Do you have a teenager who is driving, frequently out with friends, and always asking you for money? Are you looking for ways to teach your teen basic money management? If so, a student debit card may be the answer. Here are some ideas to help you determine if your teen is ready for a debit card.
IS YOUR TEEN READY FOR A DEBIT CARD?
Now that my son is driving, and out with friends more often (movies, football games, malls & dinner), money has become more of an issue. He needs gas money, food money, entertainment money and the list goes on and on. My son is constantly asking for more money.
In today’s world of instant gratification and “get now, pay later” mentality, my husband and I feel it’s important to teach our teenage son the importance of basic budgeting and money management. While we want our son to enjoy his teen years, we also want him to understand that he does not have an unlimited amount of funds! Money does not grow on trees, and he cannot just call mom and dad whenever he wants more cash.
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A TOOL FOR TEACHING BASIC MONEY MANAGEMENT
We want our son to have a basic money management foundation before heading off to college. So this week, we decided to get him a student checking account with a debit card from our local bank. My husband and I believe this will be a great tool to help us teach our teenager how to budget, spend and save money.
This teen student account has no fees since it’s with our bank and allows us to set spending limits and monitor his spending. It also prevents overdraft. He cannot purchase something if he doesn’t have the funds! No money= no purchase!
IS YOUR TEEN READY FOR A DEBIT CARD?
Every teen and situation is different. You know what is best for your child. But if you are in a similiar situation as me, you might consider a teen student checking account.
Here are the 5 questions we asked ourselves when trying to decide if we should get our son an account. These questions may help you evaluate your situation as well:
- Does he lose his wallet often? (Could he keep up with a debit card?)
- Does he have consistent income from a job or allowance? (If there are not routine, consistent deposits, a debit card will not be an effective teaching tool for money management.)
- Is he independent? (Teen driver, frequently out with friends).
- Is he able to say “no” to friends who want him to buy them things? (Is your teen able to tell friends “no” when they request he buy them snacks, movie tickets, etc?)
- Does he have a basic understanding of money and budgeting? (How to budget, spend and save?)
SET YOUR TEEN UP FOR SUCCESS
Raising financially resposible teens is challenging. I believe a teen checking account is one tool that can help parents teach children how to budget and monitor money properly. In addition to getting our son a student account with a debit card, we created a basic budget template for him to complete. We will discuss his budget monthly to help him understand what worked and what did not, and how to better manage the next month.
It’s important to remember that this is a learning experience for our teens. Yes, teens will spend money on frivolous things, and not always save when they should. But I believe the student debit card is a great tool to help our teens learn basic financial skills. With monitoring and guidance, parents can teach teens basic money management and provide them with the tools to successfully manage their money as they get older.
