I am 16 years old, should i start saving money?

Question

i get an allowance like 10 bucks a week and i usually spend that on c**p. what are the benifits of saving money like that. are there any benefits or should i just spend it on junk like pizza.

Answer 1

It is an absolute great idea if you save your money.  Think of it this way..  There is 52 weeks in a calandar year.  So that would give you 520 dollars after a year.  Even if you put half in the bank, that still leaves you with 260 dollars after the year.  Which is a decent little chunk of money for someone your age to just have sitting in savings, for emergencies or whatever it may be.    

I always wish i would have started a savings like that when I was that young..  Even if I would have saved five bucks a week.  I would have 2340 saved ( I am 24)  and that is just 5 bucks a week.  Or 4680 (if I saved the whole ten).  That would be perfect for emergencies, or for a little bit of a down payment on a car.

...But then again, it is fun to spend a little money on stuff you don't really need when you are only 16, since you probably don't have bills or anything.  Have fun and choose wisely.  Like I suggested before, you might want to just save half, you never know what you may want or need it for in the future.

Answer 2

Pizza is very good...tough choice...Question is, "how much pizza would you like in the future"?  If you like it a lot, I'd start saving.  Lets put it this way, There is nothing ever wrong about saving for a rainy day and there is certainly nothing wrong about saving for the future.  At 16 years old there are many things you could start saving for with that allowance such as a vehicle to get to and from work, saving for a good education (so that it is easier to learn when not having to work full time to be able to pay for school) or better yet, your first donation to a ROTH IRA.  Be a kid, have fun!  Save some for when you're older.  The only thing I wish I would have done when I was 16 was not blow it on Pizza, Cars, girls etc....I started saving a few years later but that lousy three years of screwn' around compounded out means I missed out on a lot of money for my future.  

Hope this helps!

G

Answer 3

hello - it GREAT that you are asking this question - start now saving - since you do want to have some fun, i would save 60% of all moneis that come in - allowance, random birthday gifts, babysitting or odd jobs money etc.  once you get into the ahbit you will never look back.  and it will only allow you to eat more pizza (maybe even in italy) in the future.  trust me, if we could get everyone to start saving young we would be in a very different place now with all the house forclosures etc.

you are ahead of the game by thinking about it, doing it will put you at the top of the game -

good luck!

Answer 4

I am 15 and I started saving. It's a great time I would definitely start if I were you. Use it for something good. Usually I will save money and only buy necessities. Also I make money online and stuff. Seriously I get paid good money for just taking surveys and stuff. I also found a site called Yuwie! It's just like Myspace and you get paid for being a member and getting page views! I love it. Anyways I made a site that lists all the great sites I use and have ACTUALLY been paid by so maybe you'd like to have this help you start saving some money.[:

My site is..

Www.freewebs.com/earnmoneyonlinefree

Everything is free and you never have to pay.[:

Answer 5

Seriously, you are NEVER too young to start saving money.  

If you saved only $1 of that $10 allowance a week, after ten weeks, you'd have a week's worth of allowance.  Just having a bit of money saved is handy, for when you want to do something, or go somewhere, or get something.  

If you saved a dollar a week, you'd have over $50 in a year.  By the time you're 20 you'd have $200.  If you'd invested it at 5% in a bank account, you'd have $226, not $200.  That's an extra $26 just for leaving  your money in a bank.  By the time you're retired, just saving $1 a week would have earned you $1600.

Make a tiny sacrifice to your pizza loving lifestyle and you'll see huge results.  One day, you'll want to get a car or something, and you'll really appreciate that you saved some money.

Best wishes