When children are growing up, from the ages of 3 to 12 taking care of them is usually financially stable. This is because they are developing their immune systems, their only focus in life is school, playing, and eating to grow up healthy. Initially when the baby is brought home is when finances are tight. You have to buy the crib, certain medicines, vaccines, health checkups, and things for the home like nightlights, baby monitors, new clothes every 6 months, insurance and more.
So after a brief period of calm, they will enter their teenage years where life is truly getting a hold of them. It’s their turn to start becoming an adult and doing so, is not cheap. It’s very beneficial for them to take on extracurricular activities, so their future college can see they are active in more ways than one. Your children will also want to go out more with their friends, so you’ll be paying them allowances so they don’t feel trapped at home. Bicycles, car driving lessons, even more food, computers, books and more are going to see your finances being squeezed. But, here’s how you can be ready for them and deal with the instability.
This is a contributed post and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Meet The Harris Family.
Start saving up
Saving up is key during their teenage years. You never know what is going to be coming around the corner so having a pile of cash that’s ready for their needs is something to aim for. It isn’t just that they will need textbooks for college, or money to buy a car. Your children may need to go on trips abroad. They might have to go to an expensive school that is the best for a particular profession such as engineering or biology. Essentially you need to start saving up their college fund. Go online and do your research to figure out what kind of fees they will be expected to pay. Examine the loans they may be eligible for so you can mix and match if you need to.
Generally speaking, it’s wise to save up around $25,000 or more for one child’s college fund. That’s pretty much going to be around half of what they need. The rest is up to them, and they will have to take out loans to pay for their education. It will give them an incentive to not squander the money, since they are responsible for paying it back. If both of you as parents have worked out that you cannot save up close to half, then aim for 5-digits instead. Even if it’s just $10,000, you have still helped your child to hopefully learn a subject and make a better life for themselves.
Buying a car
When they get into their teenage years, children will want to become more independent. This is great for parents because they finally get to be their own person. To further enjoy that freedom, they are going to want a car to fulfill that need. Now you as a parent, are freed up by no longer having to drive them to school or to important trips to the mall. However not every family has the money to buy a car for their son or daughter, so looking at options that could provide you with the much-needed money is something you should consider.
At Bonsai Finance they have the services that allow you to apply for personal loans. To get the best deal, they will collate hundreds of creditors and give you a list of their options. This is all done online and takes just a few minutes. After you see one plan that you like, you apply and the money goes straight into your account. It’s convenient and because it’s online, you can take your time looking through all the plans to ensure you’re getting the best deal possible.
Let them be bookworms
Teenagers are expected to study hard and make sure they take their education seriously. As they approach 16, they are now learning about complex subject matters. And so, the books they need will be specific and written by specialist authors. These books could range from as little as $20 to almost $100 because of their importance to a course. Finding a part-time job to fund their educational needs is something that you must advise your children to do. They’ll learn about the importance of earning money and being frugal in their spending.
On the other hand, you could try contacting their college to see what kind of obligations is the faculty under. Your child may be entitled to getting the books for free or being given a grant to pay for the books. Different colleges and states have their own policies. If you apply through the federal programs, the grant will be able to cover any and all educational spending your teenager needs.
Modern colleges may allow your child to receive a free tablet that has free access to the educational resources of the college. This is for books, texts, pictures, videos, lectures and much more. Talk to the head of faculty or speak to a federal education minister in the town council for the required information. You could end up saving yourself a few thousand dollars.
Share Me or Save Me for Later
Teenagers are sometimes a headache to deal with. However, this is perhaps the most important time in their lives to know that you will guide them to independence. Be supportive of their educational endeavors and start saving for their college fund.
