Financial News

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Check Teen Money Master and all the interns out in the Bucks County Courier! We help teens help themselves!

By: Cristina Fernandez

If you are a teen and aren’t quite ready for a credit card, a debit card is the way to go. Debit cards are drastically different than credit cards for many reasons. When you spend money using a debit card, the money is instantly removed from a saving or checking account. Student debit cards are a great way for teens to learn how to budget their money. They can view all of their transactions online, make withdrawals, and make deposits. Unlike credit cards, you can’t really get yourself into debt because if you attempt to make a purchase that exceeds the limit in your account, your card is declined and the purchase will not be made. Student debit cards are also a great option for parents. Parents have access to the account and can see what transactions have been made. They can also control how and where the card is used.

By: Cristina Fernandez

As you grow older, you will start to realize that you need a way of getting from point A to point B without asking your parents or other friends to drive you. The reality is you are going to need a car. Whether you need it to drive to school, go to extra-curricular activities, drive siblings places, run errands, or just do what you desire, you will need a way of getting there and back. Most teens are first time car buyers and don’t really know where to start. It is important to decide how long you will need your car for. A year ago I purchased a used car because I knew that after college I will want to buy a brand new car so I won’t be using it for that many years. This was a reasonable thought for me because not many colleges allow freshmen to keep a car on campus. I decided to buy a used car because it was much cheaper than buying a brand new car. This decision was also made uniquely for me because a used car has disadvantages as well. A new car may be more fuel efficient and will last longer than a used car. Considering all of these factors, I would strongly consider teenagers buy a used car.

By: Cristina Fernandez

As teenager, many of us own cars or have friends that own cars. Many of us also love to have fun and travel to different places such as the beach, amusement parks, the movies, and even to a friend’s house just to hang out. The list goes on and on. Along with this, many of us also need to pay for our own gas. This can become a great dilemma if you don’t have a job or another form of steady income. When you go to the pump, you fill up your gas and when you go to pay, your heart skips a little beat. What other options do we have besides pay high costs for gas? Stay home, become couch potatoes and not live up our teenage lives? No, of course we want to have fun! We can’t control our human instincts to explore the world so unfortunately we have to suck it up and deal with these ridiculous gas prices.

By: Tyler Dratch
Teen Money Master Intern

As a graduating high school senior, I have just started receiving the beginning of an endless trail of credit card offers. I know this is only the beginning because I have seen the numerous offers my parents who are a few decades older than me still receive on a regular basis. There is no question that a credit card provides its owner a great deal of convenience. A consumer can now make all purchases with one card, instead of having to carrying around large amounts of cash. A consumer can spend now and pay later, what could be better? These deals may sound great, but they come with responsibility and risk. The risk for a student entering college is even greater than normal since they could quite easily put themselves into credit card debt that they would be forced to pay off for the rest of my life.

By: Tyler Dratch

According to the Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, the United States has reached its debt ceiling. The debt ceiling is defined as the maximum amount of money the United States government is allowed to borrow from domestic and foreign investors. These investors include individuals investing in U.S. treasury bonds, and entire countries investing in other substantial investments. The debt limit has to be raised from time to time, due to increased government spending and inflation. The United States Congress is the body responsible for raising the debt ceiling, and has done so seventy four times since 1962. Today the debt ceiling stands at $14.29 trillion.