Inside the teen brain

When it comes to teens, I love sharing great information. Since I’m a mom of a teen myself, I found this video very fascinating. Check out this study and enjoy the videos. Very interesting stuff!

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/

Football and planning for your future…

I love posting this article during football season. If you’ve read it before, read it again, as it will be a good reminder for you. If you’re reading for the first time, enjoy!

OK, I admit it. I like football. Although I don’t understand all the strategies just yet, I enjoy watching the carefully
planned plays. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t, but nevertheless, very fun stuff to watch.

As I’m watching the games, it occurs to me that football and finances have a lot in common. (I admit, sometimes it’s hard for me to turn my ‘work’ brain off, even in the middle of an exciting game). The plays are carefully planned, the teams spend countless
hours practicing and strategizing, there is an experienced coach that guides the team to victory and they never give up. Their goal is specific, understood by all and there is serious motivation to win. Do you see where I am going with this?

Your money matters, your financial roadmap, requires the same mindset as those big, bad, burly football players. If you don’t have a specific plan in place, if you don’t practice and don’t have someone guiding you, you will probably not end up where you want to. When it’s time to send your kids to college, go on that vacation or retire, where are those funds coming from? What if you lost your job unexpectedly? Do you have reserves to fall back on?

Imagine those football players running onto the field with no plan, no plays. It would almost be painful to watch. Complete chaos. Is that what we enjoy watching? Doubtful.

So, is your financial picture complete chaos? If so, don’t panic. It’s never too late to get things in order.

Start by having a plan. Write down specific goals, what action steps are necessary to achieve those goals and by when. If lifestyle changes must occur, define what those changes are and commit to that change. Sit down and pull all your bills out for the last month. Determine your fixed expenses and compare that to what you actually spend every month. Sometimes this alone can be a real eye opener. Where does all that extra money go? The local coffee house? Lunch out? Those shoes you had to have?

Here’s an interesting statistic: If you saved $4 per day (one coffee) for 5 days per week for 52 weeks and invested that money at 10%, do you know how much you would have after 40 years? Some would say about $80,000, $90,000 even $100,000. Nope, you would have $553,396. Compounding interest is your new best friend.

So, make plans for your vacation and sending your kids off to college, just remember to plan for your money issues as well.

Teens and jobs…a mom’s question

After my blog post last week, I got this great letter from a reader. She agreed to allow me to share her question and my response. You may resonate with her, and as she did, feel better after you read what I had to say. If you missed last week, read the article below this one.

Her question:

I read the article about teens working. I have read other articles with similar information. The part that I have trouble wrapping my mind around is this: once an adult, the child will forever be an adult. There is a short period of time where the child can just be a child. My son, 15 years old, schools 11 months out of the year 5-7 hours a day pursuing his bachelor’s degree while finishing his high school requirements. He participates in speech and debate, Moot Court, Model UN as well as organized sports. He has plenty of friends through those activities and is honestly very happy. So, am I a bad parent for not making him get a job? (He does do some landscaping when jobs are sent his way and he is required to do chores and he gets no allowance.) Is my perspective wrong? Should I pull him from his studies or activities that he loves so that he can work at the ice cream store up the road? I am not being cocky, I really need to know.

My response:

Thanks for asking such a great question. I can hear in your “voice” the struggle you are experiencing.

It sounds like your son is a very motivated and driven young man. To be working on a Bachelors degree at 15 years old is very impressive!

There are two main reasons I suggest a job for teens. One, it teaches them accountability. As an employee, they are required to be at a certain place, at a certain time, doing a job that requires work. The responsibility that goes along with that gives them a good indication of what life is about. Two, with the funds they earn, they can learn how to manage money wisely. They can start to save, invest, give back, spend and understand budgeting.

Having said all that, I believe your son has the first reason down to a science. Given what you have shared with me, he has a total understanding of being accountable and responsible. This is a non issue for you.

As far as teaching him about money, he does need some way to understand smart money management. I know you plan on purchasing the online money school, which will be a great asset for him. I’m hoping he enjoyed the book and learned a ton. This will give him a definite edge when he gets out in the world.

But, like playing tennis, until you go hit the ball, you can’t really know what it feels like to play the game. You can read and study, which will help you with strategy and rules, but until you get on the court, it’s hard to “feel” playing. So, I’m not suggesting he get a job at the local ice cream store, just for the sake of getting a job, but I do suggest he somehow gets some money in his “hands.” How? Here’s an idea I’ll run by you…

Come up with a figure that you spend on him every month, not including food. Calculate what you spend on clothes, sundries, the activities you mentioned, play money etc. At the 1st of the month, give him that amount of money to budget for the month. Let him experience paying cash for these items and budgeting the money himself. If he runs out of money before the end of the month, let that be a learning experience for him.

You can also include him in your household payments, if this is something you wish to share with him. Take the opportunity to teach him with everyday situations. Whether it’s making him shop for a sale or negotiating a purchase, these daily experiences will help him understand that money management is the key to wealth. It’s not what you make that makes you wealthy, it’s what you keep.

Perhaps he can find a job that pertains to what he is studying. This way it becomes both work experience and income.

He obviously has a great work ethic and is very bright. You have done a great job in exposing him to some wonderful opportunities! As he learns the ropes to being money savvy, he will be well on his way to success!

I hope this helps.

She responsed with feeling much better and understood my point and suggestions.

Summer Jobs: Getting Them and Their Importance

I love guest posts and this week I share an article written by a very talented and amazing 17 year old entrepreneur, Micheal Costigan.

