Teenagers take on much more responsibilities once they reach high school. Some of these responsibilities for most include an independent money income, car, and managing more relationships.
These factors all contribute to the development of poor spending habits in teenagers. This can lead to long term effects such as a lack of money and a lack of accountability.
Teenagers get an independent money source either through obtaining a job or having a weekly allowance. While having a job builds pride in the money earned, money gathered through allowances holds less meaning since it is handed out.
This tends to make those with jobs more financially stable, but their spending habits are still harming them in ways other than money.
Increased stress is associated with bad spending habits due to those who overspend, constantly being obsessed with money. This pressures them into more poor financial decisions and even debt.
Poor spending habits also limit the amount of savings one can have. Without secure money in a separate place, it makes it harder for teenagers to pay for college and life independently.
Ultimately, excessive spending habits lead to conflict with others and in the future conflict financially. This sets one up for failure, as they will have no money to give them ground as they try to work out their life after college.
“I really never thought about my money while spending because my mom usually buys everything for me,” sophomore Eli Dirk said.
Being a sophomore without a job and car, Dirk doesn’t have to worry about financial stress yet.
“I think going forward I will monitor my money more so when I start using money from my account I won’t go broke” Dirk said.
This awareness displayed will be key to help Dirk remain stable financially, and it will help him lock down his future.
However, stopping the use of money is a lot easier said than done.
“I never have money. I feel like every time I go out with my friends I need to spend money to enjoy myself,” senior Owen Cheeseman said.
Cheeseman, who has a car and job, has a lot more financial freedom than most.
“I feel like I spend more money because I have a job. It gives me confidence knowing that I can earn back what I spend in a couple hours,” Cheeseman said.
Jobs allow for more spending to be done, but also allow for spending to get out of control.
“Sometimes when I buy one or two things, I end up spending money on two or three more things that I wouldn’t normally consider buying,” Cheeseman said.
This splurging is very common in high schoolers, and in fact, it leads to high schoolers generally being more financially unstable. This disrupts the college experience greatly, as most things in college require money.
High schoolers with less financial freedom typically do not have bad spending habits. Parental supervision is an easy way to help high school students stop excessive spending.
“I have to ask my mom every time I spend money. If I don’t I can’t even buy whatever I wanted to buy” junior Eleanor Terry said.
This may seem controlling, but it helps better set up the student for college. Without the splurging, the students will have a stable source of money for college.
While many different students have many different situations, most that tend to spend a high amount of money are not very aware of the damage they are doing to themselves. Every time they spend money they are unintentionally risking their future.
However, as a young high school student, spending money and having fun might overweigh the value of saving for college. Staying present and enjoying the moment might mean more to someone than college.
For this reason, splurging may not be the most responsible or wise decision, but people who do spend excessively do have some motivation behind it.
