Ah, we made it! It’s most rewarding yet the most challenging to work with high school students on money management.
While these activities are the most fun for parents, high school students are more difficult to engage than younger children.
If you don’t have high school age children yet, you may not know this, but your brains will disappear for about four or five years.
Looking for tips for younger children? Try:
5 Educational Summer Activities For Kids – Early Elementary
or
5 Summer Activities to Create Money Savvy Kids: Upper Elementary to Middle School
5 Great High School Activities
1) Family book club. Right now, my 17 year old kids and I are reading I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi. If you haven’t read this book yet, by all means, start now. It contains powerful advice wrapped in easy-to-understand language.
Every day the kids read a chapter. Then, at dinner, we discuss that day’s reading. Sometimes these conversations devolve (“why does a stock go up or down?” “what’s a good Roth IRA investment?”), but I love it. Who doesn’t want to have relaxed conversations about money with a curious 17 year old?
Why I like it: I get to ensure my kids get to college with some clue about money before they arrive. Because I made sure the book was fun and easy to read, and because I don’t preach, we’re able to have great talks about money.
2) Engage kids in the Family Meeting. If you’ve read this blog before, you’ll know that I love the idea of a family meeting. Budgets within a family are more about good communication than about counting pennies. If everyone is on the same page spending each day will be more careful, and life is made up of these little crisp 24 hour periods.
Some people have a violent reaction to this advice. “Show my kid my bills and my savings? That’s none of their business.” You are correct, but lets challenge your assumptions: why is it taboo to talk about your financial situation with others, especially those as close as your teenager.
Boundaries must be drawn. You’ll have to explain what happens when the whole street learns about your finances. But in the bigger picture, if they help you pay the bills, evaluate savings and plan large purchases, you’ll hand them a lifetime of knowledge that they’ll appreciate down the road.
Why I like it: When we began talking frankly with our children about bills and savings, they began to see how tight every month is for the average family. Next year we were planning on going to France for their graduation. The reality of two children in college at once has set in and we’re downgrading the vacation plan to a rental house on Lake Michigan for seven days. No groans from the kids because they understand the math behind the decision.
3) Find a job. I’m not talking about grabbing the local Dairy Queen gig (if I had that summer job I’d weigh about 750 pounds!). I’m talkin’ about helping junior through the process of fighting for a summer internship at a resume-building position. If they’re interested in engineering, try to find opportunities with a large local company. If law or medicine, apply at the hospital, a law firm, or the local doctor’s office.
There’s a ton that junior learns while creating a resume, dressing appropriately and speaking well. The training involved in competing for these positions is a good primer in adult life skills.
Why I like it: By working in a professional environment, high school kids get a first hand look at how business works. Studies have shown that people who work in “real jobs” before college are more likely to do well in the classroom because they know how their learning might apply in the real world.
4) Scholarship hunt. Finding money for college is a full time job. The internet is brimming with opportunities for money, but you have to know who to ask and what scholarships to pursue. Most high schoolers only scratch the surface when it comes to searching for scholarships.
Instead of one-offing each opportunity, we found quickly that many of the scholarship opportunities were similar. My kids could write a couple of basic essays and then modify them to fit each particular offer. Most needed references from teachers and community members. We didn’t just learn about scholarship, we learned about creating systems to efficiently attack more quickly.
Why I like it: By formulating essays and asking for letters of reference, kids learn about the importance of written and verbal communication. They also realize that “going it alone” isn’t usually a good idea. It makes sense to find some powerful friends to help you….AND my kids were surprised that most powerful people want to help.
5) Board games. I’m back with more board games to teach the family about money. This time the games are downright fun for adults. Games such as Acquire can teach simple mergers and acquisitions. Power Grid is a modern-day version of monopoly involving power companies. And, in this year when the politics of the nation are up for grabs, 1960: The Making of a President is a good primer on the campaign process while also serving as a fun way to learn some history.
Why I like it: Board games are a great way to spend time with your kids. Instead of arguing or fighting about curfews and money, you’ll enjoying each other’s company over a communal activity.
How do you teach high school kids about money? Let’s have some more ideas in the comments below!
Photo Credit: Reading: NannySnowflake; Internship: ChesCrowell
good tips.. i love the family book club idea. i would recommend “the richest man in babylon” as your next assignment..
Great book, Jefferson! Definitely noted. That book has two great assets: it’s a great story AND it’s fairly short (battles short attention spans).
I absolutely love the book club idea. That is brilliant as it ultimately helps with conversation.
The internship thing is also right up there. I don’t know ANY kids that were encouraged to do that in high school.
Could you imagine if all kids and parents will took these steps with their kids? Wow…we might actually turn into an intelligent country again.
You sound like a good dad btw. Hope your kids know they’re lucky!
I remind them how absolutely wonderful I am every chance I get, Jason!
