Good Financial Habits

 by Keegan R

We all have trouble with bad habits in spending our money. Especially if you have a job or if you are, like me, a teenager. We are all guilty of the pick-me-up drink every morning or the quick snack with friends most days after school. It may seem like only a little money is spent but it accumulates and the total could be astonishing to you.

Teenagers love to spend money. It’s a well known fact that most teenagers will spend what they have almost automatically unless it’s to save up for one thing that they will blow it all on once they get that amount. Whether you get an allowance for breathing from your parents or from a job, most people will start to spend more as they realize that they have the money for it. Teenagers who do not have jobs are prone to saving up their money because they don’t receive money regularly, as frequently, or in as large an amount. This allows for thought into what they spend their money on and better choices. However things like a car, food, and extracurricular activities will have to be either cut back on a lot or put on hold completely. Financially, having a job is better because you get money regularly and it is most likely a lot more than your parents give you for mowing the lawn. With more money though, comes more bad spending habits. Once you get a job, a teenager is more likely to start to spend a set amount of money on the regular every day, instead of saving or investing that money for the future. 

A drink, snack, or both every morning is a common example. Over ninety percent of students in high schools with jobs have said that they get a coffee or some snack in the morning before school. The first thing that comes to a teenagers mind when they have enough money is eating out, music, movies, clothes, and other personal expenses. Second is usually their car and in last is future long range expenses and saving. This financial thought process is one of the main ways that people lose a lot of money without realizing. Sometimes hundreds every week.

My day starts with a workout, then I head to Panera and get the same order every day, a smoothie and a pastry. That all adds up to around eight dollars. Not bad. At school I am usually hungrier so i´ll get a concession at lunch which is around two dollars. That's the spendings every day. Let's say I eat out with friends about twice a week. Depending on what you eat and how much the price could vary but we will say that both times I spend about twenty dollars. Then I have to get gas for my car once that week which takes around thirty dollars for my tank. So if we add together that snack in the morning and the concession multiplied by five and then the two eat outs and to top it off that gas station stop, we get one hundred and twenty dollars. At minimum wage that a highschooler usually makes, that's around a third of their paycheck gone within a week. That simple snack in the morning costs forty dollars a week which is more than your gas. 

A simple change to your lifestyle is a great way to save money for both expenses now and in the future. Money is being wasted and we can’t even see it. This is mostly towards students and teenagers however adults are plenty guilty of the coffee in the morning every day. In conclusion, save more by spending less on nonessentials.

Works Cited

Meleen, Michele. “Teen Consumer Spending Habits.” LoveToKnow, LoveToKnow Corp, teens.lovetoknow.com/Teen_Consumer_Spending_Habits.

“Most Teen Workers Spend, Not Save.” University of Michigan News, 4 Feb. 2014, news.umich.edu/most-teen-workers-spend-not-save/.

Ramsey Solutions. “How to Teach Teenagers About Money.” Daveramsey.com, Ramsey Solutions, 28 Sept. 2020, www.daveramsey.com/blog/teach-teenagers-about-money.