How to Save Money as a High School Student

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how to save money as a high school student

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Learning how to save money as a high school student isn’t taught in a textbook.  As a matter of fact, personal finance isn’t even covered as part of the K-12 curriculum in a majority of the US school districts.

However, all hope is not lost.  There are ways for high school students to learn how to save money.  Many parents teach teens about financial responsibility.  

Focusing on building their financial foundation and knowledge base on personal finance early in life will help prepare them for their financial future.  

The best ways for high school students to save money involves opening up a savings account, establishing savings goals, developing a budget, and practicing how to use a personal budgeting flowchart.  Learning how to manage money is also important when it comes to the best ways for high school students to save money.  By practicing these money saving tips for high school students, they will be prepared how to handle their money when they go to college.

Every parent wants their children to succeed when they leave the nest.

A lot of parents focus on Raising Children Who Are Money Savvy early on in parenting so their children are familiar with the basics of money.

Instilling proper money management techniques and teaching kids how to save money as a high school student will pave their financial path forward.

Best Ways to Save Money as a High School Student

save money high school students

Below you will find some of the best ways to save money as a high school student.  These are considered some of the best practices when it comes to saving money tips for secondary school students not taught in a textbook.

Open a Bank Savings Account

The first thing you should do for saving money as a high school student is to open a savings account at a bank.  It is not ideal to keep cash on hand in your room or shoved under your mattress for a few reasons.

First, keeping cash in your room is not the safest place for it.  If there was ever a break-in you would risk losing all of your money that you have saved up over the years.

It is highly unlikely that the bank would be robbed and your money would be stolen at a bank due to the amount of security that banks have.

Second, by keeping cash in your room, you are losing out on free money and interest that you could be earning.  By parking your cash at a bank, you can avoid both of these issues.

Banks offer great services like automatic deposit if you start to receive routine checks.

Just be sure that you become familiar with direct deposit times so you know when your money is available.

Allowances

As a high school student, you may be earning an allowance.  This is a very common activity for high school students to earn an allowance.  By opening a bank savings account, you will be able to to deposit this money instead of leaving it out in your room.

Birthday Money

As a high school student you probably receive money for your birthday from your family and great aunt Martha. This would be another reason to open a bank savings account as a high school student.

Holiday Money

I am sure you also receive holiday money as well from your family, parents, and grandparents.  All of this money should be deposited into your savings account at the bank.

These areas above are three reasons why opening a savings account is one of the first and best steps how to save money as a high school student.  There are also other great ways to deposit checks such as instant online check cashing where you don’t even need to set foot in a bank.

Develop Savings Goals

If you are a high school student and want to learn how to save money as a high school student, coming up with savings goals is important.

This is one of the fundamental money saving tips for high school students that you should follow.

If your goal to save $100 a month, you should list that as one of your savings goals.

If your goal is to save $200 a month, you should list that is your savings goal.

Don’t worry about how to accomplish the savings goal right now, we will cover that in later sections.

Simply focus on creating savings goals right now as a way how to save money as a high school student.

Develop a Budget

Another one of the best ways to save money as a high school student is to develop a budget.  As a high school student, you may not have a whole lot of living expenses that you will need to plan for.

However, using a budget is a great way to gain experience on how to manage your money as a high school student.  There are a lot of different personal budget methods that you can choose from.

You can also use the skills you are learning from developing a budget when you are a college student and also as an adult too.

Becoming familiar with budgeting is a skill that you can use throughout your whole life.

Use a Financial Flow Chart

One of the most important steps how to save money as a high school student involves creating savings goals as mentioned above.

You can use a personal finance flowchart as a way to put your savings goals into action.

Financial flowcharts help manage and dictate financial decisions.  They offer away a way to rank savings goals and expenses in order of importance.

Since you are saving money as a high school student, you probably won’t have major expenses such as a mortgage payment, health insurance, or groceries.

More than likely your parents cover these expenses.

The financial flowchart would help a high school student save money by ranking their savings goals if they have more than one.  Additionally, the flowchart will also lay out a financial road map as to how to accomplish those savings goals each month.

As a high school student you will have to think about how to make money to accomplish those goals.  This will all be tracked in managed in the flowchart.

Find Free Activities

As a high school student, you probably won’t have a lot of living expenses as stated above.

However, there will be times that you’ll want to go out and do activities with your friends.

All high school students love to spend time with their friends.  Spending money on activities can take away from your savings goals.

There are always a lot of fun and free activities you can do where it won’t cost you a lot of money.

If you are dating, there are hundreds of cheap date ideas that you can do to save a lot of money.  By utilizing free activities, you are progressing towards your savings goals.

Taking advantage of free activities is a great way how to save money as a high school student.

Keep Expenses Minimal

There will be times that you will have to pay for some thing.  Expenses are common and they will pop-up here and there even if you are a high school student.

However, there are all kinds of alternatives to paying full price for something.

For example on certain days you can go to the movie theaters when prices are cheaper.  Additionally, some places offer discounts for students with ID.

Outdoor golfing is just one example that offers a discount with student ID.

You will have to decide if those expenses are needs or wants.  Using the financial flowchart above will help you determine how to classify your potential expenses.

Work a Job to Increase Income

One of the fastest ways to save money for high school students is by simply having a part-time job.

A lot of secondary students work part-time jobs in the evening hours on certain days of the week.

You can even make money with surveys from home while watching television in your spare time.

Working a part-time job allows a high school student to earn more income each month.  That additional income can be put towards savings goals.

There are so many creative ways to make money today online, they you have a lot of options.

With the option of working online, there are more choices than ever before for teens to make money in high school.

Learning how to start a blog is a great option not only for earning additional income, but also a way to learn how to run a business.

