The value of money is one of the most important lessons a parent can share with their children. One of the basic approaches to this lesson is a simple exchange: household chores for a weekly allowance. After mowing the lawn or doing the dishes, the child is rewarded with a fixed amount. They can either spend it that week or save their case for a future purchase. However, there is a lot more to learn when it comes to managing money. Providing your teen with a prepaid card can show them the benefits of staying within a budget and serve as a precursor to balancing a checkbook. These are essential real world survival tools that every kid should become familiar with.

As the title implies, a prepaid card is a form of credit card with a specific balance that has been already been paid for. The user can’t go beyond that initial amount. How will this help your kid understand finances? For one, it will get them familiar with the concept of using credit cards to make purchases; something they will clearly utilize later in life. However, it will provide them with the benefit of charging the same amount they can pay for. In other words, a prepaid card is a practical lesson in “pay as you go.”

When a teen has cash to make a purchase, they’ll know just how much change they have left. With a prepaid card, that balance amount needs to be kept track of. This is the same underlining principle involved with balancing a checkbook. Teaching them how to track balances is a great way to instill in them the basic rules of checkbook balancing. It might even be a benefit to serve as a refresher course for those of us who haven’t quite “mastered” those skills!

Addiction is selfish, because it takes over an individual’s life. The only thing they can focus on is their addiction. Perhaps, you need to help the addict understand how their actions are impacting you and other people they love. You need to put yourself in a place where your addicted loved one can know that you love them, but you aren’t going to allow them to impact your life anymore. This also means removing innocents, like children, from the impact of an addict’s negative behaviors. You need to be sure that you aren’t allowing an addict to take advantage of you. You need to let them know that they are loved unconditionally but that you aren’t going to validate or support their addictive behaviors.

It’s also important to let your addicted loved one know that there is hope and help. There are some great rehabilitation programs like TheCyn.com that can help your loved one find their path back to hope and a life free of addiction. Let your loved one know about rehabilitation programs and counseling options. Give them hope.