Military parents know that until they reach the upper ranks of command, the salary of a service man or woman remains modest and needs to be budgeted carefully.
This is especially true when there are teenagers in the house. They need to be taught the importance of wise money management to avoid the inevitable conflict that results when there’s too much month at the end of the money.
One of the best ideas for teaching military teens the importance of smart money management is to help them find part-time employment when they reach the appropriate age.
Help them set up their own savings and checking accounts once they have a job, so they can have their wages automatically deposited. This is a huge step for most teen, to have money in the bank instead of in their pockets where it inevitably starts burning a large hole.
Be patient with them; they’re bound to make some mistakes and go a little wild with those first few paychecks. But as they discover the consequences of poor money management, they’ll gradually learn the right way to use their hard-earned dollars to make their lives better — if not Rock Star glam!
