Ages 15 - 18

• Help your teen develop more independence.
• Support his savings strategies with his job.
• Help him learn the fundamentals of living alone out in the real world.
• Encourage him to find his first real job before he heads off for college. Go over his check and explain to him what each of the numbers mean.
• Prepare him for the onslaught of credit card applications when he reaches college. It is very common for students to get in over their heads with credit in college and cause a financial disaster. By the end of their 4 year stay, some college students have racked up as much as $5,000 in credit card debt which they continue to add to throughout their 20's.
• Teach him about account aggregation online and online bill pay.
• Discuss the importance of insurance and the various kinds.
• Once a month, share your family's financial goals with him. You may not disclose the full value of your financial assets, but you can however give him perspective on how working adults set short-term and long-term goals for the future. You can also talk about some real-life expenses that might arise that cause some plans to be delayed, such as an unexpected job loss, medical expense, or auto maintenance expense. Discussing these items will help your child understand the need to set aside money for an emergency fund which contains at least 3-12 months of living expenses (depending on your circumstances.)
• Play an advanced version of the stock market game with him.
• Expand upon all earlier lessons taught. Don't forget that most children develop their financial habits by the time they are 13.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Virtual Stock Exchange
The Web's Largest Independent Stock Market Simulation. More suited for older children.

The Stock Market Game?(SMG)
The original and premier educational program that stimulates learning about economics, finance, and the American economic system. This 20 year program is primarily used by students in grades 4 through 12, post-secondary students, and others who want to learn more about investing and managing their financial future. An exciting, real-world simulation, The Stock Market Game enables participants to discover the risks and rewards involved in decision-making, the sources and uses of capital, and other related economic concepts.

• Gain knowledge without the risks.
• Learn about economics and investment.
• Match investment goals with execution.

InvestSmart Stock Game
An excellent website to learn the fundamentals of trading stocks. Participants start out with 100,000 virtual dollars in their cash account. Game players can take the Stock Market Basics course offered and learn the techniques to research companies in order to decide which stocks they want to buy or sell. Participants can sign up for the game more than once with different login names and trade different stocks in each account to test out various investing strategies. A list of the player's ranking will be generated daily. This ranking will see who can build up a stock portfolio with the greatest value.

TeenVestor
Welcome to the first complete investment website created especially for teenagers and their parents. No other website thoroughly covers the nuts and bolts of investing and entrepreneurship in a manner the young can easily understand.

The Big Mac Index
Because of its popularity, the Big Mac allows economists to make (admittedly unscientific) comparisons of exchange rates and relative prices in countries around the globe.

Developing a Financial Investment Portfolio
This lesson is designed to build on the skills learned in Lesson 12, "All Savings Choices Involve Risk: Grandma's Gift", and Lesson 14, "How to Choose a Stock", from Learning from the Market. In the lessons above, you learned how to consider various options for saving. You also learned to recognize the elements of risk associated with each option. Your options included passbook savings accounts, certificates of deposit, US Government Securities, corporate bonds and stocks. The higher the expected return, generally, the higher the risk to the saver. You also learned how to match stock selections to stock purchasing strategies and how to obtain information about various stocks.

Buying vs. Renting
Have you given any thought to where you will live when you are "on your own" - out in the world earning a living? You will have many decisions to make as you look for a place to call home. In this lesson, your basic economic decision making skills will be used to weigh the pros and cons of home ownership, and to analyze housing options. It's time to find out what is right for YOU!

Page 9 of 10: Developing a Plan

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