One of the biggest doubts of every teenager is how to save money. Majority of teens do not have their own earnings, and they are trying to save the money that they get from their parents.
While all their friends are constantly buying new clothes or going on weekend trips, young people are getting an even bigger desire to find out how to save money. Sometimes, it looks like there are no solutions to this problem. When they succeed to save a certain amount of money, the new costs arrive. And if this “process” is repeating constantly, they become demotivated.
Teenagers should not despair. Thinking about how to budget and save money from early ages is actually a good thing. First of all, you will upgrade your organizational and entrepreneurship skills. If you learn to organize your costs when you don’t have enough money, it will be much easier when you start making your own earnings.
The second advantage is that you will start to respect every cent that you get. Young people are spending a lot because they don’t know how hard it is to make some earnings. With this bad habit, there is no chance that a young person will become a good entrepreneur one day.
So, what exactly are you doing wrong?
Luckily for all teenagers that don’t know how to save money and satisfied their needs, there are a few solutions that can help you. If you use the right method, the money will come. Before everything, you need to ask yourself a few questions.
- You need to have your “why”
If you want to discover how to budget and save money properly, you first need to ask yourself “why I want to save money?” Saving money without any important reason is not a good thing.
This problem requires small sacrifices. That is the reason why you need to be well-prepared. If you don’t have your “why”, you won’t stay motivated enough.
- You need to have your “how much”
If you don’t know how much money you actually need, how will you determine if your goal is completed? Numbers are always a good incentive to keep you move forward.
The exact amount of money is important because you have to be able to calculate in a proper way how much you are able to save.
- You need to have your “until when”
Deadlines are there to remind us that we need to stay focused on our goal. For example, your goal is to save $1000 dollars that you want to invest in your online business. If your finishing date of this task is “near future”, that doesn’t look serious.
However, if your goal is to save $1000 until June 1st, that looks more serious. If you don’t have the final date your ambition and motivation will fall down.
Being realistic is the key. If you are giving unrealistic goals to yourself, you could become disappointed. Put your earnings on a piece of paper, and calculate how much you can save. If your earnings are lower than your costs, then something is wrong.
If you have clear answers on these three questions, it is the right time to find out how to save money. There are several different ways that will help you to achieve your goal.
- Find a way that will suit you the most
How are you going to save your money is absolutely your choice. There are a few different ways that can be helpful:
- Keep your money at home/Get a piggy bank
- Open a savings account
- Give it to your parents/family to keep it
Everything that you get or you earn you should put in your piggy bank. This option is a good choice only if you are ready not to spend that money. Many young people make the same mistake, even when they discover how to save money successfully. They take their savings from their piggy bank when the first IRRELEVANT expenses come.
You need to resist your needs. If you see a nice T-shirt, don’t buy it. You are trying to save money for something else.
It is absolutely the same with the savings account. The money will be in a safe place, but you can take it whenever you want. However, if you choose this method, there are a few things you should take care of.
Pick the account that offers you the highest interest rates. You will get the bonuses from the bank for saving the money in one of the bank’s account. Also, look for the accounts that are not requiring you to pay the monthly fees.
Finally, the third method is probably the safest one. If you are asking yourself how to save money when I am constantly spending it on nonsense, you have only one solution. Give it to someone that won’t allow you to spend it.
Parents are the best bank you can find. There are no monthly fees, and you can be sure that your money is in a safe place. Tell them what your plans are and what you are trying to achieve. Be sure that there won’t be things to distract you from your goals. Actually, it would be much easier from you when there is someone to take care of your savings.
How to save money when I am broke?
Logically, money won’t come if you are sitting and waiting for it. That is the reason why you need to find a way to earn it. It is understandable if you don’t have the time to work a full-time job over the year. The main reason is that you have to go to school or college.
However, that can’t be an excuse. There are many different ways to earn a certain amount of money, especially now when we live in the world of modern technology. This will be a good test for you. It will show how responsible you are.
- Summer Job
Summer jobs are a great thing to earn some money. That type of work will be your first step in the grown-up world. You will learn how it looks to work and how it looks to be responsible. More importantly, it will allow you to achieve your goal.
