How to get your teenager child to show interest in investing

So as a parent, you’re into the idea of financial independence, whether you’re already into the journey or just getting started.

And you want to get your teenage child involved into financial independence, wanting them to have that “itch” to really get them to save & invest for their future at an early age.

But the truth is, it ain’t easy. Teenagers care more about the newest iPhone, buying a new car to show off to their friends, etc. Retirement?? “Well that’s a problem for later” they say.

As a parent, it can be frustrating and clueless on how to get your teenager child involved into financial independence. Maybe you’ve tried before but they show ZERO interest? Or maybe you haven’t introduced them to financial independence, or even spoken to them about money topics.

Whatever is the case, I wanted to show you 3 tips that could suade your teenager child to really start caring for their financial and get them hooked (and I mean really get them invested like a child is waiting for christmas toy they’ve dreamt of for months).

As a young adult who started investing when I was 15 years old, I can speak from the mind of a teenager and how they operate. What gets them invested. What makes them tick.

And this is just me speaking based on my experiences.

1. Bring up money topics around the house

Engage in basic money conversations at the start like paying off mortgage or simple as a savings account.

The more you talk about money related topics, the higher likely your child/children will show more interest in learning more about finances.

I know when growing up, my parents would routinely talk about opening a savings account, allocating a portion of my “gift” money towards giving back, how much they earned roughly, etc.

Here are some ideas on what topics to talk about:

• Why savings is important
• Show them a visualise graph of the massive effects of compound interest
• Opening a savings account
• What career path they want to pursue (and income involved)
• The basics of how every day people can buy a house in Australia by saving up a deposit and paying off a mortgage overtime
• What you’re earning and how much you’re paying off your mortage every month
• Every day bills that come up, and how to properly allocate for those bills.

Make it a “normal” thing for them to engage in conversations with you about your household finances.

The reason why a lot of teenagers show little interest in saving & investing money is because they’re never taught in the first place! And parents don’t or rarely bring up money related topics around the house, so their expectations is “my parents don’t really talk about money, so I don’t really care too much”.

The environment you setup your child in determines how they grow up in the future.

2. Stop trying to buy everything for them! Instead, get their ass to work for what they want

I’ve seen a lot of parents where they buy their teenager kids a car, phone, laptops, additional car expenses like insurance and a house deposit down the line.

I wholeheartedly disagree with this approach of buying things for your teenage kid as it teaches them absolutely ZERO lessons on the importance of earning money and hard work.

As a matter of fact, it teaches them quite the opposite. It’s literally telling them “hey son, you don’t have to work you ass off and be disciplined with your savings for a few months or years to save up for that car or house. Instead, all will be handed to you.”

It might seem like you’re doing a “good deed” by helping them buying a car or save up for a house deposit, but in the long-term, it’s incredibly damaging for their future they don’t build up the early discipline and habits of saving money.

I know for me personally, my parents didn’t hand me a single dime. I had to work, save and be disciplined with my finances to buy my first car and first investment property. It might seem like buying a property (whether to live in or as an investment) might be a stretch nowadays for the younger generations, but if I could do it, I know so many other can as well.

If you read The Millionaire Next Door, it gives countless study data over 20 years from 1000s of millionaires across America that parents who give generational wealth or “gift” money to their children is likely lead to their adult children becoming dependant on their parents’ wealth, as they weren’t taught the fundamentals of saving & investing.

3. Setup an automated investment process so that a % of their pay check gets allocated into investments

Setting up an automated investment plan for your child is one of, if not the best financial decision you can make as a parent. Use a brokerage like Pearler to automatically allocate a certain amount every time they get their paychecks so that once it’s all setup, it’s literally a set-and-forget process.

Whatever money they have leftover, they’re free to do whatever they want. Whether it’s buying a PlayStation, eating out, going on trips with their friends or buying a new car, it will be expected for them to spend a certain amount of money.

First, you have to get them onboard. Teach them about the fundamentals of saving and investing first, and why it’s so important to invest for their future.

It’s most likely they’ll show little-to-no interest, so make an exception with them. If you routinely pick up or drop them off from work, make the exception that you’ll only continue picking them up if they decide to save & invest.

You want to be upfront with them that you’ll setup an automated investing plan. Sometime they’ll be onboard whereas other time, there’s a chance they’ll vehemently disagree with you and argue that they have the right to spend whatever with their paycheck.

Book & Resources

If you want books and resources for your teenagers to view, here are a few I’d highly recommend:

Strong Money Australia by Dave Gow

Dave Gow is the author of a popular blog called “Strong Money Australia” (and yes his book name is also called “Strong Money Australia” too), and his book is the best out there in terms of giving simple, no-nonsense actionable advice and mindset shifts that changes your perspective on money and how to achieve financial independence at an early age.

Of course just because they read it once doesn’t mean they’ll immediately be hooked. In fact, a lot of them will probably be like “hey that’s cool” and move on showing little interest after they finish reading.

Just like how teenagers are influenced by their friends, families and what they’re exposed to, you need to consistently “expose” them to the world of finance, and show how fun, enjoyable and life changing it is.

It ain’t a quick one time fix where you give them a book and bam, they’re begging to learn more.

Reality is, it takes time for them to fully be invested, and if you don’t invest the necessary time and energy, then it just won’t happen.

Personally, I’ve talked about FIRE to my sister many times and even she’s still not that interested. But that’s okay cause I’m going to keep trying again and again, and eventually, she’ll start showing more interest and asking questions.

The Barefoot Investor & Barefoot Kids by Scott Pape

The Barefoot Investor is a very popular Australian-based book written by author called Scott Pape, who’s very popular in the financial independence niche.

Honestly, I’ve never read Barefoot Investor before, but it’s still worth getting your teenagers to read. But if I had to choose between Strong Money Australia and The Barefoot Investor, I’d certainly choose Strong Money Australia just because it speaks in more practical terms and gives a much more flexible approach to saving & investing.

However, I’ve read Barefoot Kids several times with my 11-year old younger sister, and I loved every bit of it. It makes it so easy and fun for kids and even teenagers to read, and you go on this adventurous journey of becoming a “Barefoot Kid” where you master the art of saving & investing.

It gives 45 practical real-world examples of how kids and teenagers start making serious money through choirs, jobs and side businesses!

There are so many ideas and it’s such a solid blueprint for parents on how to make saving & investing fun for kids and teenagers.

In our example, my sister and I started a mini dog treat business where we’d make a match of dog treats and sell it at our local dog park. Sadly, we haven’t done it in a while as life has gotten in the way, but it was a super fun experiment that we’d never forget.

And you know what the best part is. Within less than 1-year, my sister was able to save & invest $2.5k! How good is that for an 11 year old!

I highly recommend the book

Summary

So to wrap it all up, here are my 4 tips for getting you teenagers “invested” into investing:

1. Bring up money topics around the house
2. Stop trying to buy everything for them! Instead, get their ass to work for what they want
3. Setup an automated investment process so that a % of their pay check gets allocated into investments