Teenagers and money: Wasting cash on things they don't need.

Every day, teenagers are spending money on apps for their cellphones, coffee beverages, fast food, and electronics to name a few. According to moneymanegment.com, 75% of teens are receiving the same or more spending money this year than last year, and that’s a big problem for parents who are recovering from the recession back in 2009. The average price for a medium sized coffee drink is about $4. If one teenager buys a medium sized coffee every day for a year, it adds up to $1,460! Teenagers fully understand the concept of spending money, but when it comes to purchasing things that they need, rather than want, that’s where they go wrong. Teenagers can’t hold onto money for very long; it’s like they need to spend, even if they know they don’t need it. Jamie Clayton, author of the article, “I Want an Allowance,” gives the breakdown of how much each teenage age group spends. Teenagers, ages 13-15, spend $300 to $400 a year, while ages 16-17 spend an estimated $1,200 to $1,500 a year. Topping the cake, is teens ages 18-19, spending a grand total of $4,500 a year, but $3,000 goes towards college needs, so only $1,500 is really “wasted.” If you’re a jobless teen, wasting money isn’t as hard on you as it is on your parents. Teenagers blow through cash on the most expensive items. Anything with a big price tag draws their attention like a bird to shiny objects. An Apple iPod is roughly around $300, where an mp3 player, with the same amount of memory, is hundreds less; yet you hardly see off brand merchandise. One of the latest “all the rage” gadgets for teenagers is Beats by Dre™. Beats are noise cancelling headphones that teenagers go nuts over. The most expensive pairs are Monster Beats™, carrying a heavy price of $399.95. That money spent could be going towards better things. Cash just doesn’t last in the hands of a teenager. Teenagers spend massive amounts of money, but not all of it is from their parents. A recent survey on Teen Spending, by Josh Dolin, Emi Weeks, and Annie Chroniger, shows that 27% of spending money comes from working. It’s great that they are contributing to the money they blow, but 32% comes from their parents, 18% comes from allowance, and 1% comes from various other odds and ends. It doesn’t take a genius to realize “allowance,” and “parents” are two and the same; resulting in a shocking 54% of teen’s spending money coming from their hardworking, bill paying parents. Cash is tight for most of us, but it seems that teenagers just don’t understand. Want and need are two closely related, but very different things. In a teenager’s mind, it’s hard to see the fine line between the two. What seems to be a “good buy” at the time, is just wasting in the end. Sumaya Mohamed, editor of In the View newspaper, says, “Teens buy the most expensive shoes and jeans. That money going to a $100 pair of jeans could be used for more important things….” If teens could just limit themselves to only buying things they want occasionally, it would save them, and their parents money. If they bought things on clearance, and focused on what they really need, they might be better prepared for the “adult world” they’ll soon be a part of. Are teenagers really purchasing things they need, or are they wasting hard earned cash?