Editor's note: We give out a daily financial tip on Twitter @family_finances. Recently, our tips have centered around teens and summer jobs. Here's a list of all of those tips in one place.
- Teens learn discipline and the value of a dollar in summer jobs. Encourage your teen to work.
- Teens too young to work in a real job can find babysitting, lawn mowing work to give them extra money.
- Children too young for any kind of outside work can help around the house and earn money for chores.
- What was your first summer job? What did it teach you? Those lessons now available for your teenage kids.
- Teens who have a form of income should contribute to cost of operating a family car, clothes, spending money.
- Teens will learn a lot from saving up for a goal, such as a car. Even if you have the $, make them pay for some things on their own.
- Ask older teens to contribute in some way towards college. Scholarships, money saved are 2 ways to help. Will mean more to them.
- Summer jobs are a great way for college students to learn a business. If you have a business, give them a small job to teach them.
- Teens can approach those working in field they like and ask for help securing summer job/internship. Good experience.
- Prepare teens for summer jobs by talking through value of work & why you have to put up with some things. Also teach them when to walk.
- Set a monetary goal with your teen for the summer, even if not working for anything specific. Offer incentive if they meet it.
- Help teens set up a budget with their summer job money. Include some saving and some spending.
- Educate your teens now about the danger of credit cards. Make sure they know the risks.
- Help your teen open their first checking account. Teach them how to balance it against the statement.
- Children too young for any kind of outside work can help around the house and earn money for chores.
Showing posts with label lessons on the job. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lessons on the job. Show all posts
Friday, June 12, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Lessons on the job, part 5
Editor's note: This week on Twitter, we're giving out tips on securing summer jobs for teens and college students. You can find us on Twitter @family_finances. Contribute your own thoughts on this in comments or in a separate e-mail to robynsekula@sbcglobal.net.
By Dan Danford
Three hours. As a teen, I spent three hard hours shoveling twelve inches of snow from Mrs. Townsend’s lengthy driveway. Finally finished, I requested $15 for the work. She gave me $10, explaining that’s what someone with a plow offered to charge. That day, I learned a painful economic lesson about the value of labor.
I just read a superb book. It should be required reading for every college student. Written by Harry Beckwith, it is called Selling the Invisible. The focus is on customer service. Two illustrations caught my attention and helped refine Mrs. Townsend’s lesson from my youth: value is determined by the quality of output, not the quantity of input.
Beckwith’s illustrations:
Three whacks. A squeaky floor provides the first lesson. The homeowner made several unsuccessful attempts to quiet the noise. A helpful neighbor recommended a local craftsman, known for quality work. The craftsman walked in, slowly paced the room, drew a hammer and nail and – with three swift whacks – solved the problem forever. Later, he submitted a bill for $45. But, the itemization provides great insight:
Hammering $ 2.00
Knowing where to hammer $43.00
Three minutes. The great painter Picasso made a related point. He was recognized one day sketching a street scene in a small café. An impressed tourist asked him to make a quick drawing of her, offering to pay an appropriate fee. The artist picked up a different tablet, penciled a brief drawing, and passed it – an original Picasso -- to the woman. “That’ll be $5,000.00,” he told her. Surprised, the woman reminded him that it took just three minutes. “No,” he explained, “It took me all my life.”
No one cares how hard we work. No one cares how many college degrees or years of experience we have. No one cares if we once made a touchdown or hit a gamewinning home run. In business, value is determined daily by the service we provide to customers. People – all of us – seek solutions and results. That’s what matters.
By Dan Danford
Three hours. As a teen, I spent three hard hours shoveling twelve inches of snow from Mrs. Townsend’s lengthy driveway. Finally finished, I requested $15 for the work. She gave me $10, explaining that’s what someone with a plow offered to charge. That day, I learned a painful economic lesson about the value of labor.
I just read a superb book. It should be required reading for every college student. Written by Harry Beckwith, it is called Selling the Invisible. The focus is on customer service. Two illustrations caught my attention and helped refine Mrs. Townsend’s lesson from my youth: value is determined by the quality of output, not the quantity of input.
Beckwith’s illustrations:
Three whacks. A squeaky floor provides the first lesson. The homeowner made several unsuccessful attempts to quiet the noise. A helpful neighbor recommended a local craftsman, known for quality work. The craftsman walked in, slowly paced the room, drew a hammer and nail and – with three swift whacks – solved the problem forever. Later, he submitted a bill for $45. But, the itemization provides great insight:
Hammering $ 2.00
Knowing where to hammer $43.00
Three minutes. The great painter Picasso made a related point. He was recognized one day sketching a street scene in a small café. An impressed tourist asked him to make a quick drawing of her, offering to pay an appropriate fee. The artist picked up a different tablet, penciled a brief drawing, and passed it – an original Picasso -- to the woman. “That’ll be $5,000.00,” he told her. Surprised, the woman reminded him that it took just three minutes. “No,” he explained, “It took me all my life.”
