7 Stewardship Essentials for Money-Wise Teens

Teaching teens about the stewardship of money is vital to creating a solid financial foundation they can build their future lives upon. Unfortunately, too many families, educators, and ministries are not fully taking advantage of this prime, life-changing opportunity.

Financial illiteracy among young people continues to be a challenge, with potentially negative consequences for their future. For example, according to the SPARK Institute, “…both high school and college respondents gave low ratings to their personal financial knowledge. Just 18% of high school and 26% of college students rate their financial knowledge ‘somewhat high’ or ‘very high.’”

This makes it more crucial than ever for financial literacy to become a priority during the teenage years. From ages 15 to 18, teens often begin working part-time and making more financial decisions. These pivotal years provide a crucial opportunity to build strong financial foundations related to goal setting, giving, saving, budgeting, and investing.

So why is financial literacy so important? First, low financial literacy threatens the overall financial health of young people by making them more susceptible to living paycheck to paycheck and more prone to making poor financial decisions. Second, it can lead to lower credit scores and more expensive forms of “bad” or unhealthy debt. Third, low financial literacy often results in missed wealth-building opportunities and can limit access to higher education or professional certifications that could significantly increase future earnings.

Making financial literacy a high priority helps fill the gap and enables generations of young people to become faithful financial stewards, living healthier and more empowered money-wise lives. Here are seven essential financial foundations to teach teens as they begin this transformational stewardship journey:

1. Stewardship Mindset

Teach students the difference between ownership and stewardship. One of the most important truths about ownership is found in the Book of Psalms:

“The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” Psalm 24:1

Once a young person understands that everything we have, including money, belongs to God, it creates a life-changing mindset of stewardship. This means we have a sacred responsibility to manage His resources well. This perspective shifts one’s thinking from acting like owners to living like stewards.

2. Purpose

We were each created with unique gifts, interests, and abilities, but with the same chief aim: to glorify God. Teach teens that they have a vocational calling and should begin preparing for it now. Parents can help identify their teen’s gifts and encourage them to develop these skills to fulfill their God-given professional calling. This also includes evaluating and selecting the right college major or vocational training, and choosing the right college/school that best aligns with their values, interests, and goals.

3. Goals

Encourage teens to set age-appropriate short-term, mid-term, and long-term financial goals. For example, a 17-year-old might set a goal to save a specific amount over the next 3–6 months from their part-time job to help pay for auto insurance. They may also set a giving goal of tithing 10% of gross earnings to their local church. Pray with your teens about developing written goals that are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

4. Budgeting

Teach teens the fundamentals of budgeting and the importance of increasing surplus (margin) - the key to meeting giving, saving, investing, and budgeting goals. The central principle is to “live under your means” which creates margin. This is also a great time to reinforce the difference between “needs” and “wants,” and the value of delayed gratification, along with the distinction between “good” debt (such as for education or a home which appreciate in value) and “bad” debt (like high-interest credit cards, or consumer loans used for items that depreciate in value).

5. Giving

Generosity is often better caught than taught. Parents should model generous giving so teens can see faithful stewardship in action. Encourage teens to adopt a “giving first” mindset with every increase. This reinforces the perspective that we are entrusted as stewards, not owners. Show teens how their generosity impacts others’ lives and supports Kingdom purposes.

6. Saving

Next, teach the importance of adopting a “saving second” approach. Whenever teens receive an allowance, earn wages, or get birthday money, they should set aside a portion after giving. Help them open a savings account and discuss future uses for these funds. At this stage, it’s also vital to encourage a less consumptive lifestyle that focuses more on saving for the future.

7. Investing

While saving is foundational, investing a portion of savings is essential for building future wealth. For teens under 18, parents can open a custodial Roth IRA or a custodial brokerage account. Teach teens the basics of values-based investing, including the concepts of risk, return, and diversification. Show them the power of starting early, contributing consistently, and allowing compounding to work over time.

These seven foundations will help teens develop a life-changing financial stewardship mindset that empowers their lives and enables them to make a greater impact in their faith, families, and future.

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6

For informational purposes only. Not investment, tax, or legal advice. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. For further information please see our full disclosure page: https://wildesfinancial.com/disclosures