Hi MiTown
Im Lisa and i'm 25 years old (well, i will be in 5 days). I've been working since i was 14 years old and have lots of "money regrets" in my past. I have a 15 year old cousin i try to teach things to...i just hope you guys listen to us "older, wiser, and been there / done that" adults.
Here's my advice -
1. Read as much as you can on money and finance - study a wide range of theories and practices from folk such as dave ramsey, warren buffet, suzy orman and the likes. you'll find a wide range of opinions and ideas which will guide you to formulate your own practices.
2. Visit money websites - saving advice, motleyfool.com, morningstar.com, and the like. read read read! even if you don't understand now, the more you read, the more you'll pick up.
3. SAVE at least 50% of what you make! You are at THE best stage in your life right now - i dont know your homelife, but i will assume the norm - you will NEVER again in your life be a free to do what you will with your money as you are now. in the future you'll have house bills, rent, mortgages, a spouse, aging parents, taxes, college loans and MUCH more that will eat up at your money. Right now there are NO constraints on how much you can put away and save! you WILL regret one day if you work your young butt off yet blow all of your teen-age earned money and end up with nothing to show for it. i earned over $20,000 from 14 to 18 working part time, and i saved NOTHING. i thought i was cool with all the new gadgets, clothes and whatnot. i have none of that stuff today - its all gone, and so is the money i earned.
3. Whatever you do, don't buy NEW. There is no reason on earth a 15 year old can't work hard for a year to save cash for a nice used car! do not get tied into the "buy now, pay monthly" trap. the sooner you learn to avoid it, the better. believe me when i say its a trap! how long will it take you to save up 3 to 4 thousand bucks? that will buy a nice used car and you wont have payments.
4. Be afraid of interest. Be very afraid! The world of credit may seem very tempting to you. Let me tell you, its about as tempting as jumping off the grand canyon - the fall is fun but the realization that you'll hit rock bottom soon is killer. There is no such thing as a "good interest rate". If you're paying interest you might as well be throwing money into the trash - because thats exactly what you are doing (see #3 for review - dont buy your first car on credit).
As for accounts - you need a student checking account (this will let you avoid having a monthly fee) with online banking. You also should have an online savings account such as HSBC or ING direct that is "harder" to get to (dont be tempted to get an attatched ATM card). Online is best because they typically offer much better rates than your local brick banks. I am unsure of age limits (if any) of opening any sort of bank account (I was 17 when i got my first checking account). Be careful with the checking account tho - focus carefully on the fact that a debit card or cash isn't free money - the money has to be in the bank in order to spend it, just like if it were sitting in your wallet. Keep a very close eye on your banking account register and record all of your spending or at least ensure that you know the correct balance at all time (current balance minus pending withdrawals = correct balance).