Money plays a big role in many teen’s lives, whether they earn it themselves or get it from their parents; learning to save money can help in the future.
Some teens have bills to pay, such as their phone bill, or they contribute to their parents’ household expenses. But no matter what it is, it is always a good lesson to learn how to save one’s money.
Business teacher Jocelyn Ruppert feels very strongly that this lesson is an important one for all teens to learn and that it will help them in their future.
“Saving money lets teens learn how to persist toward a goal and [to] work hard to get the things [they] want,” said Ruppert. “It will help them in the future to save for things they want instead of having to go into debt to buy them.”
The  Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation recommends that teens set goals for themselves of how much money they want to put aside and save each month, and stick to it. Then once the amount they saved meets what they need, they can reward themselves by spending it.  They say that this will teach teens by saving their money they are rewarded in the end.
A lot of teens either have saving accounts that they put their money into, or they set money aside in some way in order to buy what they want or need.
Freshman Alexis Czaplinski uses an envelope to set aside money for the future.
“I put some of my money in my wallet and the rest away in an envelope,” said Czaplinski.  “That way, I can only spend what is in my wallet.”
The FDIC calls this strategy the “paying yourself first” strategy. By setting money aside for later it only allows them to spend what they have now. This is the most common strategy that teens use to save their money.
Some teens also budget their money and only buy what they really need in order to save money. Senior Courtney Brandt tells how she uses her money wisely in order to make it go farther.
“I have to pay for my cell phone bill and give my parents a certain amount of money each month…. [It] makes me more careful with the money I get,” said Brandt. “I usually only buy the things I need or really want- that way I can pay my bills and save the rest.”
Saving money is a great way for teens to learn responsibility and to stop relying on their parents who won’t always be there to support them financially.