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 for these lessons. 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 J, my son with autism and ADHD, to learn about money.

Lesson #6: Understanding Debt

Read the “4th Slice” (pages 65-76) of “I Want More Pizza” (affiliate link) with your teenager. I found it is best to let your teen read it on their own before the lesson. You can read it aloud together, but you may want to break it up into two sessions.

Debt takeaways to share with your autistic teen

• Debt is when you borrow money from a bank, family member, friend or any other organization or person. It is also referred to as a loan or credit.
• Debt comes with two risks:
  • The first is that you have pay interest on the amount of money borrowed as you pay it back.
  • The second is that you risk overspending, or spending above your means. (Meaning you consistently spend more money than you have in cash. This is generally called living beyond your means.)
• Too many people make bad decisions with debt, especially credit cards.
• Credit cards can be a convenient way to pay for stuff and track your expenses, however, you have to pay the full balance every month. If you are responsible with a credit card that has a low balance limit, it can be a good way to build credit.
• Paying for stuff with a credit card and then not paying the full balance due each month can be a financial disaster for many people. That is because the interest on credit cards is very high! (Steve provides a great real-world example on page 69 – be sure to study the chart.) Paying only the minimum due each month leads to your debt building and paying potentially thousands dollars more in interest payments.
• Debt can be good if you have a mortgage to pay for a home. At reasonable amounts and interest rates, student loans can be helpful in paying for a college education. (Although you should try for as many scholarships and other types of financial assistance before resorting to student loans. Even then, using savings and having a part-time job to cover as much as the cost as possible is preferable!)

Debt and credit discussion tips with your autistic teen

• Talk about how to use a credit card responsibly. Ask your teen how they could manage their credit card usage to avoid building up debt.
• Discuss the risks of debt and why it’s best to avoid it as much as they can by saving up for purchases and looking for other ways to pay for something (e.g., scholarships for college instead of a student loan).
• If your teen is planning for college, make a plan to search and apply for scholarships on a regular basis during their junior and senior years. Did you know there are college scholarships specifically for students with autism? The CollegScholarships.org website is a good place to start. Also, some autism grants also aid with college costs. Be sure to research local scholarship opportunities as well.

Practical Money Activity

Use this credit card payoff calculator from Bankrate to find out how long it would take to eliminate different credit card balances.

The post Kids Money Skills, Lesson 6: Help your autistic teen understand debt and its potential for negative consequences appeared first on Autism & ADHD Connection.

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 for these lessons. 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. I found his book a few years ago when looking for a good resource for J, my son with autism and ADHD, to learn about money.

Check out the first four lessons of this series:

Kids Money Skills, Lesson 1: Why autistic teens should learn about personal finance

Kids Money Skills, Lesson 2: Encourage a positive money mindset in your autistic teen

Kids Money Skills, Lesson 3: Teach your autistic teen how to set money goals and prioritize their spending

Kids Money Skills, Lesson 4: Learning how to budget and save sets your autistic teen up for future financial success

Lesson #5: The importance of compound interest

Read the “3^rd Slice” (pages 43-59) of “I Want More Pizza” (affiliate link) with your teenager. This section is quite long. I found it is best to let your teen read it on their own before the lesson.

Savings and Investments Basics for your teen

• There are several basic investments that can be used to save or invest money. They include:
  • Savings account – an account at a bank, credit union or brokerage firm where you can deposit money and earn a little bit of interest each month.
  • Certificate of Deposit (CD) – an account that is similar to a savings account, but you let the bank keep your money for a certain number of months. CDs pay a higher interest rate than a savings account.
  • U.S treasury bonds – bonds enable you to loan the U.S. government an amount of money for a certain length of time. The government pays you interest for the loan. (Businesses do this too with bonds that you can purchase individually or through bond mutual funds.)
  • Stocks – these are individual shares of a company that you can buy. Stocks are the riskiest of the investments. Yet, they also bring the greatest reward and can grow your money the most. Depending on what type of stock you purchase, your risk may be moderate to high.
  • Mutual funds – these are “portfolios” of stocks or bonds that you can purchase and are professionally managed by a financial expert. Because the fund has a variety of stocks, bonds or other types of investments, they are called “diversified.” This means that many mutual funds are less risky overall than purchasing individual stocks.

