What should a 15 year old do to be on track with finances?

Answer 1

Haha have enough to go bowling!

I mean seriously, if your worried about money at 15, thats awesome. You should just save as much as you can!

Answer 2

First and foremost, they should have the same attitude that you do! Most 15 year olds don't have the faintest idea (or interest) about personal finance, and the same can be said about many people twice that age.

Second, temper the advice you receive here with the knowledge that it comes from people whose financial standing you know nothing about.

But the best thing you can do is learn more about the subject from reliable sources, typically by reading a few good books on the subject. I've included links for a couple of books geared to general principles of personal finance and budgeting, rather than others that deal in strategies targeted to adults with more assets and higher incomes than a typical teenager.

'The Four Laws of Debt Free Prosperity' is only available in large print at amazon, but you can get a standard copy at alibris.

'The Richest Man in Babylon', originally written many years ago, is still held in high regard today.

There's also a ton of personal finance information on the web. The National Endowment for Financial Education website is aimed at teenagers, so you might find it worth a visit:
http://www.nefe.org/hsfppportal/index.html

Answer 3

Some good advice is given. I would add that if you are receiving wages or such that you should be putting at least 25% of what you earn in a Roth or Regular IRA.
An example would be my son who put $1,400 into an IRA at age 14. If he leaves this invested and earns an average of 8% per year he will have almost $100,000 when he is 65. If he didn't start this until he was 24 he would have less than $45,000 at age 65. This is only for the first year that he put money into the IRA, mulitply these numbers by the 12 years he has been doing this and he will have well in excess of $1,000,000 at age 65.

Answer 4

There are several classes you can take in high school. A few examples, business math, consumer math, economics. I'm sure there are more but I have been out of school thirty years. Also, my parents both got killed before I was 13. As I've gotten older I can see where not having the guidance when I was young hurt me in looking after money. I would suggest that you ask your parents to let you see their finances. Not everything but enough for you to get a understanding of the big picture. Then you will understand why you need to put back around 15% of your income for unexpected expenses!!!

Answer 5

Resists temptation for buying things. Sometimes the things that you want to buy are not a must to have them. They are just luxury items advertise by advertisers trying to convince you to spend more, making them richer and you poorer.

Start saving 10% of your income. Any kind of income, even if it's only $2, start somewhere.

Answer 6

Hire an accounting firm. For all his big bucks.