In a recent study from Teenage Research Unlimited, researchers reported that teens spent $159 BILLION in 2005. My own experience raising three teens led me to believe that many of them spent their PARENTS’ money in 2005.
According to the USDA’s 2005 report on expenditures on children by families, today’s middle-income parents will spend approximately $11,000 per teen each year. This figure is based on expenses of housing, food, transportation, clothing, health care, child care and education, and miscellaneous goods and services for youth ages 12 to 17. And the pressure on parents to keep up with cars, cell phones, sports, music and arts, and the other demands of teen living can add up and take a financial toll. For parents who are not financially prepared for the additional costs of the teenage years, this can lead to unexpected debt and additional stress.
What may interest many parents is the study’s finding that teen’s spending was down by 6% from 2004, with teens reporting that nearly all the decrease was a result of “less access to other people’s money.” The researchers suggest that parents may be more cautious about spending on their children compared to previous years because of rising gas prices and fears of unemployment or layoffs. Yet, teens were not as skeptical. Nearly half of the teens surveyed believe they’ll spend more this year with only 17% reporting they expected to spend less! Hang on to those check books and credit cards!
Listening, learning and living together, it’s the science of life. “Family Album” is a co-production of University of Florida IFAS Extension, the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences and of WUFT-FM. If you’d like to learn more, please visit our website at familyalbumradio.org.
Sources
TRU Projects Teens Will Spend $159 Billion In 2005
Expenditures on Children by Families
Jumpstart Coalition For Personal Financial Literacy
Written by: Donna Davis
Reviewed by Jo Turner
