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Teens need money skills before paychecks arrive

Financial literacy + summer part-time job = responsible teenagers

Emily Doughty, 17, works about 20 hours per week as a lifeguard at the Durango Community Recreation Center. She takes home about $400 per month – enough to pay for gas, her cellphone and certain activities.

“It’s really nice to have a job, especially so your parents don’t have to do everything for you,” she said. “It’s about becoming a little more independent.”

As summer nears, many high school students are looking for jobs. Some want to save for their first car or college expenses. Others simply want their own spending money. Either way, young children who have allowances or high school students who maintain jobs learn a valuable lesson in financial management, according to those who teach financial literacy to teens.

Money remains a taboo topic in many households, said Alison Anderson, executive director of Know Your Dough, a Durango-area nonprofit that teaches financial literacy to youth in area schools. But avoiding the topic denies children fundamental life skills around earning, budgeting and saving money, she said.

“The reason we started Know Your Dough is because so many adults are paying the consequences of poor financial management,” Anderson said. “We thought if we can work with kids before they make mistakes. We could set them up to be more successful and financially savvy in the future.”

Parents may feel like they’re having meaningful discussions with children about money, but kids don’t always listen, and Anderson has been surprised at some of the misconceptions children have about the financial world.

“We’re such a society where we just swipe the card that a lot of kids don’t connect the card to money,” she said.

Personal financial literacy is a part of Durango School District 9-R’s curriculum for fourth-graders, seventh-graders and high school students.

Robin Tiles-Fitzpatrick, who teaches financial literacy at Durango High School, said some of her students have parents who pay for everything, believing they are shielding their children from financial hardships. “(But) it’s harder for them to understand what it means to pay a credit card bill or rent,” she said.

Other parents make their kids work for spending money or budget for car insurance, she said. “Those kids seem to be able to wrap their brain around what their future is going to look like money-wise a little bit better,” Tiles-Fitzpatrick said.

Her financial literacy class starts with basic wages and moves into simple investments. As the semester progresses, students learn how to apply for loans, how credit card debt works and what’s involved with purchasing a home.

“It is definitely one of my favorite classes to teach because it’s the only class where I get a compliment from the kids as they walk out the door at the end of the semester,” Tiles-Fitzpatrick said. “They say, ‘Thanks so much, this is applicable math. I really appreciate knowing how I’m going to use this in real life, and I really appreciate these math skills because I see where they’re going to go for me.’”

Kani Cassens, branch manager for Wells Fargo in Durango, said bank employees try to educate young customers opening their first checking and savings account that it’s their responsibility to track spending. Online banking, she said, reflects only the charges that have been provided by companies. For example, restaurant charges often take several days to clear because the tip is added. Some gas stations charge only $1 before charging the full amount of a purchase. And automatic payments for Netflix and car insurance can appear without much warning.

“It’s up to the account holder to know these things are coming,” she said.

Cassens also encourages parents to pay allowances and teach kids how to manage their money. Parents don’t have to tell children how much money they have, but they should discuss automobile loans, home purchases and medical expenses, she said. When children become old enough to pay taxes, parents should help them prepare their own taxes versus doing it for them.

“It’s just better off for everybody if you teach kids young how to manage money,” Cassens said. That is particularly helpful when they start to receive their own paychecks from part-time jobs.

With more than 500 part-time jobs, Durango Parks and Recreation Department is one of the largest employers of youth in the region. Jobs include score keepers ($8.35 per hour), program instructors ($8.50), lifeguards ($9), swim lesson coaches ($10.25), field and park maintenance ($14.71) and certified sports officials ($14-18).

“We do hire a significant number of young adults,” said Cathy Metz, director of parks and recreation. “We try to match interests with abilities.”

Jocelyn Earl, 15, a part-time lifeguard, said it is rare for kids her age to have jobs. But it has given her a sneak peak of what it means to live independently. The most expensive thing she has ever bought using her own money was a $150 watch that she gave to her sister as a gift. But mostly, she is saving for a new car and to help pay for her college, she said.

“It’s really nice to be independent and have responsibility for myself and experience what it’s like to do my own thing,” Earl said. “I personally think it’s important for kids my age to start getting jobs and learning how to save and spend money wisely before they go to college.”

shane@durangoherald.com

On the Net

For an interactive tutorial about teen banking, including lessons on money, budgeting, savings, credit and investing, visit

http://bit.ly/1mhFXKa

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