Most, if not all states have child labor laws that include an age minimum. I think Texas is 15, because my 15-year-old has a real job with payroll taxes etc. I now have two reasons for thinking this limit might be too low. First, he cannot become a licensed driver until he turns 16, so we have to shuttle him to and from work. It costs me $3.50 for him to work a 3-hour shift where he earns $19. Kinda lame.
A more subtle problem is lack of basic spending maturity. Last year Ryan went to the mall to see a movie. Kara dropped him off with $20 and a friend only to find out later that he straightway went to Candy World and spent $14, so he didn’t have enough left for the movie ticket. (We owed the friend a couple bucks; I hoped he would take payment in Jelly Bellys.)
For the first few months of Ryan’s working life, he applied his entire paycheck to his electric guitar loan that he had taken out from the Bank of Kara. His attention to debt repayment was gratifying, but it still represented consumerism and not savings. With his most recent check I suggested that he begin saving a fixed percentage, like 40 or 50 percent for long-term/mission. He agreed to 30 percent, starting with the next check. He wanted all of this one in cash; he had some things he wanted to buy. I reluctantly agreed. After all, it is his money.
A few days later I asked what he wanted to buy. He said, “A dirt bike.” Kara flatly vetoed this idea. But the one he had his eye on was $1,500, so at his income level, he’ll won’t be able to afford it for 7 years, at which time he’ll be old enough to buy it without his mother’s consent.
Later still I overheard that while at the mall with his mother, he used his hard-earned money to buy a Speedo. He thought it would be funny. He told me that he could get a better tan. It’s October. A Speedo? He could tell I was mildly disturbed and asked, “What’s wrong with a Speedo?” What could I say? Nothing if you are a diver or live in Dresden.
At least Kara doesn’t have to worry about the dirt bike.
2 comments:
Hilarious. I am living it. Jake is willing right now to give us back his phone so that he can use the phone security deposit he gave us to buy an electric guitar, which would cost every last penny. He would be broke and he has no future income unless Uncle Eric has pity on him. I am on the fence. Since I hate the cell phone I am leaning toward the impulse buy.
Gotta love teenagers! Fun to watch how life changes for them once they're married. Financial decisions become more conservative. I finally feel that something I taught got through!
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