What advice would you give your child

**lamar411** · 01-19-2014, 02:19 PM

What i taught my 17 year old son when he started making money was to make plans and goals. He sets aside a certain amount of money to put in the bank, and the rest he spends on gas for his car, snacks and extra clothes he wants. He hasnt let me down yet.

**disneysteve** · 01-19-2014, 02:48 PM

I educated my daughter on the benefit of starting retirement savings early. She opened her Roth IRA last year when she was 17. As long as she doesn't need the money, have her do the same. If she does need the money and you are in a position to do so, still have her open the Roth and you provide the funds.

**Riverbendgirl** · 01-19-2014, 03:16 PM

Thank you so much! I truly believe if we (parents) set a good example and offer encouragement she will want to start saving at an early age.

**Reggie** · 01-19-2014, 04:42 PM

You want your daughter to save $1378 but she will only earn $1200??? I realize you said minimum but I think the goal is FAR too high. Is the $100 after taxes?

**annac113** · 01-19-2014, 04:44 PM

If she does not need the money anytime soon, she can open a retirement account. Other options include leaving it in a savings account or opening a CD account, making it easier for her to take out money earlier without having to incurring penalties & fees.

**Riverbendgirl** · 01-19-2014, 05:38 PM

Maybe I may should explain more. My daughter was asked to play the piano for a church service for a church in our area in October. They asked her to play another Sunday in November. She was then asked to play all five Sundays in December. She started her challenge the first week in December. She has agreed to play for this church two Sundays a month for the next 12 months. In March and April she has agreed to play for the entire month. Each service she will earn $50. I feel this is a nice start of saving for someone so young. I want her to understand the importance of saving. We have discussed our family's belief in tithing and she is expected to tithe. Please do not think I am making her work. She enjoys playing the piano and is very good at it. Since she is not driving yet and has no expenses I though she should save for retirement. Now when she gets her license I m sure she will want to spend some of her money. By then she will be almost finished with her challenge. I hope...

Thanks so much for all your comments. I just want her to have a good start as she begins to earn her own money. Have you found that once hey start earning money they want to earn more?

**MonkeyMama** · 01-20-2014, 04:41 AM

I'd encourage your child to save as much as possible. We live in a high cost region, and so the money both my spouse and I saved in our teens became a significant part of the down payment on our first home. OF course, my spouse was handed a lot more and a more long-term thinker so that was his plan. My first real full-time-ish job was to buy my first car. We both always saved 90%+ of our income, as long as we still lived with parents, and no regrets about that. (Before that job I had babysat for many years and was saving up for my car since age 13).

Personally, I would think more short term expenses like car and college would be of higher priority. But it depends how much she is going to have to come up with on her own.

**snafu** · 01-20-2014, 07:28 PM

Our DSs were a bit younger when they began earning for yard care and snow shovelling. We also paid them for team work, household chores . Since their grandparents had been contributing to their college fund from day one, it seemed natural to have them deposit half their earnings to their college fund. Back then DH and I presumed that since we funded our own post secondary education, DSs would likewise. It was important for them to have 'skin in the game.'

How wonderful to have a talented daughter. I would suggest that 50% toward a long term goal, 30% for spending and 20% for truly long term savings like ROTH once there is sufficient to buy a low cost Index Fund like Vanguard's. What is DD's desire for the earnings?

**agarlits** · 01-31-2014, 12:43 PM

Originally posted by Riverbendgirl View Post

I have a 15 year old daughter that has taken her first job. She will earn a minimum of $100 a month for the entire year. Some months she will make more depending on what is required of her. I have challenged her to complete the $52 week money saving challenge found on this site. She should be able to finish. She has no expenses to speak of. At the end of the challenge as she saves $1300 plus, what should she do with her money? Would you do anything different? What advice would you give a teen as they start their first job?
Thanks

Have her open a retirement fund, compound interest over 50 years is quite substantial.

**Goldy1** · 02-02-2014, 09:43 PM

Be a good example. My mom was frugal. I learned from it.

I don't think telling really works so well.

I struggled and worked hard to get my modest home paid off. IT built character.

I can't imagine just giving him a house one day. On the other hand it would be nice to be able to, but I don't see how you can really be financially responsible without working toward your own goals and sacrificing(not going on vacation and buying loads of crap isn't really sacrificing, but it is today)
If I ran into money now, it wouldn't change me.

**breathemusic** · 02-03-2014, 11:23 AM

Unless you plan on paying all your daughter's bills until she graduates college, I'm not sure that I see much point in starting a retirement account. She might need that money for gas if she doesn't get another form of income once she starts driving. She will definitely need it for college tuition if she plans to go and you don't intend to pay for all of it. There are just likely shorter term expenses that I think the savings would be better suited toward other than retirement. I certainly thing it's good to teach that at an early age, but don't put away money for retirement if it means you'll be taking on more debt in the nearer term.

**Permanent Temp** · 05-20-2014, 08:09 AM

I'm not sure what you teach kids since I don't have any. I know what I did. I wanted money to go on school trips and take care of stuff and get a car. So I got a job paid off my debts (I had people who had lent me money for the trips.)

Then I saved most of the rest of the money at one point I had enough to pay for a car. I was able to move out and pay rent etc off the money and save the rest and at 18 I got a ROTH IRA. I haven't been able to put much money in it but at least I gave it a shot!

I'd say the best lesson for your child is to teach them to be responsible, that money doesn't grow on trees and if they want something they are going to have to figure out a way to pay for it themselves preferably not with a credit card unless they can pay it in full.

The savings challenge is good. Ask her what she wants to do, travel? have a car? go to college? She can come up with a number and then save toward that.

Explain to her how important retirement is so she can save for that too. That way she has a focus on what she wants. If its college she wants she can start applying for scholarships now. If it is a car or travel she can start saving for that now. She also could save a percentage of each check (like 10%) in an account and when she turns 18 she can dump the whole amount in a Roth IRA and get a head start on retirement(assuming its not over the 5K figure or whatever it will be when she turns 18). Or even a percentage like 5% toward a fund for college (as in to cover books or expenses while she is there so she doesn't have to turn to credit cards like so many of us do.)

Find out what she wants to do and then help her get there.

**Randomsaver** · 05-22-2014, 08:44 PM

I'd advise, your Gross Annual Salary * 2, that's what you can afford for your house and you got to pay it in 15 years.

**kielson** · 05-23-2014, 01:19 AM

Well i tried to teach my son to save money, at least some cash every month. But well it doesnt seem that he cares whether he save money or not. When he grows finally up, he will regret that he wasnt saving his money. I bet that in some time he will want a car :>

What advice would you give your child