We won’t say currently how much you can earn because that depends on the job you find. But, if you don’t have money, and your friends are traveling, why would you sit at home and wait for them to get back? Use the time you have in a smart way. You do not have school duties over the summer, so you will have the time to find a full-time job.
- Freelance Jobs
Did you know that about 35% of students in the USA are working as freelancers? The statistics show that we can expect this number will grow in the near future. If you possess some skills that could bring you profit, why wouldn’t you use them?
There are many different freelance platforms that can help you to connect with employers. You won’t have working hours or working days. You can decide when and where to work from, when is the right time to take a break etc.
More importantly, you will be satisfied and happy. The job that you do won’t bother you because you do what you love. That would definitely make your money-saving a lot easier.
Freelancing opens many doors to teenagers. However, without any skills and knowledge, you won’t make a success. You can work as a freelance writer, graphic or web designer, video editor, web developer etc. Whatever your interests are, if you truly are good at it, how to save money won’t be your concern anymore.
- Other Jobs to Consider
If you are not interested in online jobs, it is not the end of the world. There are many jobs that you can do “offline”. More importantly, those jobs won’t require a lot of your time.
For example, if you like kids, you can earn some money as a babysitter. Teenagers that love animals can walk dogs. Also, you can wash cars or clean houses.
If you don’t know where you can find this sort of jobs, start looking in your neighborhood. There are probably many neighbors that need to wash their car or take a dog for a walk. Many teenagers choose this type of work because it represents a flexible money-making option.
In case you don’t find anything, tell your family members or relatives to inform their friends that you are providing these services. You can even try with making your own business card. Sooner or later, you will find something.
- Save at least 30% of your earnings
Okay, let’s imagine that you found a job that will bring you some earnings. Now, the right question is how much money to put on your bank account, in your piggy bank or to give to your parents.
Saving 100% of your earnings is not a good strategy. You won’t feel comfortable to just work without any right to spend anything. Of course, spending everything is also not a good option. That is the reason why you need to make a balance.
Saving at least 30% of your money is a good choice. You will have some amount of money to spend on a daily basis. You will feel more motivated to continue your “struggle” if you go out with friends after the job is completed.
If you are stubborn enough, saving 50% of your earnings would be IDEAL. That will definitely require from you to spend less and sacrifice some things. But if you truly want to achieve your goal, this shouldn’t represent a problem for you.
- Be aware of your priorities
If you discovered how to save money in the best possible way, it will be twice harder for you when you need to spend that cash. Because of that, you need to determine what your priorities are.
Let’s imagine that you saw a beautiful jacket with a 20% discount. However, you were trying to save money to travel over the summer. Are you going to buy it? Majority of teens would buy it because they do not know what their main priority is.
Determine what your main goals are. Maybe you have many plans, but until you achieve the main goal, don’t think about the less important ones. Get out from the store or turn off your browser if you are purchasing online. The jacket you want to buy can wait.
FINAL THOUGHT: Save to invest
We hope that the tips from the above will help you to find out how to budget and save money. Young people are creative, and we are sure they will find the best possible way. However, the lack of experience is their main disadvantage.
The expenses of young people are mostly not valuable. They would rather choose to spend money on clothes, parties etc. We can say that those things won’t bring any kind of value in their lives.
Because of that, parents play a major role in their way of spending. First of all, they need to teach them to think like entrepreneurs. Successful entrepreneurs do not like to save money. However, if they do that, it is because they want to invest it in their business.
Finding a way to earn money as a teen is not as difficult as before. But, if you are saving it for irrelevant things, it won’t mean anything to you. That is also a message for older people, not just for teenagers. Some people do not learn that for the whole of their life.
Saving your money for investing is the most valuable goal you can have. You don’t necessarily need to invest in your own business. For the beginning, you can invest that money in knowledge.
The new T-shirt that you bought will be replaced with the new one. The knowledge that you have will be there for the rest of your life. So, which one do you choose? Which one will make your life better? That is only your decision.