Teens who are 16 and older can readily obtain some form of retail service or hospitality job. Readily, however, does not necessarily mean that it’s easy. In most states, 16 years marks the age that students can begin working. Of course, they are limited to less hours, certain work conditions, and other state requirements.

Work experience is invaluable though, and in today’s world, having early age work experience is becoming less and less of a defining stand out, and more and more of a common resume booster. Thus, there are several reasons why teens might find it useful and fun to work — not to mention the financial relief they may provide for their parents given our current economy.

1. Getting a job is not as easy as 123.

Although they are low paying and often not very exciting, jobs for teens are at their lowest existence rates in years. Roughly 30% percent of teens are unemployed. (TIME http://ti.me/kUxfmk)

However, teens because they are less experienced and not usually full-time employees, can save employers significant overhead in a time of tight cash-flow. Teens can capitalize off of this opportunity. Ideally, teens, if they’re able to, should work year around. Summer jobs rarely offer the type of continuity with purpose needed to fully acquaint one with having a ‘real job’. Nevertheless, a summer job, or paid internship, can be an important part of college resumes, practical experience, and oh, learning to be an adult. I typically find that amongst the people I know, less than one quarter of them worked during high school. And when graduation came, many of them went out in a fury looking for jobs. While this may work to a certain extent, having a 3+ year jumpstart over them has helped me deeply in not only the type of positions I am able to field, but the level of confidence I hold in going off to pursue more significant work related ventures.

A job provides structure and places responsibility. Think of it as a way to parent, but where someone else does most of the work for you. The skills picked up as a teen employee will not only set your son or daughter apart in accomplishment, but in maturity and personal fulfillment.

2. Losing a job is as easy as 123.

Just like losing car or cellphone privileges might be easy for your son or daughter to do, so is losing a job. For the most part, teen jobs are disposable jobs. There are many teens that could fill them, and they take little effort or overhead to replace someone if they are failing to meet the expectations of a specific position. That’s an ego strike for most teens, some of whom may even be fired simply because they were not outperforming someone else. Of course there are laws for the appropriate procurement of labor, but hiring and firing always has and always will carry a bias.

The earlier one starts a job, the more experience and confidence he or she will have when it comes to holding down a higher paying job that “really does matter”.

3. Jobs are worth the time and commitment for most teens.

I’ve pretended to be the teen job evangelist for the last few paragraphs, but don’t be misled. I say that jobs are important, and they are, but not every teen is ready for the level of responsibility that one carries. And not every parent knows how to adjust their parenting style responsibly to meet the maturity of an employed child.

The better the job, the more financial independence a teen can earn, the more financial independence a teen has, the more parenting independence they should receive. Yes, you read that correctly. A responsible teen who is working multiple days a week and earning their own money to go out with their friends deserves the right to be able to do so at a greater leisure than previously before. It’s hard, for example, to require a 10 o’clock curfew on your teen, if and when, they have a job that works them past 10 PM four nights out of the week.

I will leave you with this. As someone who’s friends are all leaving for college this coming fall, I would have wanted their parents to have been able to witness their children functioning as adults on their own. For in three months, in effect, that’s what they’ll be. Yet next to none of their parents have ever seen them successfully carry out this feat. Someone does the laundry for them, or buys their gas, or drives them to and from the movies. They’re still asking their parents for money.

Parents, how important is a trial run of your teens’ adulthood before they leave for college? They’re success in life just might depend on it.

Michael Costigan is a 17 – year-old from Orange County, CA. He is a social entrepreneur, public speaker, and truly enjoys helping other’s better understand teen related issues. You can follow him at www.SpeakingofMichael.com

Money and play time…the balancing act

It’s not often you walk into a doctor’s office with a few questions and leave with a life lesson. On a recent visit to my doctor, I had somewhat of an aha moment.

We got talking about different medical screening tests and how oftentimes they aren’t always dependable. With some medical issues, blood tests don’t alert us soon enough. He brought up the example of pancreatic cancer and went on to say that, more times than not, by the time that disease is diagnosed, it’s too late.

It was then he said something very profound, which stopped me in my tracks. He said, “you just pray you don’t get it and if you do, you pray that you’ve lived your life.” Wow. Pray that you’ve lived your life. That statement just sat with me.

He left the room for a moment and I just sat there, in my lovely little gown, processing that statement. I quietly asked myself, ‘am I living my life?’ Initially, I got a bit sad, thinking, maybe I’m not. My mind raced with my responsibilities, my hours working, the various projects on my plate, single parenting and more.

As I left the office and spend the rest of the day contemplating that comment, I realized something very interesting. Yes, I was living my life. I found myself reflecting on those things I love; my son, my family, spending time with friends and doing something that makes a difference in the lives of others. I do spend a lot of time with my loved ones and that is precious to me. And, no, I wasn’t living my life. I realized I didn’t include much ‘play’ time. Actually, I had no play time.

We’ve always heard it’s important to live your life to the fullest and never take anything for granted. I totally agree with that and do feel immense gratitude for my life. But, I have to admit, I get caught up in my day to day responsibilities and stresses that I forget to slow down and ‘smell the roses.’

What does this have to do with teaching teens about money? Absolutely nothing. But, it does teach an invaluable life lesson. Yes, it’s important to plan for the future, manage your money wisely and make smart choices in life. But, it’s also important not to get so caught up in planning your future that you miss today.

So, go play. Live your life with no regrets. All the while, be sure to save automatically and watch your spending. I’m off to play some tennis.