Takeaways to share with your teen

• These accounts grow your money because the bank (or mutual fund company, government, etc.) pays you interest for giving them access to your money. Interest in the amount of money they pay you each month. They usually give you a percentage they will pay you, called an interest rate.
• Savings and investment accounts come with different levels of risk. The safest are savings accounts, which are federally protected and insured up to $250,000 per depositor per insured bank. That means that if something bad happens to a bank, your money is backed by the government for this amount. CDs and bonds are then the next less risky, with mutual funds and stocks being riskiest.
• Investing in stock and mutual funds may sound scary, but the rewards are worth the risk to grow your money over time. The important thing is to learn to manage your risk. Putting all your money in one stock is the riskiest investment you can make. However, if you spread your money out over different stocks, mutual funds, bonds, CDs and savings accounts, you diversify your investments and reduce your overall risk while achieving a greater reward of growth for your money.
• Investing your money long term will grow it over time through “magic” called compound interest. Investopedia defines compound interest as “the interest on a loan or deposit calculated based on both the initial principal and the accumulated interest from previous periods.” That means that over time, you are earning money on the original amount you invested but also the additional money that accumulates from more money you deposit plus all the interest you earn over time. (See the tables that Steve shares on pages 53 -55.)
• As Steve notes, compound interest is your BFF when it comes to growing your money!
• The younger you begin to save and invest, the more time your money has to grow and the more wealth you will build throughout your life!

Savings discussion tips with your teen

• What are your feelings about risk when it comes to money? Does risking your money for reward and growth scare or excite you? Try this risk calculator to help you determine your level of risk tolerance.
• How can you best manage your risk for your savings and investing?
• Do you understand compound interest? How can it help you build your money over time?

Practical Money Activity

Use this online calculator from Nerd Wallet to see how money grows through the magic of compound interest!

The post Kids Money Skills, Lesson 5: Teach your autistic teen the importance of compound interest to grow their savings appeared first on Autism & ADHD Connection.

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 for these lessons. 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 J, my son with autism and ADHD, to learn about money.

Check out the first three lessons of this series:

Kids Money Skills, Lesson 1: Why autistic teens should learn about personal finance

Kids Money Skills, Lesson 2: Encourage a positive money mindset in your autistic teen

Kids Money Skills, Lesson 3: Teach your autistic teen how to set money goals and prioritize their spending

Lesson #4: Basic budgeting and the importance of savings

Read the “2^nd Slice” (pages 27-37) of “I Want More Pizza” (affiliate link) with your teenager. This section is quite long, so I found out it is best to let your teen read it on their own before the lesson.

Saving and budget takeaways to share with your autistic teen

• The opening quote from Warren Buffet really sums it up: “Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving. If you buy things you do not need, soon you will have to sell the things you need.”
• It is important to understand the reasons to save money. Sometimes, people save money in one area to buy something nicer in another area. Saving money for unexpected expenses is always smart. In addition, saving to grow your money over time is what leads to secure finances and the ability to build wealth in retirement accounts, save for college, put a down payment on a house or be able to take your dream vacation one day.
• Everyone can save money, no matter how much they make. It may be just $1 to start, but every little bit grows over time. When teenagers first begin working, they don’t make much money. However, it’s important to put a little money away in a savings account from each paycheck to put toward savings goals.
• One easy way to save is to do it automatically, or what Steve refers to as an “auto-saver.” Your teen will need two bank accounts – a savings account and checking account. Once they are earning a consistent income from jobs (e.g., part-time job, lawn mowing, babysitting, etc.), then they can set up an automatic transfer from their checking to their savings account once a month. This allows them to save automatically instead of making the manual transfer every month.
• It’s important to know how we spend each dollar, so tracking expenses is really important. Your teen can write down the money they’ve spent in a small notebook or use a budgeting app like You Need a Budget (referral link), which is my favorite and what my boys will use once they have a regular part-time job.
• Once your teen has been tracking expenses for a month or so, they will see that small purchases really add up and make better decisions on how they want to spend their money. They can then make their first budget!

Discussion tips with your teen

• Discuss why it is so important to have savings and how you would worry about paying for unexpected expenses or being able to afford something if you didn’t have any savings.
• Talk about checking and savings accounts and their unique functions. Then discuss how your teen can set up an auto-saver for their money. That could be done either now or in the future when they have a regular part-time job and income). How much money could they start saving each month? Even $5 or $10 will add up over time.
• How does your teen spend their money? Discuss how small purchases really add up and whether they are moving them toward or away from their savings goals.
• Plan a time for Lesson 5.

Practical Money Activity

Find a small notebook (or purchase one if necessary) and have your teen write down their expenses for a month. They will have a better understand of how they are spending their money. Then your autistic teen can develop their first budget based on their learning.

The post Kids Money Skills, Lesson 4: Learning how to budget and save sets your autistic teen up for future financial success appeared first on Autism & ADHD Connection.

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?

The post Kids Money Skills, Lesson 3: Teach your autistic teen how to set money goals and prioritize their spending appeared first on Autism & ADHD Connection.

