Something that really surprised me after 4 years of high school and another 4 years of college is the lack of financial education available to teens and young adults in a classroom setting. In this article, I want to provide you with some ideas and sources that helped me and that I hope will help you as well.
1) First of all, you need to realize that your success with money (or any other form of success for that matter) depends a lot on how you think.
Rich people get rich because of their thought process and can regain their money fairly quickly if for some reason they lost it. Lottery winners who don’t know how money works can end up in worse debt a few years later than before they won. Learning what to do with money is important to learn as young as possible.
2) Since in your teens you’re a little more limited than a legal adult, a great place to focus first is on educating yourself about money through books and possibly a mentor or mentors, so you’ll be ready once you start having more opportunity entering your life.
I’ve included a link below about life skills books that was originally intended for college students but would be helpful for teens as well. Authors Dave Ramsey , Robert Kiyosaki , and Dan Miller would be three great ones to start out with.
3) Don’t think however that just because you’re a teenager doesn’t mean you can’t do some incredible things financially even compared to adults.
I’m also including another link below that will hopefully provide you some inspiration and tips from real-life teen millionaires.
4) Just in general, avoid debt with a vengeance.
Credit is so highly marketed to younger generations that it really hurts people once they get into college and into their 20s. It’s a lot easier to start out debt-free than it is to dig yourself out of debt when you get older. The last thing you want is to put yourself in a paycheck-to-paycheck cycle when you don’t have to do it.
More Tips:
- It’s definitely okay in your teens to start thinking of some long-term goals and dreams in life. If you have some focus, you’re chances of achieving those goals and dreams become a lot higher.
- I’ve met several millionaires and one billionaire who are doing a lot of good things with their money and are really nice people. They just don’t broadcast it because that’s not the point of giving. In a few years, I hope to be in a similar position to be able to help other people. It’s hard to do that until you get your own life together first.
- Don’t just assume rich people are evil and took advantage of people to get their wealth. That is one of the worst cultural stereotypes out there, and sometimes it’s even taught in the classroom. This holds people back from pursuing dreams that could make them rich in fear that the money itself will either change them or how people view them. You have to learn how to overcome that fear if you want to accomplish something great financially.