I waited to post this until the Deals of the Week had been the top story for most of the day, but today’s Chicago Tribune has an interesting story about teaching kids about money. I was quoted in it, as were several other savings experts you might be familiar with.
The theme of the story is this — as your kids get older and into their teens, what do you pay for and what does your child pay for? Do you pay for their cellphone? Buy them a car? Pay for gas? What about college — do parents foot the bill, have a say in where the child goes to school, or is the child on their own for higher education?
The entire article is very interesting, as I enjoyed reading about how the others are handling these issues in their own families, but here’s the part I contributed to:
Jill Cataldo, a nationally known blogger and coupon instructor, said she and her husband set specific rules for various purchases. She bought her high school daughter a cellphone by adding her service to the family plan but refused to buy her a smartphone. “We decided that she doesn’t need a smartphone at her age, though if she would like one, she will be paying the difference for that upcharge,” Cataldo said. “She does have a part-time job, but she has yet to decide it’s worth ponying up that money.” With cars, her daughter has been saving since she was 8 years old, so she will pay for the car and gas, and mom and dad will pay for insurance, Cataldo said.
As far as education, they recently agreed to pay for a journalism camp their daughter wanted to attend, but when it comes to college, they will pay for two years of community college and two years of in-state university. The community college route was a common refrain from the experts.
Another one of my readers emailed tonight to say she enjoyed the story and wondered how other parents are handling the wants and needs of their older children. She wrote that they use prepaid cellphones for their children, and if they run out of minutes or texts for the month, that’s it — unless the child wishes to pay more. I thought that was a great idea too, and it’s a great topic for discussion here. If you’re parenting a teen or young adult, what do you (and don’t you) pay for?
kwilson says
Our daughter didn’t get a phone until high school. No data plan for her either and when she balked at the idea, I asked her if she would like to pay for it herself. That ended the discussion. Neither her dad nor I had our own car as teenagers, so she won’t either. Both our daughters play sports(private club) and one does many dance classes that we pay for. We also have gone on some really nice spring breaks. So, our children get very minimal birthday and x-mas gifts. Christmas shouldn’t be about material junk anyway. The luxury of their life(soccer, ballet, vacations, etc) is their present and they know that. They also agreed to brown bag their lunches since we pay for all their activities and equipment. Lucky for us they are happy getting most of their clothes at a great rummage sale on the North Shore so they get name brands for cheap. I need to read this trib article. We’ve never given our kids an allowance. You do chores because you are a part of this household. But I fear I haven’t taught them how to manage money and we probably should rectify. They pay for their social life out of money they get from relatives at holiday time and a part time job. Our daughter is a junior and we are just beginning the college search. We’ve been saving since she was born and it doesn’t seem like much. Pretty scary!
soapboxtray says
My oldest is 12 and his dad and I have chatted about college and realize we need to figure out how that is going to work since K-6 have just flown by! I like what Jill wrote about the 2 year school and then 4 year school and have read other experts advising that is the best way to go. I am thinking he will still need to pay for half of his 4 year. I totally agree with that appreciation factor. I really appreciated my education since I paid for the majority of it myself (loans, grants, family pitching in).
He doesn’t have a phone yet so that is another great topic and really like hearing what others say about it. A lot of his friends have phones, but I just don’t see a need yet. I think it is coming though. :-)
VJB says
I went to community college and got my associates. I tried to go for my bachelors degree at niu but I really didn’t like commuting to NIU. And it was really expensive compared to C.C. I was told that most undergraduates change their majors 3-4 times! That can be expensive at a university. My friend who attended NIU for 4 years never got her degree since she changed her mind 3 times and eventually could not afford to finish. I am making more $ than she is with my associates degree.
Community college can offer alot of certificates and degrees as well as on the job training. In addition to my assoc.degree I was able to acheive my real estate license, diamotology certificate, and my paralegal certificate. Also some programs at CC offer better programs than the universities. The director of the Radiology Department at the hospital I work at says he would interview a candidate from Dupage Community college before anyone else.
CC’s no longer have the same stigma that they once had. Nowadays CC is the most economical way to go taking the economy into consideration. Some parents cannot afford to send their kids to college even CC. But CC is affordable enough for the student to be able to pay for it themselves and more students are enrolling in CC’s. Of course that means more tuition they are taking in and it allows them to offer more programs. Definitely worth the consideration!
