Do you have a child entering their teen years and are concerned about how you'll pay for everything they're going to need? It's no secret that being a teenager is expensive. The vast majority of that expense falls on the parents (unless your teen has a job to pay for some lesser items). Not only is your teen going to start wanting more fashionable (and more expensive) clothes, there are also expenses like yearbooks, prom, homecoming, graduation, class trips, class rings, uniforms for clubs and organizations, and a laundry list of other things too numerous to mention. How is a parent getting by on an average paycheck supposed to keep up with it all?
While you won't get through your child's teen years without spending at least some extra cash, here are two ways to cut way down on the biggest expenses you will face as the parent of a teenager.
1. Cutting Car Insurance Costs
Once your teen gets a learner's permit (and later, a full driver's license), you can bet they will be asking to drive your car as much as possible (if not outright begging for a car of their own). In fact, they will have to drive your car to get the practice they need to become fully licensed. This means you will have to add your teen as a driver on your insurance, and this increases your premiums significantly.
The good news is that you can take a bite out of this necessary expense. According to MSN.com, nearly every car insurance company has a "good student" discount. This discount can lower your premiums by as much as 18 percent in some states. To be considered a good student, your teen must maintain full-time enrollment in school and a "B" average on grades.
You can also have your teen take a driver safety course. Some of these are offered through the school's Driver's Ed program. Others can be taken at the DMV or special driving schools. In most states, a successful completion of this course by your teen can lower your insurance premiums by another 2.4 percent (and sometimes more).
2. Getting Affordable Orthodontics
While some teens will be lucky enough to have naturally straight teeth, most parents can count on getting a recommendation from their child's dentist sooner or later. Whether you get the braces or not is up to you. However, teens who need braces and do not get them may suffer more dental problems later in life than those whose teeth were straightened
Braces aren't cheap, though. They can cost around $5,000 over the course of a few years. Here are some tips for shaving some of the money off of that total and get affordable orthodontics.
- If orthodontics are covered on your dental plan, take advantage of it. Most dental plans only offer discounts, not complete payments for braces. Those discounts can take one to two thousand dollars off of the total in many cases, however, and that is significant.
- Comparison shop with different orthodontists. Some offer lower prices than others, and some offer convenient payment plans. Look for one that offers payment terms you can afford.
- Send your teen to a dental school. Those orthodontists in training usually do work on patients at a reduced rate, since they are technically practicing on your child.
- Look for an orthodontist close to your house. It might not save money on the cost of the actual braces, but it will save you on gas money. That is a hidden cost of braces that is very important with today's high gas prices. Check out sites like http://www.reedorthodonticsnaples.com for more information on the price of braces.
Conclusion
Being the parent of a teen is not cheap. However, you don't have to go deep into debt or put a second mortgage on your house to pay for the teen years. Get your teen to pitch in on some of the expenses at school by doing extra chores or getting a part-time job. Buy second-hand items when you can, as long as they look like new.
Then, use the two tips above to save money on the most expensive teen necessities. You'll be surprised to discover you can sail through the teen years and still have money left over for retirement.
