instead of the typical 30). This allowed them to send my siblings and I through private school and to set us up for an excellent future. I’m glad my parents talked about money. I can’t wait to pass on this life lesson to my future children!
And if I am right, you are about to pay off your mortgage even in less than 6 years, right? What your parents did was an example of teaching through behavior. These skills can be taught by just telling them what you did. Today’s children are fast learners they’d catch it in no time.
Involvement is the key to make your kids realize how hard you are trying to provide them a comfortable life. When they can feel your love and care they will definitely return the favor. Only a practical demonstration is very necessary
My parents never really talked to me directly about money but always instilled good habits. I always worked for my allowance and had to save up for anything I wanted. I think little things like these should be taught even before the teenage years. Kids start understanding the concept of money at a very young age.
yes they do, the moment they demand for money to buy ice cream, it means they know the power of money.
In recent time kids are much more exposed towards media and add world. So naturally they get attracted by ads and celebrity trends. Therefore it is high time to educate them about finance management at an early stage and introduce the real world with them.
Teaching finances is an obligation of every parent. You will lead by good or bad example, but you should want the next generation to do better than you. Teach that early on. Teach them what you wish you had done. They may or may not listen, but it will matter to them later on that you tried.
Failure are for learning and making sure it’s not repeated. Its great if we learn from other’s mistake without having to suffer in first place. Great point to talk to your children about mistakes you made financially.
My in-laws tried to teach my wife’s little sister about finances, but I feel like she was too far gone at that point. I think parents need to start teaching kids earlier and earlier these days. Technology and the media are infiltrating and influencing their minds so much earlier than they used to.
It’s important to shield them from the ad blitz and make them realize that not everything they show on ads can be affordable. You only have limited resources to buy stuff so we need to balance our need to meet our resources.
I absolutely loved this article! What a great read and such important issues raised. I think the most important piece of advice here is to have patience – especially with teenage girls! I recall when my mother tried sitting me down to explain everything, it took a while before the information actually sunk in.
I believe knowledge is worthless without application.
So let your kids manage their money. Don’t be overbearing. Let them screw up. They will feel the pain and by the time they graduate college, they’ll be money pros.
Good article.