A big part of personal finance is learning how to set money goals and finding ways to reach them. One of the best ways is to determine your spending priorities. Teaching your autistic teen how to do these two things – set money goals and prioritize spending – will help set them up for success now and in the future for their own money management. You can help them learn today how to make the most of every dollar they earn.
As a reminder, we are using the book I Want More Pizza: Real World Money Skills For High School, College, And Beyond (affiliate link) by Steve Burkholder. Steve is a certified public accountant and has worked in the finance department in higher education. He has a passion for teaching teens and young adults about personal finance, and I found his book a few years ago when looking for a good resource for autistic son J.
Lesson #3: Setting money goals and prioritizing spending
Read Slice #1 (pages 15-21) of I Want More Pizza (affiliate link) with your teenager (either out loud or individually before the lesson).
Takeaways to share with your teen
- Steve underscores the importance of people, especially teenagers, understanding personal finance.
- He discusses the importance of determining what your money goals are so that you know what you are working toward.
- Prioritization of your expenses is key to understanding how you spend your money. This helps you make mindful decisions about what you will spend per month on different items. This is called budgeting.
- He gives a great example of saving for a new digital tablet. If you choose not to spend $5 on coffee five times per month and instead drink coffee from home, then you can save $25 per month toward your tablet. Then that $25 per month will add up over time. That allows you to achieve your goal of buying a new tablet.
Discussion money tips with your autistic teen
- Show them the prioritized list on page 10 and talk about what their priorities are for saving, spending and giving. What would be important to them? How would they prioritize their own lists?
- Do the practical money activity below and ask your teen to determine their own money goals.
- Plan a time for Lesson 4.
Practical Money Activity
Ask your teen to determine their top three money goals. Give them a sheet of paper and have them write them down. Do they want to save for a car or find ways to help save for their college? Do they want to be able to pay for their own clothes or start a Roth individual retirement account (IRA) with some money from their part-time job?
