Dave Ramsey says: Teach teen how to budget money sooner rather than later

Dear Dave,

My wife and I want to begin teaching our son how make a budget and live on one. He’s 16, and he has a part-time job and a hand-me-down car. Is this a realistic idea?

— Mike

Dear Mike,

Your son is at a great point in life to learn how to make money behave.

Even in his situation, when he’s still living at home, there are plenty of things he can include in a budget. There’s gas for his car, along with maintenance and insurance.

He’ll need to save a little money — maybe even for college — and I’m sure he’ll want some spending cash, too.

Sit down, and teach him how to make a written budget by figuring out the upcoming month’s income and expenses ahead of time.

Also, make sure he knows how to properly balance and reconcile his bank account.

It’s still your responsibility to provide him with the basic necessities at this point. But I love your willingness to teach your son how to handle money intelligently.

The sooner he learns some basic money management principles, the sooner he’ll be able to handle his finances responsibly in the real world!

— Dave

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