It's important to help your son or daughter create their own personal Spending & Savings plan. What's a Spending & Savings Plan? Basically, it's a budget ... but a "spending plan" sounds better to teens. Remember, most teens prefer spending, not budgeting or saving.

Once junior has all the components in his budget, simply have him put things in writing–that way things feel more "official" to everyone. But remember, a Spending & Savings plan isn't carved in stone–it should be adjusted as the situation dictates. In fact, the budget should be completely made over at certain times, such as when their income increases, or if they get a bigger allowance, or start working part-time. Having more money means more money for which to spend and plan.

Here is a sample Spending & Savings plan for beginning their personal budget. We've started you off with some common teen budget items:

Click here to download the GiveMe20 Spending Record Spreadsheet.

Note ... it's best if the savings portion is treated as a payment to your teen (list it like any other expense). Don't let him or her get into the bad habit of putting into savings only what's left over at the end of the budget period. In this case, there's typically nothing left over.

When you have more time, check out these other great resources:

I Want to Talk to My Teen About Money Management
Making, Managing, and Milking Your Money: What Every Teen Needs to Know