If you are the parent of a college-age student then you know that there are many things that you are supposed to teach or remind him or her about.
One of the things that often gets pushed to the side is the issue of personal finance.
It is important that you teach your child about personal finance issues such as how to properly use credit, how to pay back loans, and of course how to get and maintain a job.
It is understandable that personal finance may not be the most exciting topic to have a discussion about, but it may be one of the most important ones.
The reason why personal finance is so important to this age group is that these are the people that are most likely to be targeted by dangerous types of loans. They are the age group most likely to start getting themselves into personal finance issues. Mainly the issue is large amounts of debt, but there are other problems that could arise as well.
You are going to have to deal with a somewhat tricky balance. You want to respect that your child is now legally an adult and able to make their own decisions. At the same time, however, you do not want them to make a personal finance mistake that is going to haunt them for some time to come.
The best plan usually is to make sure that they understand that you respect their decisions, but you just want to give some input on these personal finance issues. Most college-age students are going to recognize that you are really trying to offer them help, and they will at least listen.
The final thing to remember is that you may not always get the results that you want from your child. After all, they are legally adults now and they will make their decisions. Even matters as important as personal finance will be left up to them. You as the parent have to learn to accept this and be okay with the concept.