My teen spends too much

Your daughter has spent all the money she first earned during the summer holidays in three days. A dress of an expensive brand, an iPad of the latest model, sessions in a solarium – you simply lose heart! That she couldn’t put aside a small sum for her next vacation or for emergencies?

Teach them how to manage a budget. It is difficult to plan a budget when you are 16-17 years old. In our country, many adults live only for today, to say nothing of teenagers who generally find it difficult to restrain their desires. At this age, spending the first salary in its entirety without looking is so natural! After all, the child has earned this money himself and is free to use it as he wants. “But something else is important,” notes Yuri Frolov, “your son or daughter may simply not know how and what it is really better to spend it on – how to spend it correctly, what to save for, whom to give … To become independent, a teenager must learn to manage his budget . And that takes time and parental support.”

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Wait out the “breakaway”. Be patient and wait out his frequent trips to a cafe, buying hamburgers or spontaneous shopping. Give your teenager the opportunity to regulate his own income and plan expenses – first for a week, then for a month … But do not step back, tell him about your work, about how you make money. Feel free to say that we are very pleased with the gift from him and hope that someday he will be able to help you. The consumer fever that suddenly gripped a high school student is an occasion for parents to think about their own attitude to money. “If adults tightly controlled the child’s expenses, perhaps now he is catching up,” explains Yuri Frolov. “Or vice versa, they spoiled him too much, and he knows no limits to his desires.”

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Discuss costs and conclude a contract. It’s not too late to change something. Be sure to continue to give your teen pocket money and re-specify what expenses are included in this amount (for example, internet and phone bills). You can even conclude a written agreement on this matter. “Introduce an additional item of expenditure – for development,” Yuri Frolov suggests. “It can include trips to the museum and the theater, buying books, CDs with good films.” If the child needs more money, let him justify the need for the purchase. Convinced – then adults give him the desired amount. No – you will have to save some of your pocket money or try to earn money on your own. Just be sure to explain where and how you can do it.

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