<p>My son is a senior in high school and has been working about 15 hours a week for a year or so, and just picked up another shift to make it 20. He uses his money mostly for gas, food (lunches during school hours...most of the kids don't eat in the cafeteria but go out to a local burger place) and entertainment. He earns minimum wage.</p>
<p>Do any of you require your working kids to put a certain amount away for college?</p>
<p>I required my kids to put aside half of their earnings for college. I took them to a financial planner so they could select where to save their money.</p>
<p>In college, they were responsible for books, entertainment and other personal expenses.</p>
<p>My son on his own, saved most of his pay. He knew he would need it for college, but didn’t get a job until senior year. Working minimum wage, I was surprised he earned about 3000 over the summer, it can add up.
I ask my daughters who babysit, to at least save half, which they do, and have put some in a CD this year. Some they save in their room, no W2, no interest,but they want it on hand to use for gifts, etc.
I told them to get a car one day, they will have to come up with a down payment, so that motivates also.</p>
<p>We ask the kids to try and save 10% in an account they can’t access easily. Yes it’s minimal, but if they get used to saving that 10% it’s a nice start toward saving when they are in the workforce. When they first started working part-time and getting those little checks they didn’t even really “feel” that six or eight dollars and they developed a very good habit and as their hours and pay increased the amount increased. The balance went into a checking/debit account and we didn’t monitor how they used that money. They know they need to earn their own gas money/movie money/food money in high school and college spending money and so far S1 and S2 have done a good job of not “blowing” too much of the money in their checking/debit. When you add up the 10% and the amount they saved for college spending money it probably ends up being 40 to 50% of their total earnings. So at the end of the summer S1 has spent somewhere close to half his earnings and heads to college with about 50-60% of it.</p>
<p>RTR, I’m glad we don’t have an “open campus” at our high school because the kids can blow alot of money on food…alot…especially boys.</p>
<p>My S worked about 25 hours a week the summer after his junior year in HS and we required him to save 50% of his earnings for spending money in college. We pay for tuition, room and board, and books (some day he’ll realize how lucky he is!), but it’s up to him to fund anything extra. He has enough for his freshman year, but will need to get a PT job next year to help his cause.</p>
<p>Our school doesn’t have open campus until senior year, but it doesn’t stop those kids from ordering food from restaurants - Pizza and Chinese are regularly delivered to the school.</p>
<p>Wow! I would never have thought of food delivery when I was a high school student. That bill would really add up.</p>
<p>Northstarmom, Congrats on taking your son to a financial planner–in my opinion, it is NEVER to early for kids to see the benefits of longer-term financial management.</p>
<p>My kids have that benefit, as dad IS a financial planner! My husband always says $10 saved today is $1000 in 20 years., and teaches the idea of saving first and spending what’s left. Our kids’ wages go to their own expenses in college as others have mentioned–and we encourage them to look forward in their budgeting, carry no credit card debt, etc. S1 did set up a Roth IRA last summer after having his first “real” job.</p>
<p>Since your son is working 20 hours a week, I would expect him to save at least half. The thought of him blowing money at a burger place everyday is not good. It sets up an unrealistic expectation about wasting money.</p>
<p>My parents never made me or my sister save any of our money we made. In their mind it was our money, so we could do with it as we pleased.</p>
<p>Since my girls have been in 8th grade, they have put away half of anything they earn and any monetary gifts they may receive towards college .</p>
<p>They have become financially independent and do not need to come to their parents for money or ask our permission as to how to spend it. At the same time, they are stakeholders in saving for and contributing towards a tremendous financial expense and are accounting for costs as they go through the college identification process.</p>
<p>We did not put a “dollar” amount on the savings…but we DID make it clear to both kids that they needed to be able to cover ALL discretionary spending AND the cost of books.</p>
<p>Eminent domain</p>
<p>
Haha - that reminds me of Spiccoli having a pizza delivered to the classroom in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”. I didn’t know anyone actually did this.</p>
<p>We never required our kids to save any of the money they earned while working but they always saved most of it anyway - probably something in their genes. I never would have ‘required’ it since they earned the money themselves although I would have strongly encouraged it if they hadn’t just done it on their own.</p>
<p>There’s a lesson to be learned even when the kid spends all the money they earn on junk. Eventually they’ll likely look back on it after a month or a few months and realize they have nothing to show for all that effort they made working and might change their spending habits to start saving more money. The good news is that the kid knows that they can afford things on their own through their own earnings. There’s no reason not to continue this once in college ideally through a campus job so even if he doesn’t have a lot of savings it doesn’t mean he won’t be able to contribute to some of his expenses in college.</p>
<p>We did what Thumper did.</p>
<p>I saved more or less all of my money for tuition. Through high school I bought a computer, some dress clothes for work, gas but I barely ever drove, and I drove my parents car, a few other odds and ends but saved in excess of 80%. however my parents have always paid for my food, even eating out as long as I’m reasonable with how much I’m spending. </p>
<p>I can tell you though that our high school lunch was not cheaper than anything you could get out. Lunch at my high school was easily $5. Two bean burritos at Taco Bell is about half that.</p>
<p>My parents didn’t tell me that I had to save X amount or X%, they just left that up to me.</p>
<p>I’m a junior in HS and I have had a part time job (earning minimum wage) since mid September. (I only work for about 6 hours a week usually, so I don’t earn that much) My parents haven’t told me that I have to save any amount, but I’ve found that I haven’t spend a lot, as I like seeing my bank account balance rise. (And I’m saving up to buy myself a new DSLR camera)</p>
<p>There’s a lesson to be learned even when the kid spends all the money they earn on junk. Eventually they’ll likely look back on it after a month or a few months and realize they have nothing to show for all that effort they made working and might change their spending habits to start saving more money.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, that is not always/often the case. If it were, then many frown adults wouldn’t waste money like they do. </p>
<p>Many people are in denial about how much they spend and whether those expenses were “necessary.”</p>
<p>The same kids who blow $7 a day at a burger joint are probably the same ones who would say later that they “had” to spend that money.</p>
<p>I have a niece who “has” to have a manicure every 2 weeks and “has” to spend $120 on hair highlights. She regularly goes thru Drive-thru’s and picks up fast food. The fact that she never has any money left over is not enough to get thru her head that things could be done differently. She believes that she has no places to “cut back.”</p>
<p>^^but if those things make her happy, it’s worth it. My mantra is “you cant take it with you”…So yes, you should save, but if spending money on certain things make you happy, than do it.</p>
<p>I recently “blew” 100 dollars on an electric keyboard…did i need it? no…does it make me happy…yes…
to me, it was worth it</p>