When Gina Varieur needed to buy clothes or shoes as a teenager, she would just ask her parents for the money.
She could choose what she wanted, she said, but ?I really didn?t have the concept of money.?
And as a young adult, Varieur said, she struggled with figuring out how to pay her bills on time. ?I did it, but I didn?t have a good method for doing it, and I think it took a few years for me to actually learn that.?
Today, the Simpsonville mom owns and operates a business with her husband, Joe, and she?s been diligent about teaching her three children the importance of money management.
?They are very appreciative and I feel like they make good choices,? Varieur said. For example, daughter Shelby, 16, was able to save $800 for a trip to Colorado this summer. ?She worked for it and saved her own money.?
Such financial lessons are particularly important during a down economy, experts said. Parents have to take a pro-active role in helping their teens develop money management skills.
?Financial illiteracy in children is a very real problem,? said Josh Pearman, a financial adviser at Edward Jones on North Main Street. ?A lot of parents are busy and don?t take time to talk with their kids.? And while the lack of time can be a hurdle, it?s no excuse. ?We just have to be intentional and make time.?
A recent Charles Schwab survey noted that 77 percent of teens (ages 16-18) see themselves as financially savvy, although the majority lack knowledge about specifics such as balancing a checkbook, checking the accuracy of a bank statement or managing a credit card.
The good news is there?s a growing interest among teens to become more financially literate.
In a 2011 survey by Junior Achievement and the Allstate Foundation, eight out of every 10 teenagers said the recession has motivated them to learn how to manage their money.
And more than half of the teens surveyed by Charles Schwab said they are more grateful than in previous years for what they have, are less likely to ask for things and have a greater appreciation for how hard their parents work.
?These teens over the past few years have seen so many adults struggling with mortgages and credit card debt,? said Sarah Bulgatz, spokeswoman for Charles Schwab. ?So our inference is that the recession has just been a wake-up call.?
These days, 16-year-old Jaquan James, a junior at Greenville Senior High, is taking a closer look at balancing his needs versus wants.
He isn?t so quick to ask his parents for money for, say, a video game as he might have been in the past. ?I don't ask for a lot of stuff now,? said James, who?s taking a course in personal finance . ?I?ve learned how to budget and save more.?
Teaching money-management skills helps kids become independent adults and avoid potential disasters such as financial fraud, identity theft, bankruptcy or underfunded retirement years, Pearman said.
And ?one of the most important things we do as parents ... is to help our children become independent adults,? Pearman said.
While 92 percent of teens surveyed by Junior Achievement and Allstate said they learn about money management from their parents, fewer than half said they?ve discussed the issue with their families.
Money shouldn?t be a taboo conversation, said Kathleen Kennedy, who teaches personal finance at Greenville High, where it?s a relatively new elective.
?It?s a natural cycle. What goes up must come down. We?re just in that downward slope,? Kennedy said. ?And education is the most important piece to get that engine running back up hill again.?
Young people will be the driving force for what kind of jobs will be out there in the future and what kind of incomes can be earned, Kennedy said. ?They just don?t realize how much power they actually have.?
It?s not about overwhelming your children, Kennedy said, but preparing them. In her personal finance class, students create personal budgets, research careers, set short-term financial goals, and learn about investing, the pitfalls of credit, identity theft and insurance.
?It?s an eye-opening experience for them,? Kennedy said. ?They recognize that this is real and practical ... that it?s going to have an impact on them. They get very engaged in our discussions. My classrooms are full and I see that being a trend that will continue.?
Cynthia Tucker, 17, a senior at Greenville High, says the recession, along with what she's learning in the class, has given her a greater appreciation for how hard her parents work. ?It almost makes me not want to grow up,? Tucker said.
But she?s already getting a taste of the real world. In addition to cheerleading and school, she holds a part-time job at McDonald's. Some of her income goes to cheerleading expenses, gas and car insurance. She?s also saving for her class ring.
Tucker?s mom, Cyndi, set up a checking account for her daughter and helps her budget expenses with online banking and an envelope system that allows her daughter to earmark extra money for clothes and other items. ?She has to figure out how to do it with what she makes.?
