If only money actually DID grow on trees.
I never had an allowance when I was a kid. When I needed money, I asked for it, and I rarely asked for money I didn’t need. But I’ve also never been particularly great about sticking to a budget (there, I said it), and sometimes I wonder whether an allowance might have boosted that particular skill.
One thing that did help: Getting a checking account when I got my first job at age 18. (I was a waitress at Pizza Hut. Let’s not talk about the hat.)
Today, less than half of teens (age 13 to 17) get an allowance from their parents, and only about a third have a checking account, according to a Capital One survey. And evidently, 70 percent of teens with a checking account rate their money management knowledge as “good” or “very good,” compared to 58 percent of teens who don’t have one.
Half of teens say they want to learn more about how to manage their money, and they’d prefer to do so from their parents, but only 27 percent say their parents talk about money with them on a regular basis.
I will say this: I fully intend to give my daughter an allowance, once she’s old enough not to eat the money. (Literally.) And I plan to talk to her about checking accounts, credit cards, and smart spending, because if I don’t, who will?
The levels of debt in this country suggest that a lot of people have a tough time living within their means, and I wonder how much of that could be prevented if parents took the time to teach their kids the money basics. Or, another idea: I spoke to a financial planner for a story recently who wished that high schools and colleges taught a mandatory course in personal finance.
Did you have an allowance? And how did you learn about money? From your parents or another source?
(Photo from Tyler_Willoughby on Flickr.)