By making additional income each month high school students will be able to achieve their savings goals faster.

Sell Items You No Longer Need

Another great way how to save money as a high school student is to sell items that you no longer need.  You probably have all kinds of old toys that you no longer use or may have used when you were a very young child.

There are places online such as eBay and Dosh where you could sell those items and make money.

Additionally, you probably have video games as well and are wondering where places are to sell video games for cash near me fast.

There are all kinds of places near you that will buy used video games and gaming consoles for cash no matter what condition they are in.

You can also put the cash you earned from selling and purging your old items towards your savings goals.

Review Goal Progress Monthly

One of the best ways to determine how to save money as a high school student is to review your savings goals at the end of each month.

Look to answer questions at the end of each month such as:

  • How much did I save this month saving money?
  • Am I on track to my savings goal?
  • What can I do next month to increase money saved towards my goal?

Reviewing your savings goal at the end of each month keeps you on track to achieving your goal.  Without reviewing your progress at the end of each month, you won’t know if your savings plan is helping you save money as a high school student or not?

That is why reviewing your goal progress at the end of each month is so helpful.

How Much Should a High Schooler Have in Savings by Age

If high schoolers have saved all of their money between ages 14 to 18, they should have around $8,000 by the time they graduate high school.  The breakout of how much should a high schooler save by age is noted below:

  • Through ages 14-15, the high schooler should have saved $500 in savings mainly from birthdays, holidays, allowances, small side jobs and other events where they have received gifts in the form of cash.
  • By age 16, the high schooler should have saved $1,000.  High school students can legally work in the United States at 16.  They can get a part time job during the summer months.
  • By age 17, the high schooler should have saved $2,500.  This assumes a summer job along with 1 to 2 nights during the school year.
  • By age 18, the high schooler should have saved $3,500.  This assumes 1 to 2 summer jobs (or full time work during the summer) and a part-time job during the school year a few nights a week until graduation from high school.

This is a great resource how to save money as a high school student by age.  You can see this information displayed in the chart below:

Age:Amount Saved Per Year:Cumulative Total Savings:
14$500$500
15$500$1,000
16$1,000$2,000
17$2,500$4,500
18$3,500$8,000

Additionally, the older you get, the more you can take on additional jobs.  Now more than ever, there are so many short term jobs where you can make money.

Additional jobs will also help how to save money as a high school student.

One example is you can get paid to deliver cars to Florida for people.  Talk about the ultimate road trip and getting paid for it as well.

Related Questions

Below are some of the most common reasons related to high school students and saving money.

If you have any questions drop them down in the comments section and we will answer them.

Why Should High School Students Save Money

High school students should save money because it helps prepare them for the future.  At some point parents might no longer cover expenses such as car payments, insurance, or housing.  If a high school student has been saving money throughout high school, they have a small nest egg that they can use to cover things such as a car down payment or other items such as a cell phone bill.

Additionally, saving money for high school students is important because they can also use the money they have saved towards college costs.  They can use their savings for expenses such as text books, room and board, college tuition, and college class fees.

As a high school student, you might have to become familiar with starter checks and how they work when you go off to college.

By using their savings, they can also reduce the need for student loans for college and help avoid going into debt to pay for college.

Personal finance for the most part is not taught in secondary schools.  There are new state laws however that are just starting to change the course on that.

If your state and school district doesn’t teach personal finance or teach high schoolers how to save money, it’s important that you take steps to learn yourself.

Importance of Saving Money as a Teenager

importance of saving money as a teenager

How to save money as a high school student is important as a teenager.  By saving money as a teenager, important money management lessons are learned early on in life.  Knowing how to manage money properly is an important life skill which can be applied throughout ones lifetime.

Additionally, it also helps a teenager learn skills such as becoming independent and making decisions in regards to personal finance and their own money. You should also teach your kids about the stock market as well so they know basic investment principles.

Saving money as a teenager is important because teenagers learn about fundamental finance topics such as saving money, setting goals, saving for retirement, budgeting tips, and how compound interest works.

How to Save Money as a High School Student in the Philippines

Saving money as a high school student is an international topic for all high school students.  Some money saving tips for how to save money as a high school student in the Philippines would include things such as reducing electricity since it is so costly in the Philippines.

Additionally, avoiding public transportation and walk to paces that you need to get to.  You can also use a budget and practice money management techniques such as using a savings account and only withdrawing cash when you need it.

By only withdrawing cash when you need it, you will maximize compound interest techniques for your money.

How to Save Money as a Secondary School Student in Nigeria

Students in Nigeria also wonder how to save money as a high school student in Nigeria.  Some money saving tips to save money as a secondary school student in Nigeria would include walking to a lot of places, carpooling in danfo busses and molue busses, drinking water, biking, and also haggling.

By living a minimalist life you can save a lot of money as a high school student in Nigeria.

Practice frugal living as well to maximize your savings in order to reach your savings goals.

Final Thoughts on Saving Money for High School Students

Saving money as a high school student doesn’t have to be difficult.  By following the steps above you will easily know how to save money as a high school student.

Saving money in high school all starts with a savings plan and a savings goal.  Through the use of budgeting and flowcharts, you can achieve your savings goals.

If you are looking how to save money as a high school student fast, you can take additional steps.

Selling old items you no longer need and getting a paid part-time job will increase the income available put towards your savings goal.

The best thing you will learn as a high school student saving money is you will learn skills about personal finance.

Those skills can’t be taught in a classroom, but rather taught in real life as life lessons and life experiences.

By learning how to save money as a high school student, you are completing two lessons.  You are learning how to save towards a goal, and also financial lessons that will carry you throughout your life.

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