For today's parents, raising teenagers can be overwhelming. Caring and educating your teen is a full time job with both rewards and challenges. Too often parents leave out money as part of the educational process.
In today's fast paced world, teaching your teen the basics of positive financial habits is a must. Experts say the days of corporate loyalty to employees are over. This means that pension checks may not be a reality for today's college graduates who will most likely work at a minimum of five different companies over the course of a 30-year career.
Therefore, it is imperative that they understand how to invest and create wealth for themselves. Knowing how to invest conservatively in stocks can make or break your teen's financial future. When is the best time to talk to your teen about investing?
Here's my golden rule: when the latest "toy" your teen wants is over $100, you know it's time to talk with them about money.
For most working and middle class parents, iPhones and iPads are at the higher end. However, your teen's desire for these products gives you the perfect opportunity to talk to them about owning Apple stock.
If your teen has a summer job, inspire them! Open an online brokerage account in their name with as little as $500. Tell your child that if they invest a portion of their summer earnings in stocks, at the end of the summer you will match their contributions to the account. Therefore, if they have deposited $300 of their summer earnings, you'll match that contribution with an additional $300 deposit.
Here's the final part of the deal: once there is money in their brokerage account, you can work together to choose which companies to invest in. You can choose blue-chip dividend paying companies like Coke or Disney, or solid dividend paying growth stocks such as Whole Foods. Your teen will then start receiving dividends checks every thirteen weeks, and those dividend checks will serve as instant proof that investing in stocks pays off.
As you know, success is simply a series of positive habits. When you take this approach to money with your kids, you'll be teaching and reinforcing a lifetime of positive financial habits.
Content concerning financial matters, trading or investments is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon in making financial, trading or investment decisions.