Money Matters, the Sequel

I wrote a post the other day about how important it is to me to teach my kids financial responsibility. And not just for there own good. But for selfish reasons too. I really don't want them living in my basement when they are 30 years old.

My post explained how I've been working on this with Miracle Boy since he was 5. And I hope he got it. Or at least enough of it to be able to stand on his own 2 feet while he figures out the rest.

But, The Quiet One is a totally different story. As I've said in prior posts, I inherited The Quiet One when he was almost 16. Almost grown. Habits firmly in place. And he has absolutely no idea how to manage money. I don't know if he's ever been taught anything about money management or budgeting or anything. But from the looks of how he spends money, I'd guess not.

Since moving into our household, he has had the same rules and guidelines as Miracle Boy. He started working the week he arrived, has been required to save half of his paychecks, and is responsible for his own spending money etc. He was fortunate in that a family friend of his mother left him a pickup, which we helped him sell since he didn't need the vehicle. The money was put into a long term savings account. It gave him a little boost, put him close to an even playing field with Miracle Boy. However, that's were the similarities end.

It seems we've made some rookie mistakes. We've treated him the same way we treat Miracle Boy, but unfortunately, he hasn't had the same foundation. We've told him to put half his paycheck into savings, and not to spend any of his savings. Upon checking a while back we were shocked to find that not only has his savings not grown at all in a year and half, but it has shrunk by one third! Yikes!

At that point we took away his debit card and cancelled his access to the savings account. He now has to hand over his paychecks to Mr. Fixit, who deposits half and gives The Quiet One the other half in cash. And it seems to be working...for now.

But my concern is, he is almost 18. In less than a year he will graduate from high school and move out. Is that enough time to teach him how to handle money? At a time when we should be stepping back and watching him take the reigns (albeit under supervision) we are stepping in and taking over. How will that work or help him when he moves on?