5 Good Money Habits for Teens
The longer you do something the more it becomes ingrained as a habit. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Establishing good habits early in life will be a blessing for years to come. It’s never too early to establish wise habits for managing money, especially if you’re a teenager. Today, I’ll give you five of them and by the way, they’re great habits to start anytime in life. Then it’s your calls at 800-525-7000. It’s always important to know where your money is going and you can’t do that unless you track it. If you haven’t done it already, download and start using the new MoneyWise app. It helps you establish a budget based on the envelope system and allows you to monitor all of your transactions. Our next good money habit for teens is get a budget buddy. That way you can rein in each other’s impulse-spending. You can challenge each other to stay on budget and look for ways to save money. Another good habit for teens is pay yourself first. When you get money as a birthday or Christmas present or a paycheck from a part time job get into the habit of saving a certain percentage of it. And while you’re establishing the saving habit you can do the same for giving. Understand that God owns everything and He’s your ultimate provider. He directs every penny that comes your way. The 4th good money habit for teens is building a good credit rating. You might want to ask your parents to set up a secured credit card for you. With a secured credit card you deposit a certain amount into that account and then you can make small, budgeted purchases and pay them off in full each month. As you do that you’ll start to establish a good credit history and score. The fifth and final good habit for teens is to study how to manage money wisely. Learning how the financial world works will pay huge dividends. There is no better way to do that than by studying God’s Word. The Bible has more than 2300 verses related to the wise use of money and possessions. As you study Scripture be on the lookout for them and consider how they apply to your life. Proverbs and Jesus’ parables are particularly rich in God’s financial principles. But then you should spend time learning about the nuts and bolts of managing money wisely. Educate yourself about credit scores, avoiding debt, and the best ways to save for college and yes, even retirement. Those things might seem far off right now, but they’ll become very important before you know it. Here are a couple of questions we answered from our callers on today’s program: --Is there a penalty for not drawing out of a 401K before age 70? --I have 25K in savings, my husband is retired and I am still working. I will receive half of his pension, but my work offers a 401K, should I put the 25K in that? --My mother receives my dad’s pension, this is the only income she makes. Do I need to file taxes on this? --What is credit amnesty? --I have cosigned a student loan for my grandson. I am hoping to pay outright for my new residence, but if I can’t, will this student loan get in the way of a good loan for my home? Ask your questions at (800) 525-7000 or email them to [email protected]. Visit our website at MoneyWise.org where you can connect with a MoneyWise Coach, purchase books, and even download free, helpful resources like the MoneyWise app. Like and Follow us on Facebook at MoneyWise Media for videos and the very latest discussion! Remember that it’s your prayerful and financial support that keeps MoneyWise on the air. Help us continue this outreach by clicking the Donate tab at the top of the page.