by Kemyia Austin

Created on: September 04, 2009   Last Updated: September 05, 2009

Everyone knows that teenagers are the bankruptcies of parent's pockets. I am the oldest girl of 6 children, not including step brothers and adopted siblings. All of my younger siblings are now teens and they are driving my mother dry. High school is not cheap, neither is keeping up with fashions, medical, and health insurance. The one mistake parents often make is trying to give their children more than what they need. A 15 and 16 year old do not need a car. A car costs money, not including the high rate increase in insurance. There are many ways of eliminating that problem as well as other budget saving tips. Teens, here are a few things you can do to help your parents out.

First, you can try getting a job. I got my first job a 14 as a babysitter and when I was 16, I got a job at an oil company. I held that job until 3 months after I graduated from high school. That helped my mother out a lot because she did not have to pay for any of my fees in high school and I paid for graduation, prom, and my senior trip to Spain. My mother's only responsibility was to go prom dress shopping with me.

Another way you can help is open up a savings account. When you open up an account with a bank, you gain interests on everything that you put in there. This allows your money to grow and collect. If you start early, going to college will not seem like such a difficult task because you would have already gotten the financial part taken care of. Some banks even have special plans for teenagers, high school students, college students, and full time students that work. There are advantages to the banking system, you just have to find them.

Doing odd jobs around the neighborhood and apartment complex is rewarding for teenagers because they feel useful. Budgeting can also be a responsibility for teenagers to learn how to organize their priorities and life. Giving them the responsibility of budgeting their own money will allow them to appreciate everything that you do. Give them an allowance and tell them that whatever they save at the end of the month, you will take them shopping and match a percentage of what they save. I have 2 sisters whom I give allowance to. For everything that they save, at the end of the month, I match 2% of it. That gives them incentive to save and be responsible for what they buy and do.

Alright teens, go budget.

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