How to start budgeting? For Parents With Teenage Kids

Teenage years are the most active and stressful years for your kids. A little help from parents is always warranted. Thus, to give your best, you need to start controlling the household budget to suit the need of the day. Here’s a list of steps you can take while budgeting your expenses for a better future of your teenage children.

Budget your Teenagers’ Expenses

Figure out what kind of expenses you are likely to incur now that your kids have become teenagers. Their educational expenses will go up, their demands will expand as they suddenly develop an interest in their appearance and try to keep up with their better-off friends.

You will have to start thinking of funds for higher education – the list is endless and worrying. But you will get a better grip on things if you have a clear picture of the upcoming expenses. It will help you to plan better.

Teach Budgeting Tricks to the Kids

As your kids step into teenage, you will need to have several difficult “talks” with them. You have to speak to them about the realities of life, about the birds and bees, how they need to protect themselves from unwelcome attention, the difference between a good-touch and a bad touch, and so forth. You also need to teach them to be responsible about money.

When they are small, kids tend to think little about money. They just assume it is there, miraculously appearing when they want something. But by the time they hit teenage, you have to teach them the value of money, and how important it is to be a responsible spender.

Budgeting at this age also gives them the understanding that, money comes and goes. More than that, they need to know how does the money ‘come,’ of course everyone knows about the ‘going’ part.

Encourage your kids to take up part-time jobs

The best way to teach teenage kids to be responsible with money is to encourage them to earn it on their own. Once they realize how precious every earned rupee is, they will automatically develop respect for money and will eschew irresponsible and careless spending. Have a frank discussion with them about what kind of a summer job they would like to take up, and then help them find one.

Monitor their activities unobtrusively and make sure they do not get into anything undesirable. And while you are helping your kid with a part-time job, if one comes across that you or your spouse might have time for, why not take it up? Every extra rupee will help.

There are many online portals as well where your kids and can make extra bucks for their time:

• Doparttime
• Fresherworld
• Vedantu
• Corsera

Consider Increasing Your Emergency Fund

While your contingency fund should ideally be left only for emergencies, you should focus on increasing it to better prepare for the turbulent time ahead.

After all, for your teenager, this is the time of evolution from being a kid to being an explorer, walking in a new world.  A little backup will also give you peace of mind, that whatever happens, you will still afford a decent future for your child

Review Your Monthly Budget

This is the time when you might need to make a few changes to your monthly budget. Take a good look at it and check if there is anything you can cut down on. You might find you are able to prune your fuel costs or your eating out could come down a bit, or birthdays and anniversaries could become smaller affairs.

In the end, you do not need to put your life on hold just because your children have reached teenage – you just need to be wiser and smarter when it comes to spending.