In 2024, there was a noticeable increase in teen summer jobs from previous years, with employers adding 1,077,000 jobs between May and July. In the season finale of season 6, hosts Cristina and Addison dive into the conversation with Gina Ronokarijo from CareerSource Central Florida.
Cristina Asks Question 1: What can a summer job or how can a summer job really help kids develop really great money skills, especially if this is their first job?
Gina: That's a really great question. So first of all, a summer job is not just a paycheck. It's really those introducing those financial things that they have not seen before like taxes. Funny story. I don't know if I can share a funny story, but my nephew lived with me when he started his first summer job and he did the math. He said, I make $15 an hour. I worked 20 hours, give me my $300. I got a Check. That was a rude awakening that there was not $300 there. So this is their really their first, their first time learning some things about taxes and saving and investing.
Addison Asks Question 2: So, how can parents be involved, how can they strike the right balance between offering financial guidance and giving kids independence with their earnings?
Gina: So in Workforce we do a thing called supported decision making. So and what that does is that gives them all of the knowledge, but still leaves the ball in their court to make the actual decisions. And that's the hardest part as a parent of a teenager. That's the hardest part to give them all of the resources to make really good decisions, but then to leave the ball in their court to make the decisions and let them make the mistakes. Because I don't know about anybody else, but I don't learn from what I do really well. I learn from when I don't actually hit the target. Mistakes is where we really learn. So I think the best thing a parent could do is just give them all the resources, but then give them the control and let them let them make their own choices.
Cristina Follows Up: How do you do that? And how do you like let them go when you know they're going to make a mistake? How do you do that?
Gina: That's a good question. I have a teenager. I'm still learning too. I think that just the biggest thing, though, is if you just give them the tools to make the decisions and talk about it. Open conversation, I think, is the most important thing. I think I grew up in a generation where we didn't talk about money with our parents, and you could tell in the adults where they are financially because I wasn't part of the budget planning. I didn't know where where the household was in finances, so there wasn't that communication. I think that's the biggest thing is open communication, talking about it, talking about it a lot. My kid shops differently when I'm paying than when he's paying. So having those conversations now open and honest and early, because if you wait until they actually have bill collectors, you've waited too long to talk to them about it. The best time to talk about it is when they don't have bills.
Cristina Asks Question 3: That's such a great tip. Okay, so now the teen has a job. They have their first job. How do you prepare them to plan for future expenses like college, maybe their first car, or maybe like paying for your cell phone? Like, how do you prepare them for that?
Gina: I think summer jobs is really that's where it shines. Because again, they get to take ownership. And now something actually belongs to me. It's mine. And you can start having those conversations about a dollar. You don't have to borrow when you need a down payment for a car or a dollar save. Now that means you have the money next semester for books so you can buy them first before waiting on loans to come in. So those just again communication and talking to them about what happens when you do you own the money.
Addison Asks Question 4: So how can these learning opportunities benefit them in the long run?
Gina: So adults and kids make common mistakes. Buyer's remorse. I leave them all and immediately usually get it in the parking lot. I think, like I said before, every mistake really becomes something that you can learn from. If you never make a mistake, you don't learn from it. How did you learn sports? Probably by getting tackled. So? So you learn from your mistakes a lot. A lot faster, really, than you learn from not ever having it or not ever doing it because then you've really not ever even made the decision. You learn by making bad decisions and then your decision next time that you make, you can be better. But if you've never made a decision, you don't know if you even have that skill or not. And decision making is a very important life skill. It's not just about finance, it's really about the workforce. It's about life skills and decision-making.
Cristina Asks Question 5: Okay, so now they have their summer job and they have money in the bank. What kind of apps or resources can young people use to help them make the right decisions?
Gina: The Addition Financial blog is a great resource for families. There are also some apps like Green Light and Busy Kid that will bring some real-life experience that they can use, but nothing will take the place of just communication with the family. Being a part of maybe your weekly grocery budgeting or talking about saving for a family trip. Maybe they're a part of those conversations. Really, nothing will take the place of that communication.
Cristina Asks Question 6: When you work with your younger teens or those getting a summer job for the first time. What are some common mistakes or issues that kids have when they're getting that first job?
Gina: They spend their paycheck as soon as they get it. So a lot of times, if it's my first paycheck, I literally may blow it right away. I didn't think about saving. I surely didn't think about investing anything. I just really it burns a hole in my pocket, as my mom would say. So I think we have those conversations a lot because they're going to have probably more money at one time than they've ever had. And all of a sudden, those Nike shoes and all of the things that look really good, so that's a common thing that we see.
Addison Asks Question 7: All right, so what's one money habit you wish you learned as a teen?
Gina: I would say saving early. And I don't think that I really fully understood interest in how good that it is when you're saving a little at a time. Just over time, it makes money. It doesn't matter how much it is, because you try to save a lot, but you don't think about when you're saving interest over time and compound interest. Nobody explained that to me until now. I wish I had known that earlier.
Cristina Asks Question 8: Spend, save or invest your first paycheck?
Gina: Oh, all of it. So I think there is a place for all of that because you can't save all of it, or then you don't have any instant gratification from working and you're like, oh, what did I get for all that time I just did? So I would say that you should save a little. You should spend a little. And if then if there's still some left, then invest for your future. I think you should do all three, because then you're developing really good habits early.
Addison Asks Question 9: So what's one really important lesson a summer job teaches?
Gina: Responsibility, how to get there on time, and how to follow through with tasks. A lot of the things you said in your opening, all of those things, responsibility is really a big one that summer jobs teach.
Cristina Asks Question 10: I hope that, like, it's such a great experience to learn what to do and what not to do, even like how to deal with different personalities to for sure. Should teens be allowed to spend their earnings freely or should parents step in and help?
Gina: I think there should be freedom with guidance. Again, if they're not making the decisions, they're not honing in on those decision-making skills that they're going to need later in life. They're going to need to know how to manage income. That's a life skill. So they have to start practicing now. And your parents weren't practicing on the football field with you or practicing in baseball. They can give guidance, but they should really give them the freedom to make the decisions like that.
Addison Asks Question 11: And for our last question, what do you think is the top summer job that is going to benefit kids, and what's the best first job to build responsibility and real world skills?
Gina: Ooh, that's a good one. Any job that you're working with people, whether that is retail, food service, anything where you're working with people because you're going to be working on communication skills, conflict resolution, patience.
Cristina Asks Question 12: Thank you Gina, how can our listeners learn more?
Gina: So you can learn more about Career Source Central Florida on our website, or you can visit any of our five locations in the Central Florida region.
The hosts share a resource from Addition Financial’s blog, “8 Personal Finance and Money Management Habits for Kids and Teenagers.”