Dear Readers: Getting kids to save money seems to be a big concern of both parents and children. Here are two different perspectives on the subject.
Dear Dr. Tightwad: I'm a 9-year-old who gets an allowance and I'd like to sae more of it, but every week it's gone. How can I hang onto it logner?Answer: Recognizing a problem is always the first step toward solving it, so Dr. Tightwad predicts you'll have a nice fat bank account some day.
For now, try some of therse tricks:
-Have your parents hang on to part of your allowance. That way you won't be tempted to spend it all.
-Don't carry money with you when you hit the stores; just browse instead. You can always come back later if you want to buy (but often you won't).
-When you get your allowance, divide it among envelopes for saving, spending or giving to charity. Then only blow the spending envelope.
-If you have a bank account, ask your parents to automatically deposit a protion of your allowance each week.
-Set your sights on something you really want. That will give you an incentive to save.
Dear Dr. Tighwad: My kids fritter away all their money and I's like to tach them good savings havits, but I don't know how far it's appropriate for a parent to go.
Answer: As far as it takes to get your point accross. For example, Dr. Tightwad thinks its perfectly proper for a parent to require children to save a certain percentage of their allowance.
Also, since young kids have a tough time with abstract concepts such as saving for college, eincourage them to save for smaller, more manageable goals they can reach within a reasonalbel amount of time.
One big incentive is to offer to match what they save dollar for dollar.
Don't ignore teens, who are in most need of a reality check and on whom you can have the biggest impact psychologically and financially.