Teen Money Tips - Ever considered second hand?

Whenever most of us want to buy something we simply go out and buy it brand new. However, if you're willing to buy things second hand (either online or from pawn shops, classified ads or other channels of second hand merchandise) you can often buy good quality products at a much lower cost.

So what sort of goods can you buy second hand that are often available in good condition?

-Sports equipment (tennis rackets, weight training gear etc.)
-Gaming consoles and games (just ensure that the games do not have scratched discs!)
-Computers and computer accessories (always, always check out a second hand computer or second hand computer accessories before you buy. Also it pays to have a returns policy with the seller. This is even more important if you buy online from auction sites!)
-Normally expensive clothing or accessories (leather jackets, watches etc)
-Musical instruments (guitars are a very good example of this, however, check the instrument over for signs of damage)

There are of course plenty of other things you can buy second hand. Another great thing about buying second hand is that you can often haggle for a better price. However, its always important to remember to check the item you wish to purchase over and make sure it works well. Also, if you buy online or from a classified ad remember to keep the seller's contact info!

Teen Money Tips - Keep your small change!

Every time you guy to the local shops to buy a drink or rent out a movie, what do you do with the small change you have left? Many people just spend it (either then or at a later date) But today, I am going to show you why you should instead save that small change, and also how you can save it easily.

Simple steps to saving small change -

Step 1 - Get a jar
Step 2 - Label the jar "Small Change Savings"
Step 3 - Every time you have small change put it into the jar.
Step 4 - Do not use the small change until the end of the year (if you start half way through the year then stop half way through next year etc.)

Its as easy as that!

Now let's work out how much you could save using this method! First of all, work out on average how many cash transactions you perform a week that result in you getting small change. In this example, we will use 5 transactions a week. Now let's say that on average you recieve $1.20 in small change from each transaction (on average)

Now let's do some maths :( -

5 x 1.20 x 56 (weeks in a year) = $336 in small change a year. That $336 could be saved, invested or spent on something far better than what the individual bits of small change would have bought. It really is that easy to save an extra bit of money each year!