What's the Deal: Making your kids more financially responsible

Nydia Han Image
Wednesday, August 16, 2017
VIDEO: Making your kids more financially responsible
Watch the report from Nydia Han on Action News at 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 16, 2017.

VILLANOVA, Pa. (WPVI) -- Whether you have a teenager heading to college or a young adult ready to leave the nest completely,we've got some important advice on how to prepare them to be financially responsible.

Weaning your kids from your wallet can be quite a challenge, so the earlier you can start to talk about handling finances, the better.

Jaimi Blackburn from Villanova, Pennsylvania is a working mom with teenage kids whose oldest daughter is headed to college - already familiar with how to use and make the most of a bank account.

"We had a rule last year when she was working, every other pay check had to go into savings and the other could go into checking," she said.

Blackburn says being honest and transparent about the family budget helped instill in her kids the value of a dollar and the benefits of saving at an early age.

"I needed them to understand what it took just for me to pay rent and utilities and food and I would share that information. This is how much I make. This is how much goes out," said Blackburn.

Experts say a credit card can be useful to build up your child's credit to teach self-control and budgeting, but make sure the card is one you can monitor and has a set, small limit to prevent over-spending.

Financial planner Dan Hernandez from the Lincoln Investment Group has advice on young adult children who return to the nest after college.

"If their child is going to move back home, put some parameters up. Set up some rules you know a finite period of time, a year, eighteen months, two years. Put them on a budget," he said.

Hernandez says you should also make them pay some bills, including rent.

"Even if you intend to help them out down the road and maybe give them back part of the rent, you now have them feel that pain of paying rent," he suggests.

And there are two apps that are great for helping millennials budget and save.

Digit helps you save money without even thinking about it. It analyzes your spending and finds money that it can put aside for you.

Mint is my favorite budgeting app. It sends you alerts when you're approaching a budget limit and enables you to set financial goals.

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