CEO and founder of WalletHub, Odysseas Papadimitriou, is a proponent of giving teens a secured credit card. I agree. A secured credit card trains our sons and daughters how to be smart with credit before graduating high school and leaving home.
To get a secured credit card a specific sum of money, say $200-$500, is used as cash collateral to open an account in the teen’s name. The earlier a person learns to handle money well, the better. We prepare children to master finances in responsible ways as adults by trusting them in small ways now. They learn habits that hopefully last a lifetime.
Visit a trusted local bank. Meet with a banker and open the discussion. A teen should be expected to weigh in on the cash collateral by contributing a portion of his/her own allowance or work money to sustain the account.
From infancy to college graduation, money plays an important role in grooming young minds. Never forget that today’s children are tomorrow’s adults. Equip those under your roof to be shsrew money managers. [Rebuilding Families One Dollar at a Time, p. 209, Maxine Marsolini with Charlie Marsolini.]
