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You have a fabulous, complicated teen, whose growing autonomy makes you realize they will be living independently in just a few short years. (We realize that nothing feels short right now, including your 13-year-old, who at this point may be taller than you.)
While your kid grows like a weed, show them how to do the same for their money.
Start Here.
Introducing the Rule of 72. Simply put, it’s a formula that calculates how long it will take an investment to double. Doubling their money is a decent way to get your teen to sit up and take notice.
Here’s the Rule, which is actually one of the best math equations around:
72 ÷ Your Expected Interest Rate = The Number of Years for Your Money to Double.
Let’s put this into action. Try the Rule of 72 with 1% and you see pretty quickly why it pays to prioritize investing over saving for the long term.
- At 1% interest, it takes 72 years for money to double (72 ÷ 1 = 72)
- At 3% interest, it takes 24 years for money to double (72 ÷ 3 = 24)
- At 9% interest, it takes 8 years for money to double (72 ÷ 9 = 8)
Keep Going.
As your kid’s financial literacy increases and they learn more about saving and investing, they’re likely to start thinking a little more about their spending. Maybe the $7 after-school Frappuccino takes a backseat to something less pricey, and the $3 they’ve just saved gets invested.
And, hey, we get it — even monks appreciate a decent caramel frap now and then. This isn’t about doing without. This is about your kid starting to understand the power they can have over their money, and what this starts to mean over time.
Get This.
There’s a lot of talk in financial literacy about paying yourself first. The simple rule of thumb is that 15% of all money that comes in should go into investments. As an adult, 15% can feel impossible. As a 13-year-old, 15% can feel like a habit. Start it now.
