For high school students, the best personal financial advice is simple: start early. Personal finance advice is difficult for even adults to learn, let alone teens. But, with the right habits and strategies in place, students can begin setting themselves up to achieve long-term success with their financial goals.
In this article, we’ll explore some of the best personal finance advice for high school students, why it’s vital to build good spending habits at an early age, and how to get started on the path toward financial literacy!
Introduction
In today’s society, having a sound understanding of personal finances is essential for any individual wanting to achieve long-term success. For high school students learning about budgeting, saving, and investing can be profoundly beneficial. As such, there are many tips that students should keep in mind when managing their money.
What Is The Best Personal Finance Advice For High School Students?
Some of the best personal finance advice for high school students includes: creating a budget, starting an emergency fund, investing in long-term assets (such as stocks or mutual funds), and avoiding credit card debt.
Additionally, it’s important that young people understand how taxes work and how to save for retirement now so they don’t end up regretting their choices later on down the line.
8 Personal Finance Tips & Advice High School Students Need To Know
As someone who was in high school not too long ago, I know that at times it may seem impossible to start saving or investing in yourself during your teenage years. However, this period in your life is perfect for creating good habits that you’ll cherish for life, including learning how to handle your finances.
Currently, around 54% of high school students throughout the USA are worried and feeling unprepared about their future when it comes to finances.
Starting early will give you an advantage over your peers and allow you to develop financial skills which will tremendously help you throughout the rest of your life.
But how can you get into personal finance? And what are the things you should know?
Here is my list of the 8 best personal finance tips and advice all high school students need to know!
1. Create Financial Goals
Creating financial goals in your teenage years will allow you to build a better relationship with money. Financial goals will also allow you to create a budget and help you stay motivated in collecting funds for a specific goal.
Teenagers can greatly benefit from financial goals. If you’re young, you can start by having short-term financial goals. These can later develop into more serious, long-term goals. For example, you can start collecting funds for a concert, vacation, buying a prom dress, or anything else you may want to fulfill your teenage dream.
2. Start Saving ASAP
Although most people wait until they’re in their 20’s or even 30’s to start saving, if you want to have a good relationship with money, you should start saving ASAP. I know that while you’re 15 or 16, saving is probably the last thing on your mind. However, your older self will be very grateful if you start saving from an early age.
In our teen years, we’re capable of working even though we still rely on getting financial support from our parents. Teens are especially at an advantage to save since they don’t have the same typical expenses as an adult (groceries, rent, etc). Because traditionally most expenses are covered by parents, high school students can really save a decent amount of money through their teenage years.
3. Open a Checking Account
Most banks allow students to open a checking account at the age of 13, so you can get started saving as early as middle school! Although that may be considered too early, there’s nothing stopping you from opening a checking account when you start high school.
These accounts typically offer check-writing and debit card services, which are skills that will translate in your adult years. In the worst case scenario, having a checking account allows you to make money mistakes in a safe environment.
4. Start Budgeting
Many high school students are tempted to avoid budgeting as they may not earn enough or don’t have constant expenses. However, budgeting doesn’t require you to have a lot of money, so you can start with whatever you already have.
If you don’t have an income for budgeting, consider getting into freelancing, starting a remote side hustle, or a part-time job that. This way you’ll become even better at handling a constant stream of money and learning its true value.
There are a bunch of online tools with more information about budgeting. You can even use wealth management apps to help you stay on track with your finances.
5. Start an Emergency Fund
After you finish high school, you’ll likely need money for an apartment, college, or other necessities to become independent. Because of that, it’s always a good idea to start an emergency fund while in high school to save up for the future.
High school students with emergency funds are much better at managing their money and are more independent. This is because they can cover unexpected costs without having to ask for money from their parents or other adults.
6. Start Investing & Plan for the Future
The Internet makes finding resources for investing a breeze. So, why not use them and plan for your future? Investing will help you to save, increase your current finances, and help you learn how to budget for all the expenses you may have.
