What financial advice were you given as a teenager?

[ForAFriend123]

DS 16 is at 6th form and has just got a part time job at KFC.
Being so crap with money at his age I would really like him to learn some sensible budgeting/spending guidelines whilst all his money is still his!

His wish list is endless, including driving lessons (we will also contribute to that), car, football kits, gaming gear... I want to be able to give him a steer so he can decide what he really wants versus just spending for the sake of it.
He also wants to go to uni next year where obviously he will be need to manage his money carefully.

What advice we you given? Save, half, spend half? 70/30%!solit?

Would very much appreciate any advice .

@TheRealityCheque

It's a part time job.

He should have the freedom to spend it as he wishes, whether saving for a bigger purchase such as a car or spunking it on gig tickets.

I don't think this is about wanting to control what he spends it on.

It is more the OP asking for ideas of how to explain to him about learning how to budget, making wise choices with his money, and not squandering it all.

Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves.

Save a third, spend a third, household costs a third, but as parents could cover that save two thirds spend a third.

Looking at my salary now it would seem the pattern has stuck.

For a part time job I wouldn't assume they'd be making enough to save 50% if they want expensive stuff. I certainly wouldn't be telling them to save for uni either.
I grew up with financially risk averse parents, so there was a very heavy notion of always having a buffer and not living beyond your means. We put money in our savings account every week, even if it was only £1. I'm very grateful to them for instilling these values.

Save first and then spend without guilt and enjoy.

And it doesn't matter if the saving is a small amount, it's the principle and habit forming that count.

From my mum who had left school when she was 15 and was widowed very young:
Get a university degree - any degree
Don’t ever rely on a man financially
Don’t have children (though that was said in jest but I stuck by it because I didn’t want them anyway . Whenever she used to ask why I don’t have children yet I say it’s her fault for telling me not to!

I’m in my 40’s and the above has worked very well for me.

My sons in exactly the same position and he earns it so I try not to interfere too much, but he was all prepped to order a dominos on payday - til I pointed out he had worked 5 hours to pay for one takeaway.. that changed his mind!

My dad had an absolute rule that you must never have less than £5k in your current account.

I’ve followed that to the letter and 35 years on, an only £4900 short! 😂

I’m sorry I committed the worst sin by not reading the full OP!

Have two separate bank accounts, one for spending and one for saving. For the first few months put whatever leftovers you have after essentials into the savings. Don’t look at the savings unless it’s an emergency.

My mum would religiously save as much as she could for about 3-4 months, no extras, no treats. Then gradually would lower how much she put in the savings and use that for treats.

I was given no advice. And I wish I had been.

None. My dad taught me to throw and catch, tie knots and wire a plug. My mum taught me nothing. They thought that intelligent people teach themselves things by reading about them. They were wrong (or maybe I’m just not very intelligent!)

Don't get into debt. Rubbish advice.

Now have 6 buy to let mortgages and it's a lovely money maker.

My Dad wanted me to buy an endowment policy when I was 16 but when I asked him what would happen if I couldn't afford the £300 Pa he shrugged. I think if he'd offered to help me out if I was ever short I might have done that and it would have stood me in good stead.

Other than that I wasn't really given any advice.

I read up myself and came up with the following concepts:

Pay yourself first (ie save)
Take the pension option always
Use credit wisely
Think of your income in thirds. Bills/saving/spending. I've ever managed to save a third though as bills are always more than a third!

Don't lend money, don't borrow money, and if you must use a credit card, pay it off at the end of each month.

Credit cards are ONLY for emergencies.

I have been crap with money all my life and was never taught anything.
I have taught my daughter to save 20% into long term savings (house/car) 10% into medium term (festivals/holidays) and 10% into short term (clothes) she has stuck with it and has saved loads! She also puts any pennies into her savings ( eg if her current account balance is £151.23 she puts £1.23 into her medium term savings)
Her current long term saving is over a thousand pounds, medium term is a couple of hundred and short term is about about a hundred. Her current account is about a hundred too (she uses this for socialising)
No idea if I am advising her correctly but she is only 16 and it is working so far. I just don’t want her to end up crap like I was.

None.
He did try but never clearly laid thing out or showed me what to do. explained money coming in and money going out.
So with my DC I hope buying them game stuff... will help them to budget.

They have savings And When they get bday money it's drummed in, save some spend some.

The older one has some investment s which I talked to her about ( bored to tears) but I hope some sinks in. I showed her what it plummeted too during COVID and how people wanted to sells but how it bounced back.

Oh and she works at Dominos 3-4 nights a week alongside college. She has seen me struggle financially and knows the value of money and I don’t want her to end up like me. I am very proud of her - it’s the one thing I think I have got right 😳

At 15 I had dd1
My parents kept both of us until I was 16 and was able to claim benefits for both of us.
At 18 we moved out and I always made sure my rent was paid and we had food in. Everything else I saved for dd's clothes, toys. I had a jar that I kept £50 in for emergencies.

The only financial advice I remember being given was not to take a job paying under £30kpa. Amazingly enough, it took me quite a long time to earn £30k!

Pay yourself first. So allocate some money to savings and stick that in a separate account as soon as you get paid. Then the rest is yours to spend as you wish (obviously accounting for bills as he gets older.)

I also round down like a pp. So if my account has £546.30 in it I put £6.40 in my savings account and keep my current account a round £540. It really adds up and I think some banks you can set this sort of thing to happen automatically.

Don't be like Someone In The Family. Don't have things unless you can afford them. And remember this, if you are in any trouble, I don't just mean babies, I mean anything, you don't try and solve it out there all by yourself, you come home. (meaning home was the place to go for help, and yes, I have tears in my eyes, remembering her.)

Donkeys' years later, I have a friend who says, "Spend a bit and save a bit."

It's always good to have a treat but if you haven't much money, make the treats small ones.

Save a small amount in a notice savings account automatically

Join the work pension scheme

Avoid "impulse" purchases and always wait, at least a day for small things, and longer as the cost rises, to give yourself time for "buyer's remorse" to decide whether you need to buy it or not.

Even more important as you can buy nearly everything online with a click in just a few seconds. Far too easy to get sucked in and buy things you don't really need and that you will regret.

Never a lender or borrower be