Getting your teens to manage their funds and spend and save wisely is a major necessity in order to prepare them for an independent life ahead. It is all too familiar and especially painful to see kids waste their pocket money or even hard-earned cash from summer jobs away on junk food, dates and what not. With enormous expenses like college and university fees, travel expenses and other bills that accompany an independent life, it is important to train your young child right from scratch as to how he should make use of his money wisely. Here are a few things that you can do to get your teens to take care of their money and spend wisely.

Encouraging Early Savings

Get your teens to spare part of their monthly allowance or earnings from any job that they may have and set it aside as savings. A small percentage of funds saved regularly over a long period of time can give your child a head start when he steps into a more independent life so that he doesn’t have to live hand to mouth right from the beginning. Parents can give their teens an incentive to save by putting in a dollar from their own pocket to match every dollar saved by their child so that he can look forward to double the savings when the right time arrives.

Organize Their Spending

Get your teens to prepare a budget before they go on and plunge right into spending all of what they have. It is also important for them to maintain an organized account of their spending by listing all their expenses in detail as they go about making them and attaching receipts along with that. This would instill in them the habit of keeping a track of where their money goes which will stay with them till the end and help them in making an accurate appraisal of their spending habits.

Teaching Them the Art of Comparison Shopping

While it is all too tempting to indulge in impulsive buying, teach your teen to assess his decision before he goes on and buys something. Comparing prices between different products that can serve as alternatives or substitutes for each other is important before making a purchase. Your teen should learn to find cheaper alternatives or deals on the same item so that he or she doesn’t have to pay a lot when they can actually buy the same thing for much less.