Michelle735 says
My oldest is going to be 17. When he was a baby I scraped together $50 a month for a college fund until I got $2000 saved when he was about 2yrs old. We have added a little to it over the years but the college fund is still only worth about what I put in it. So, it is JJC, Joliet Junior College, for my kiddo for the first 2 years too! When he was 12 he took over the dishes as a chore. No pay was involved as it was a tool to teach him responsiblity and organizational skills. He was always offered other “extra” chores for money but almost never chose to do them. At 14 we got him a phone to be used in emergencies, that we paid for mostly because it was a piece of mind for me. Then at 15 1/2 he got a job at the local pizza place a few evenings a week. At the this time we added a phone with unlimited texting to our plan and he pays us the $20 a month. At 16 he had saved enough to purchase a reliable/safe car. He pays for insurance and gas. He also pays for paintballing, the movies, dinner with girlfriend, etc. because he needs to budget and live within his means. His plate is full; school, homework (including 2 math classes), band, a job 4 days a week, chores which includes cleaning his own room and bathroom, the dishes (and I cook from scrtach everyday and make meals for those in need), and taking out the garbage. I am hoping to show him how it is to be an adult, a good responsible husband and/or father. We currently pay for school lunch, clothes, and other necessities. However, I am hoping that as he gets older he well begin purchasing more for himself, but for right now school is the main focus.
theresa1740 says
Looking at colleges right now for next fall. I went the pay it all myself –community college one year, then next year had to be at the 4 year college to get in for the degree , home to work a year, and then 2 and half more years to graduate after switching majors. I agree community colleges are alot cheaper, but some of the degree programs start right away at the 4 year and then end up on the 5 year plan if one does the community college. Seems like a lot more negotiable for price at 4 year if go there all four years, but NOT negotiable in Illinois schools. We are not looking at private schools either. My son so needs to see what the world is about that I feel the Community College route would be just senior year part two. Still applying and will see what the money numbers look like with Scholarships etc. He is paying the first two years-we will pay room and board if he is away. Saw too many kids goofing off when it wasn’t their dime. As for allowances we never gave anything, but started to rethink that for money management, saving, donation, and budgeting what they get. So gave them $2 a week(not much) and this is for them to spend on school lunches if they do not pack one, games, food out with friends, and have to pick a charity once a year to give $10. This $2 has seemed to help them realize how far they can stretch their money or how quickly they can spend it. At age 16 the allowance disappears and they are expected to have a job and will pay for their own clothes and shoes. I know have to house and cloth the child. Did this because I do not want clothes issues with younger daughter. Boy clothes not the issue. They both have birthdays and Christmas where they will get some clothes so not really all on them. Just my thoughts.
QueenKitty says
My husband and I started planning for college when our boys were babies so we are able to pay their tuition to a state school but they have to pay for their books. I do help them find cheap books on half.com or on amazon.com. Our policy is that we would rather pay for their 4 year education than have them start out their lives with huge debts as we know this generation will never make the salaries that were made in the 1980-90’s. My oldest is working on his Masters and has gotten funding for his program. My youngest is attending the junior college and will transfer. He only had to attend the junior college first because he did not do well as a high school student and had to prove to us that he was serious about his education which he has made us proud.
Through my social contacts I learned that many kids can’t budget money once they graduate from college and will continue to ask for $100 bucks here and there because they don’t have enough money to make rent especially when they are trying to live in Chicago. So when my son moved from his dorm at NIU to an apartment his Sophomore year which he made all the arrangements with his roommates. I decided that instead of me paying rent & utilities etc, I gave him the $3,500 for the semester to budget his money for rent, utilities, food, etc. I basically gave him what I would have paid for his room & board would have been had he still continued to live in the dorm plus $30/week for food and told him that he had to budget his money, pay his bills on time, and figure it out. Generally each person takes a bill in their name and has roomies pay each other. My son has always been a saver and I told him if he doesn’t spend all the money than he can keep it. Which I know would have been less than $30 bucks. Now that he is making some money working at school, he only asks for what he needs.
As for phones, they have to pay for upgraded phones, texting and data plans which they have to prepay for the whole year so that I am assured the money. One pays ahead and the other has it deducted monthly from his account to mine.
In high school they shared the van with me. Once my oldest was a Sophomore in college we did get another car which he paid for. We got a car for my youngest to drive when he was a Senior in high school as I got tired of sharing. They have to buy gas, insurance, and oil changes. Depending on the problem, we might pay pay half for repair.
They did receive allowances (8th grader = $10/week) until they were in high school so they had money to go to the movies and out to eat with friends without bugging me for money all the time. Extra chores did earn extra money. I did use chores as a hard labor so if you did something wrong than I did get a clean floor. My theory is that my job is to raise my boys to become great husbands who know how to clean, do laundry, cook and take care of themselves.