Teenagers have never had it so good! They now have more disposable income than ever before. With targeted advertising luring teens to spend, spend, spend, their vulnerabilities are being taken advantage of on a daily basis. Unfortunately many of them they fail to see this. Sadly, this turns our teens into impulse spenders. With a host of marketers using subliminal messages to get our teens attention, parents need to step in and teach their children how to curb their impulse spending long before this gets out of hand.

Impulse spending is like a drug, it becomes a habit, often a need. Teens need direction in reference to evaluating the worth of items and their true need for them. They need to be taught how to plan their purchases, how to budget and critically examine advertising techniques. Once they learn how to do this they will be able to break the habit of impulse spending. Teens who consistently spend on impulse often carry this trait into adulthood and this becomes a problem in many ways.

The adult who spends on impulse often forgets their priorities, thus marriages suffer and in some cases so do their children. The adult who is too acclimatized to impulse shopping finds it hard to distance themselves from luxury spending. They end up placing their heads in a financial noose. Therefore they frequently spend money on themselves and sacrifice all they hold dear, their home, family and so much more. The bank calls on loans and before they know it the impulse spending adult is in big trouble. In most cases they have no idea whatsoever how to break this habit.

So what to do?

1) Have your teen make a budget. Have him/her make a list of necessary purchases which should be accounted for before they purchase anything else. Tell them to try not to spend money on anything other than what is on the list. Give them an allotted time to see if they can stick to this.

2) Avoid hanging out at the mall or chain stores with your friends. Meet at a park instead or a coffee shop. The old adage Out of sight out of mind is very true. What you don't see, you don't crave. Walking through malls puts sale items right in your face, temptation often gets the better of us.

3) Put the circulars in the trash can without reading them. We often see things we like but really don't need, but buy on impulse.

4) Make a shopping list before you head out the door and only buy items which are on your list.

5) Avoid the cheap sale items, they all add up. Two dollars may seem so little, but when you purchase five two dollars items from the sale bins you've outlaid ten dollars for something you really don't need.

6) If something really takes your fancy put it on layaway or go home and give it more thought first. If you really give it some thought you will probably decide that it is not a necessity .

7) If something sounds like a good deal weigh up the pros and cons. Ask yourself how often you will use it and if you really need it. Good offers, sales etc, often have us parting with money for something which ends up sitting in the back of our closet for the rest of its life.

8) Shop with friends and ask them to veto items they know you don't need. Don't try to outdo your friend's purchases, there is no need to keep up with Joneses.

9) Take a good long look at the items in your hand before you reach the checkout. Reassess their need and if there is anything there that you really don't need, put it back on the shelf. And don't be ashamed to return something if you decide that it was an unnecessary purchase.

10) Put the above tips into practice and advise your teen friends to do the same. You will soon become skilled at practical, sensible shopping, and save a heap of money while doing so.

Learn more about this author, Russell Waldron.
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