No one cares how hard we work. No one cares how many college degrees or years of experience we have. No one cares if we once made a touchdown or hit a gamewinning home run. In business, value is determined daily by the service we provide to customers. People – all of us – seek solutions and results. That’s what matters.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Lessons on the job, part 4
Editor's note: This week on Twitter, we're giving out tips on securing summer jobs for teens and college students. You can find us on Twitter @family_finances. Contribute your own thoughts on this in comments or in a separate e-mail to robynsekula@sbcglobal.net.
By Elaine Coder
My first paying jobs were working in the corn field de-tasselling corn, babysitting and working in a small town (population 123) grocery store. My Dad was a farmer and self-employed electrician and plumber. My Mother helped Dad, but was also a full time Mom. They paid for our basic needs but any extra activities, expensive clothes, or other optional items outside the family budget had to be worked for. Our car insurance company offered a discount for maintaining a certain grade point average, and if I fell below that, I had to pay the difference in rates. Earning my own money helped me learn how to manage money. I didn't have bills to pay but I had to make choices about where I wanted most to use it. My parents were wonderful providers but once my money was gone, I only got what my parents thought was necessary.
My cornfield money went into savings because it was a larger amount paid at the end of the job and, obviously, was only seasonal work. I either kept the other little bit of money in cash for gas, after I was old enough to drive, and other things. Closer to the end of high school, I had a checking account, so I learned how to handle and reconcile my account. When I went away to college, I used money I had saved for expenses, and with the checking account my parents were able to make deposits for me if and when I had things that I had to purchase that were beyond my means.
The way my parents raised me taught me to respect money, make choices and budget accordingly. I've always been grateful for their wisdom.
By Elaine Coder
My first paying jobs were working in the corn field de-tasselling corn, babysitting and working in a small town (population 123) grocery store. My Dad was a farmer and self-employed electrician and plumber. My Mother helped Dad, but was also a full time Mom. They paid for our basic needs but any extra activities, expensive clothes, or other optional items outside the family budget had to be worked for. Our car insurance company offered a discount for maintaining a certain grade point average, and if I fell below that, I had to pay the difference in rates. Earning my own money helped me learn how to manage money. I didn't have bills to pay but I had to make choices about where I wanted most to use it. My parents were wonderful providers but once my money was gone, I only got what my parents thought was necessary.
My cornfield money went into savings because it was a larger amount paid at the end of the job and, obviously, was only seasonal work. I either kept the other little bit of money in cash for gas, after I was old enough to drive, and other things. Closer to the end of high school, I had a checking account, so I learned how to handle and reconcile my account. When I went away to college, I used money I had saved for expenses, and with the checking account my parents were able to make deposits for me if and when I had things that I had to purchase that were beyond my means.
The way my parents raised me taught me to respect money, make choices and budget accordingly. I've always been grateful for their wisdom.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Lessons on the job, part 3
Editor's note: This week on Twitter, we're giving out tips on securing summer jobs for teens and college students. You can find us on Twitter @family_finances. Contribute your own thoughts on this in comments or in a separate e-mail to robynsekula@sbcglobal.net.
By Laura Price
Though I certainly did my fair share of babysitting as a young teen, I got my first "real" job as a secretary at a doctor’s office when I was 16. When I started driving, I was required to pay my parents 32 cents for every mile I drove, so having a job was a necessity in order to drive. Getting those first paychecks was really exciting! It was nice to know I didn’t have to ask Mom and Dad for money anymore (okay, so it still happened occasionally). It was like magic – now all I had to do was write a check and it was mine.
Luckily, though, I had parents who taught me the importance of saving and passed along some of their financial discipline. I had also grown up knowing I’d pay my own way through college, so most of every paycheck went to savings. And though I saved, I did spend, and I did make spending mistakes, buying things I really didn’t need. It now helps to think of those silly purchases way back when, as a reminder of how much I really don’t need.
It definitely changes your perspective as a teen when you have to pay for things yourself. I’m now thankful that my parents didn’t make it easy; I certainly gained appreciation for the dollar having to earn it.
By Laura Price
Though I certainly did my fair share of babysitting as a young teen, I got my first "real" job as a secretary at a doctor’s office when I was 16. When I started driving, I was required to pay my parents 32 cents for every mile I drove, so having a job was a necessity in order to drive. Getting those first paychecks was really exciting! It was nice to know I didn’t have to ask Mom and Dad for money anymore (okay, so it still happened occasionally). It was like magic – now all I had to do was write a check and it was mine.
Luckily, though, I had parents who taught me the importance of saving and passed along some of their financial discipline. I had also grown up knowing I’d pay my own way through college, so most of every paycheck went to savings. And though I saved, I did spend, and I did make spending mistakes, buying things I really didn’t need. It now helps to think of those silly purchases way back when, as a reminder of how much I really don’t need.
It definitely changes your perspective as a teen when you have to pay for things yourself. I’m now thankful that my parents didn’t make it easy; I certainly gained appreciation for the dollar having to earn it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)