It’s no secret. Teen guys love cold, hard cash and spend billions of it each year — which is why retailers pay advertisers billions more to convince you to buy their products.
Ad agencies have one goal in mind: They want to make you think you need a certain product more than you need to save your money. That’s right. They don’t want you to keep your cash. They want it — all of it. And they’ll stop at nothing to get it. (Well, almost nothing!)
The scary thing is, historically, advertisers are pretty good at what they do. Like thousands of other teens, you’ve seen a commercial or an advertisement in a magazine and thought, I just gotta have that! Then, right after you have that thought, you’ve probably gone out and purchased the thing in the ad. See what I mean?
But after you buy something that you’ve “just gotta have,” how long do you use it? Did you purchase it on a whim? You know, sort of an impulse thing? Think that’s no big deal? Think again.
Managing Your Money — A Better Choice
Consider this: Most teens spend about $84 per week, according to Teenage Research Unlimited. Rather than blowing it all on stuff you won’t be using in a month, if you saved just half of it — $42 a week — at the end of one year you would have $2,184. That’s not including interest if it were put in a savings account.
If you started doing this at age 12, by the time you turned 16, you’d have nearly $9,000! And if you placed your money in a savings account or a certificate of deposit that pays only 4 percent in interest, you could add another $600 to $700! Assuming you were really thrifty and were able to occasionally put away more than $42 a week, you could safely estimate that in four years you’d have more than $10,000!
Rethinking Your Priorities
God expects us to be good stewards with what He gives us. When we live as though there’s no tomorrow, spending all our money and time on useless items and ventures, then we’re living far outside of God’s will for our lives. As in the parable of the prodigal son (see Luke 15:11-32), even though we can find forgiveness for that kind of lifestyle, God will not bless us as long as we continue in it.
Does that mean a guy can’t spend anything on himself? No. God doesn’t have a problem with you indulging yourself on occasion. But it does mean that God expects you to wisely use the assets He grants you. He wants you to invest first into His kingdom, tithing and giving to the work of the church. Money should also be used to support the family and pay bills on time. (Those aren’t things most teens have to worry about, but it’s never too early to be thinking about it.) Then God wants you to put some of your resources away for safekeeping, for those times when money might get tight. After all that, it’s fine to treat yourself with what’s left over.
Making Money: Three Goals
What if a guy wants to save up 10K in cool cash? How does he go about it? The first thing he needs to do is to set goals. You might be thinking, That’s easy! The goal is to save $10,000. Next question. True, that may be the ultimate goal, but in this case, the steps can be broken down into these categories:
1. The reason goal
2. The time goal
3. The monthly goal
The Reason Goal
If you want to save $10,000, it might help to have a reason behind it. This reason gives further motivation to save. Remember, those advertisers out there are trying to convince you that they need your money more than you do. Having a reason to keep your money makes it less tempting to spend it frivolously.
Before you decide what your reason is going to be, take time to pray about it. God wants us to look to Him in all our decisions. He knows what He’d like for you to become in the future. The decisions you make today will affect that future. Maybe God wants you to save for a car. Or maybe He wants you to save for college or trade school. God really will direct your decisions and help you to make wise ones.
The Time Goal
Now that you know what to save for, what does it actually cost? If it costs more than $10,000, you’ll need to increase your ultimate goal. If it costs less, you’re free to lower that goal (or keep it the same and use the excess for another goal). As we discovered earlier, if a guy puts about $42 a week into savings, he can probably store up $10,000 in about four years.
Patience is key. Saving $10,000 doesn’t happen overnight. Having a specific time frame to obtain your goal will help your spending habits. In other words, if you’re 12 years old and are saving 10 grand to help with your college expenses, you have more than four years to do that. On the other hand, if you’re 16 and saving for college, you’re going to have to more than double your $42-a-week effort!
The Monthly Goal
Now figure out what your monthly total will be to put in savings. Setting this goal begins by taking a realistic look at your monthly financial picture.
How much do you bring in each month? Do you get an allowance? Do you have a job? Do you get money for doing extra chores around the house? Add all this up. That’s your monthly income.
Next, determine your monthly expenses. Set aside your tithe and offerings. Remember, God wants us to be good stewards with what He gives to us. That means, first and foremost, giving back to the work of God’s kingdom. Now add your other expenditures. If you have a car, do you pay for the gas or insurance? If you don’t drive, your expenditures might be lunches at school or laboratory fees. Do you go to the movies occasionally? The arcade? Buy video games or hang out at a pizza place with your friends? Total all those projected costs for the month.
When you’ve done that, subtract those expenses from your monthly income. What’s left over is what you can put in savings each month. If you don’t have enough left over to reach your ultimate goal within the time frame you’ve determined, you’ll have to adjust your spending habits or figure out a way to bring in some extra money. 
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FIVE EASY WAYS TO SAVE EXTRA CASH
1. At the end of the day, empty your pocket change into your old, reliable piggy bank. Never raid your piggy bank unless your intent is to put that cash into a real bank to begin drawing interest.
2. When your grandparents or family friends give you extra cash for your birthday or Christmas, instead of spending it, put it in the bank and don’t touch it.
3. It might sound silly, but use those coupons that come in the newspaper or the mail when you’re eating out with friends at the local fast food joint. Put the difference of what you’d normally spend in your savings account. Hey, it’s your money. Don’t spend more of it than you have to.
4. When your parents give you money to purchase a new pair of jeans (or whatever), ask them if you can find a bargain and then keep the rest for your savings account. If they agree, go to the discount stores and locate the best deal you can find. Make sure you ask before you try this tactic, though. It’s your parents’ money you’re dealing with in this case, not yours.
5. Take all those trinkets, toys and clothes you don’t use anymore to a consignment shop and sell them. Or have a garage sale. You’d be surprised how well you can do with this. |
