For many parents with teenage children, budgeting can be a tricky task to teach, but this lesson allows for a happy college life experience, not to mention your bank account as parents. Today, we’ve collated a few tips on how to ensure your child has the capacity to save and budget at college:

college fund

1.Teach them about the value of money- It is a well known fact among parents that ‘money doesn’t grow on trees’. Allow your child to work for their money, whether it is pocket money for unloading the dishwasher or taking on a part time job to save some cash. Once they learn to work for their dollar, they are bound to appreciate the concept of saving.

2. Short-term pain for long-term gain– A concept that is great to apply from an early age. Does your child want the newest Nike soccer boots or the most updated hockey stick on the market? Let them save for it, allow them to make sacrifices in the short term to save their cash to obtain whatever their heart desires. Encouraging your child to save for a ‘big ticket’ item will allow them to appreciate its value once they have bought it. In the same way, teach them to put money away for future college spending money. Providing a goal to work towards gives them a purpose to save

3. Be in the know- before you allow your child to take on a credit card of any kind, ensure that they are aware of

  1. Credit monitoring- ensure that all expenses taken form your account are all accounted for, teaching them to keep an eye out for suspicious fund withdrawal must be questioned, which brings me to my next point…
  2. Fraudulent activity- It is easy for criminals to hack personal spending accounts, stamp out this type of activity as soon as any unidentified spending occurs

4. Create a budget together- Sit down with your child and work out their monthly expenses and income (if they have a job), factor in leisure spending and see what additional income can be saved. This will allow them to be aware of their spending and moderate it in accordance with their college saving.

5. Catch a bargain- Know the difference between a real bargain and the shops clearing out their stock rooms. Heading to college during the US summer? Check out the summer clothing sales during the summer sales her in Australia and vice versa. Bargains must be sought after so do your research before hitting the shops!!