Wonderful ideas…especially the scholarship hunt! That is a very time consuming project. We also did several college visits during the summer. Even though the campuses are a little quieter, your teen can still get a feel for the overall university.
Aren’t they fun, Pam? So did we. I think by going early to colleges they focused more on “the big picture” of learning something and less on all the distractions.
I like the family meeting idea. I mean, honestly, if we don’t teach our kids how a real household budget works, how can we expect them to learn it? I still believe one of the major reasons behind the current crisis in personal finance in this country is the taboo of talking about money. No one learns in a vacuum.
I also (naturally) love your board games. Any resource games can work. We do lots of bartering in Settlers of Catan. I’m a huge fan of Puerto Rico, and well, I’ll pimp Dominion every chance I get.
As for a great political board game, it’s not still “in print”, but if you can get your hands on the 1970s game Landslide (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/865/landslide), it will certainly teach you about presidential elections in the US.
I’d love to play Landslide. Although I don’t like to talk politics on the blog, I’m a fan of the process. It’s fascinating. I’ve played Mr. President and Candidate. Mr. President is fun but Candidate…not so much.
I like your tips, particularly talking about what they read. Some time ago, I asked my adult children what , if anything did we do to contribute to their success. To my surprise, they said they saw what we did on a daily basis with money. I involved my children in everything I did. They worked in my restaurant during vacations and holidays. They invested with me in stocks and mutual funds. Last, we would talk about a lot of these things often.
I’m with you, KC…talking about it is also fun on my end! I didn’t know you owned a restaurant. That “customer service” experience is invaluable.
Do your kids know how blessed they are you are training them? I bet they help their roommates in college with their finances.
Brent, next will be to teach them to charge a ton of money for the help… Hey, if credit cards can do it w/ college kids, why not the Avg. Joe family?
Board games sound like a lot of fun. I think that would have worked for me when I was in high school.
It’s sad that some of my kid’s friends are afraid of them already (I know plenty of parents who won’t go near a board game). They all think the rules will be complicated or they won’t win. When did we get so worried about winning the first time we play and about complicated rules?
Hi Lance, Let me know if anything sinks in :). The jury is out around here, but I never stop trying!!! Not sure if anyone is listening.
Barbara, I gave a speech at a high school a couple of times (you probably have too…if so, you know what I’m about to say). They sit like they’re bored to tears. The teacher came up to me and said, “How did you do it?” I thought, “How did I put them to sleep?” She said, “They LOVED you!” Really? You’d never know.
I did read I’ll Teach You to Be Rich – good book; I am not sure when my son will be ready for it (he is just 11). Playing Cash Flow with him, on the other hand has had a really great impact: he suddenly wants me to be out of the ‘rat race’. Sweet!
Mission accomplished! I’ve never played Cash Flow (it was really expensive when I was looking at it). I have a friend that swears by it. At the very least, I should put the book on our list. Rich Dad Poor Dad changed my view on money as much as any other book.
I am a huge fan of games. They are a great way to build skills just like you mentioned. I like card games too. They can really get you thinking about strategies etc. Plus they work the math skills. I think the best part of games is the time together as a family. That is so important and it seems to lack in many households these days.
My parents are HUGE into card games. Hearts, Spades, Canasta, Rummy, Cribbage. We do them all (although Cribbage I have to be retaught every time we play, and I still haven’t wrapped my head around it). You’re right, Miss T. Nothing is better than family around a table with some music in the background and a deck of cards….
I went to college and got a degree. Since I”m paying for it all myself, I now have to live with my Dad otherwise I’d be on the streets and in debt BIG time, probably for the rest of my life.. . I’m an honest guy so I’d like to avoid being in debt and all.. . So i have a part time job that enables me to pay all my own expenses and bills and pay my dad rent in advance. I also take care of his property.. . I also pay my debt off. But my vehicle is at the end of it’s life and I’ll need a new one soon.. . So there goes more money down the drain. It’s like I’ll never be able to get out there!. . Should I join the military and go to officer school or follow my dream of getting a farm and starting a vegetable business?. I’m done with school though..
I’m highly impressed with the way that you are continuously engaging your teens in discussions and activities pertaining to money management. It would be great if all parents did this. If it were up to me, you would surely get the Father of the Year award.
That said, it’s so important to clue youngsters in on personal finance matter, and prepare them as much as possible for their financial future. Great job!
These ideas of how to spend the summer with kids and make them money savvy later in life are all very sensible. I have to salute you for this, clearly shows that you are thinking hard for your children’s future. If most parents would take time to hone their kids on money making and management, there will be less poor people in this planet.
I agree. Not enough parents talking about money with their children.
High school children spend a lot of money.They don’t know the value of money and how their parents earn it. So it’s very important to teach them the proper utilization of it. Children should also be involved in the budget discussion at the home so that they realize the actual importantce of money.