Learning how to invest in high school will allow you to become financially independent in college, which can lead to a less-stressful experience.
7. Learn a Thing or Two About Taxes
Almost all working individuals in the USA are required to file their own taxes. For those who’ve never done it before, filling out taxes can be really stressful. Taxing often requires a lot of paperwork and it can be a daunting task, which is why it’s crucial to develop skills for filling out taxes from your teenage years.
Out of many of the skills listed, learning to file taxes is an especially important one you want to acquire.
A crucial step to learning about taxes is educating yourself about the possible problems you can face with the IRS if your taxes are not properly filled out or paid on time. But, after learning about taxes from an early age, you’ll know how to handle them with ease in the future.
8. Start a Retirement Fund
Many believe that retirement is way too far away to worry about it. Even though saving for retirement while in high school sounds absurd, it’s actually an excellent way to help you to develop a better relationship with money.
Most high school students don’t realize that the earlier you start having financial goals the easier it is to accomplish them.
Because of this, don’t wait to start a retirement fund. You never know where life will take you! Instead, start saving up for retirement while in high school.
Why Is It Important To Build Good Spending Habits At An Early Age?
Developing good spending habits from an early age will help ensure that high schoolers can live comfortably throughout their coming of age. Additionally, maintaining healthy budgeting practices will make managing expenses easier once individuals enter adulthood. It’s important to develop these skills now before it becomes too late!
For high school students, the best personal financial advice is simple: start early. Personal finance advice is difficult for even adults to learn, let alone teens. But, with the right habits and strategies in place, students can begin setting themselves up to achieve long-term success with their financial goals.
In this article, we’ll explore some of the best personal finance advice for high school students, why it’s vital to build good spending habits at an early age, and how to get started on the path toward financial literacy!
Introduction
In today’s society, having a sound understanding of personal finances is essential for any individual wanting to achieve long-term success. For high school students learning about budgeting, saving, and investing can be profoundly beneficial. As such, there are many tips that students should keep in mind when managing their money.
What Is The Best Personal Finance Advice For High School Students?
Some of the best personal finance advice for high school students includes: creating a budget, starting an emergency fund, investing in long-term assets (such as stocks or mutual funds), and avoiding credit card debt.
Additionally, it’s important that young people understand how taxes work and how to save for retirement now so they don’t end up regretting their choices later on down the line.
8 Personal Finance Tips & Advice High School Students Need To Know
As someone who was in high school not too long ago, I know that at times it may seem impossible to start saving or investing in yourself during your teenage years. However, this period in your life is perfect for creating good habits that you’ll cherish for life, including learning how to handle your finances.
Currently, around 54% of high school students throughout the USA are worried and feeling unprepared about their future when it comes to finances.
Starting early will give you an advantage over your peers and allow you to develop financial skills which will tremendously help you throughout the rest of your life.
But how can you get into personal finance? And what are the things you should know?
Here is my list of the 8 best personal finance tips and advice all high school students need to know!
1. Create Financial Goals
Creating financial goals in your teenage years will allow you to build a better relationship with money. Financial goals will also allow you to create a budget and help you stay motivated in collecting funds for a specific goal.
Teenagers can greatly benefit from financial goals. If you’re young, you can start by having short-term financial goals. These can later develop into more serious, long-term goals. For example, you can start collecting funds for a concert, vacation, buying a prom dress, or anything else you may want to fulfill your teenage dream.
2. Start Saving ASAP
Although most people wait until they’re in their 20’s or even 30’s to start saving, if you want to have a good relationship with money, you should start saving ASAP. I know that while you’re 15 or 16, saving is probably the last thing on your mind. However, your older self will be very grateful if you start saving from an early age.
In our teen years, we’re capable of working even though we still rely on getting financial support from our parents. Teens are especially at an advantage to save since they don’t have the same typical expenses as an adult (groceries, rent, etc). Because traditionally most expenses are covered by parents, high school students can really save a decent amount of money through their teenage years.