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 my autistic teen J to learn about money.

If you missed Kids Money Skills, Lesson 1, you could always start with it first and come back to this second lesson.

Lesson #2: Helping your autistic teen develop a positive money mindset

Read the introduction (pages 5-12) of I Want More Pizza (affiliate link) with your teenager (either out loud or individually before the lesson).

Takeaways to share with your teen

• Earning money through babysitting, lawn mowing, or part-time jobs is great, but you need to learn how to make the most of that money.
• One of things you’ll learn in these lessons is the importance of saving money and seeing how it can grow over time. Steve provides a good example. If you save $25 each month, then that is $300 per year. If you continue to do that for 40 years, you will have $12,000. And that is without something called compound interest that would make it grow even more! (Don’t worry – we will talk about that later.)
• It’s important to understand that personal finance is “a set of tools that make it easier for you to keep your hard-earned money and to make it grow as quickly as possible.”
• Even though personal finance provides tools, money is emotional. So understanding your emotions and being able to overcome mental blocks can help you have a better relationship with money and make it work for you.
  • Many people deal with money stress. Steve notes about 70 percent of Americans indicate they are stressed about money (according to the American Psychological Association.)
  • Many people talk negatively to themselves and others about money. They put up blocks like “I don’t make enough money for that,” “I’m young: I’ll do it later,” and “I can’t understand it.”
  • Increasing your knowledge about finance will help you have a positive money mindset and avoid the excuses that are mental blocks.

Discussion tips about money with your autistic teen

• Ask them what worries they have about money now and how do they think those cause mental blocks.
• Talk about your own money mindset and how you’ve had to overcome your own mental blocks when it came to money – even if you are still working on it!
• Ask your teen to describe what they think a positive money mindset is and what they can do to have this type of mindset.
• Plan a time for Lesson 3.

Practical Money Activity: Practice giving back change

Being able to count change is a practical money skill that not only will help your autistic teen with their own money but also a valuable skill for when they begin a part-time job. Many jobs that our teens have during high school and even college include accepting payment for services. When cash is paid, then they need to know how to calculate and provide change back to the customer!

For this activity, you will need:

• A calculator
• Small bills such as $1 and $5
• Coins (whatever you have on hand. We have a coin jar, so I use that.)

This activity is simple:

• Separate the coins into piles of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters.
• Provide your teen with a few dollar bills.
• Give your teen a price that something costs that you are “paying” for and give them some cash. (For example, I’m “buying” something for $2.63, and I hand my son a $5 bill.)
• Have them use the calculator to determine how much change you are owed and then have them count out the change to give back to you.
• Repeat several times with different amounts to allow them to practice calculating and giving back change.

The post Kids Money Skills, Lesson 2: Encourage a positive money mindset in your autistic teen appeared first on Autism & ADHD Connection.

Therefore, I’m going to share the financial literacy lessons that I’ve been teaching my own teenagers, including my son J who has autism and ADHD.

We are using the book “I Want More Pizza” (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. I found his book a few years ago when looking for a good resource for J to learn about money.

Lesson #1: Why autistic teens should learn about money

Autism is a spectrum, so our teens will have variable abilities and capabilities to manage money. However, I am a big believer in teaching children and teenagers to handle their personal finances to the best of their abilities. The more they can learn about money, the more independent they can be.

This is a great place to start with many autistic teens (or any teenagers or older children really) to teach them about money. See the lesson below.

Read the preface of “I Want More Pizza” (affiliate link) with your teenager

Takeaways to share with your teen:

• Steve shares his personal story. He talked about working part-time jobs in high school and college. He shared how his mom opened a “Christmas” savings account for him. He was required to save half of the money he made in his savings account.
• Saving half his money taught him the importance of saving money, and he managed to accumulate $5,000 in his account by the end of high school.
• Steve shares he was looking for ways to earn more money. Unfortunately, he made the mistake of investing in the stock market without understanding it or how to properly choose which stocks to invest.
• He discusses how everyone faces financial difficulties. It could be credit card debt, student loans, low income from low-paying jobs or other money problems.
• His hope is that by reading his book, teens and young adults will learn about personal finance and not make as many mistakes with money.

Money discussion tips with your autistic teen:

• Share your personal finance story with your teen. Talk about the types of jobs you had when you were younger. Discuss how you learned about money. You may even confess if you still have a lot to learn, and you both can learn together!
• If your teen has a savings account, take it out and discuss the purpose of it, the current balance and how to increase their savings.
• Ask your teen what they hope to learn most about money.
• Plan a time for Lesson 2.

The post Kids Money Skills, Lesson 1: Why autistic teens should learn about personal finance appeared first on Autism & ADHD Connection.