Finance, Forex and Investments

What are good ways to educate a high school junior in personal finance?

My sixteen year old son has a job that pays about $80/week and a savings account with about $1,500 and a Roth IRA with a few hundred dollars. How would you teach him effective money management skills - credit/debt traps, budgeting, retirement, investing, etc.

Public Comments

1. Give him a gift: Rich Dad-Poor Dad by Robert Kyosaki He is in the correct road, he has a job and isn't indebted.
2. Get him a secured Visa card with a relatively low limit like $500. And also he should have a checking account that he has to manage. Make him responsible for not overdoing it on the secure visa and for paying the Visa off each month.
3. Send him out to buy groceries or let him pay the gas bill once. That should teach him a thing or two.
4. http://www.daveramsey.com/hope/nomatterwhat/ might cost a little money - but so worth it! He is all about helping people, not getting rich off of selling the stuff.
5. Take him to the bank and have the banker explain how a checking account works. Depending on how trustworthy and dependable he is, he could get a debit card. Otherwise, start him with an ATM card and be sure he keeps track, then progress to the debit card. I would also suggest a monthy investment in the roth IRA. I am a banker and cannot tell you how often a kid goes off to college, then gets his first checking account and ends up hundreds of dollars in the hole. Guess who ends up paying for it. By the time they're out of college, there's credit card debt, student loans and still no financial savvy. A little experience now will go a long way when he's on his own!
6. I believe there are some books on just that subject-how to teach teens about money management, saving, investing etc. I think Clark Howard and Suze Orman may have some books out on that subject. There are probably other authors who have some books on the subject as well. You might also want to get some statistics on how one can become a millionaire by saving and investing so much each month. I have heard about this, and perhaps some of the books you check out will break this information down for you so that you can inform your son (use charts, graphs, etc.). I think that you have to make it fun for teenagers because they may not get excited about it unless you do.
7. I recommend that you introduce him to Dave Ramsey and his concepts. He talks about how to budget money including saving, spending, and giving. He also teaches about how to save for retirement and other things. He absolutely rocks! His website is www.daveramsey.com.
8. By the looks of things, you've already got a good start. I agree with the suggestion for Ramsey's Financial Peace course. Thirteen weeks, but well worth the investment in both time and money. If not the class, get him a copy of either of Ramsey's books, "Financial Peace" or "Your Total Money Makeover". Additionally, include him in your own financial planning. Bring him in to see how you pay bills, budget, choose retirement options. After he's watched you a few times, let him try (you'll have to sign any checks, of course). If you have debt, let him see how difficult it is for YOU to get it paid off, how much interest is charged, etc. Kids learn best by example, so model good money habits for him and he'll succeed. Whatever you do, DON'T do like another answerer said - DON'T get him a credit card (do you really want to burden him with that?) The link below is to a very interesting chart Ramsey created.