3. Open a Checking Account
Most banks allow students to open a checking account at the age of 13, so you can get started saving as early as middle school! Although that may be considered too early, there’s nothing stopping you from opening a checking account when you start high school.
These accounts typically offer check-writing and debit card services, which are skills that will translate in your adult years. In the worst-case scenario, having a checking account allows you to make money mistakes in a safe environment.
4. Start Budgeting
Many high school students are tempted to avoid budgeting as they may not earn enough or don’t have constant expenses. However, budgeting doesn’t require you to have a lot of money, so you can start with whatever you already have.
If you don’t have an income for budgeting, consider getting into freelancing, starting a remote side hustle, or a part-time job that. This way you’ll become even better at handling a constant stream of money and learning its true value.
There are a bunch of online tools with more information about budgeting. You can even use wealth management apps to help you stay on track with your finances.
5. Start an Emergency Fund
After you finish high school, you’ll likely need money for an apartment, college, or other necessities to become independent. Because of that, it’s always a good idea to start an emergency fund while in high school to save up for the future.
High school students with emergency funds are much better at managing their money and are more independent. This is because they can cover unexpected costs without having to ask for money from their parents or other adults.
6. Start Investing & Plan for the Future
The Internet makes finding resources for investing a breeze. So, why not use them and plan for your future? Investing will help you to save, increase your current finances, and help you learn how to budget for all the expenses you may have.
Learning how to invest in high school will allow you to become financially independent in college, which can lead to a less-stressful experience.
7. Learn a Thing or Two About Taxes
Almost all working individuals in the USA are required to file their own taxes. For those who’ve never done it before, filling out taxes can be really stressful. Taxing often requires a lot of paperwork and it can be a daunting task, which is why it’s crucial to develop skills for filling out taxes from your teenage years.
Out of many of the skills listed, learning to file taxes is an especially important one you want to acquire.
A crucial step to learning about taxes is educating yourself about the possible problems you can face with the IRS if your taxes are not properly filled out or paid on time. But, after learning about taxes from an early age, you’ll know how to handle them with ease in the future.
8. Start a Retirement Fund
Many believe that retirement is way too far away to worry about it. Even though saving for retirement while in high school sounds absurd, it’s actually an excellent way to help you to develop a better relationship with money.
Most high school students don’t realize that the earlier you start having financial goals the easier it is to accomplish them.
Because of this, don’t wait to start a retirement fund. You never know where life will take you! Instead, start saving up for retirement while in high school.
Why Is It Important To Build Good Spending Habits At An Early Age?
Developing good spending habits from an early age will help ensure that high schoolers can live comfortably throughout their coming of age. Additionally, maintaining healthy budgeting practices will make managing expenses easier once individuals enter adulthood. It’s important to develop these skills now before it becomes too late!
Why Should I Learn About Taxes Now?
Sooner than later taxes will creep up on you, and you’ll wish that you had paid attention to figuring them out earlier. Taxes are complicated and doing them wrong can result in stressful consequences. By taking a few weekends out of your month to learn about filing for taxes and the process to do them, you’ll prevent a future headache.
What Is The Best Piece of Advice For High School Students?
Start saving. Getting a head start on saving and building good spending habits is a very easy and important step to developing financial literacy at an early age. You can start simply by skipping the Starbucks and making coffee at home, opting to shop during sales, or even putting a small amount of money aside from each paycheck.
Final Thoughts
Developing the right financial habits during high school can be incredibly beneficial when attempting to create long-term financial stability. Starting ahead on plans for retirement, developing smart money-saving habits, and taking time to learn about taxes can increase your chances of finding financial stability after graduation. Not only will students increase their financial literacy by following these tips, they’ll learn a sense of responsibility that is crucial to being successful in adulthood.
