With many money management resources at your fingertips, it can be easier than you think to teach your high school students how keep their personal finances in order. To become financially fit means for students to use their money wisely and to make conscious and informed decisions with their savings and spending.
First, many accessible online resources can help them create a budget that’s best for them and can help make it easier to stay on track with printables, apps, and email reminders. With the advent of banking and saving apps for smartphones, it’s now easier than ever for students with bank accounts to put away a small chunk into savings each time they get paid, which is important because you never know when an emergency will occur. Remind students to never forgo reading the fine print on any banking card options to avoid extra debit and credit card expenses like ATM fees, overdraft fees, or annual fees on top of the charges they already pay. Additionally, take advantage of the free online credit reports per bureau each year as your older student’s annual financial checkup to see if their credit is up to par so they can work on repairing it, if necessary.
The bottom line is that healthy finances can be easily achieved but not by accident. Online or offline, financial planning can work for your high school students now and in the future if you remind them to take mindful precautions and make thoughtful decisions with their money. Students will thank themselves for the time they spend planning because it is definitely worth the benefits of being financially fit for life.
Written by GeorgiAnna Carbone-Wynne, a rising junior at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina studying English and Communications. She is currently a marketing intern at the Council for Economic Education.