It’s no secret that for a lot of families, it’s pretty tight right now financially. Parents are having their hours cut back at work or worse yet are being laid off and are completely out of a job.
This is a tough spot for a teenager to be in, because obviously you care about your family and want to support your parents any way you can. Here are a couple of things I want you to remember…
You want what you want. But who doesn’t? The key is that as teens and young adults, you don’t always have the control, power or money to do things your way. One way to earn a little more of all of those, however, is through negotiation.
Whether you want a higher allowance, a later curfew, permission to get a driver’s license or part time job, chances are you’ll need to use bargaining skills to get closer to what you want.
And once you have these skills, you’ll use them over and over again, whether it’s with your parents, your friends, your boss or eventually (gulp) with your own kids.
Believe or not, your parents actually want to teach you about money. In addition to wanting to teach you, they know they should help you, but the problem is this: they just don’t know how.
It’s kind of like talking to you about sex. They know they should, but they have no clue in the world what to say. It’s as awkward for them to talk about it as it is for you to listen to them talking about it!
Leaving the house and moving out on your own brings about mixed feelings. As the teen, I’m sure you’re counting down the seconds until you can experience the sweet taste of freedom. There’s nothing wrong with that. That’s part of growing up. It’s now your moment to spread wings, leave the nest, and fly. But on the other hand, I’m sure it’s a little sad for you. For the last 18 years, all you’ve ever known was living with your parents and your family.
These mixed feelings are the same ones your parents are experiencing. Obviously, you see more of the sad side of them, but deep down, they are excited and proud that you’re moving on and growing up.
Given the current state of the economy, there are a lot of families feeling a lot of pressure dealing with their finances. While generally it’s parents who are in the thick of it with money challenges, those problems obviously affect the entire family. When money is tight, tensions are higher, tempers flare, and the overall tone of the family is stressful.
So how can a student better help their parent during these tough times? Here are a couple of principles and ideas…
Yesterday, we talked about the 529 Plan for college savings. But there is another option out there that may also be appealing called an ESA or Education Savings Account.
Like the 529, the ESA is a college savings account. There are plenty of similarities but also plenty of differences, so let’s outline a few of those…
You may have heard about this thing called a “529 Plan” as it relates to saving for college. But what is it? Is it for you or your parents? Do you need one?
A 529 Plan is basically an educational savings account similar to what a 401(k) or IRA is for retirement.
There are several variations of 529 plans depending on what state you live in but the two mains concepts are prepaid or savings.