Money Decisions, Out Loud

Three short lessons for the parent of a teenager: think a real money decision out loud, show why the maths matters to their own life, and let them make the next call.

Spark & Whetstone · sparkwhetstone.org/learn/money-out-loud · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Answers are at the end, so you can try each question first.

Lesson 1. Think it out loud

Most money decisions happen silently in a grown-up's head. A teenager sees only the result: we got the cheaper phone plan, we did not buy the car.

Thinking out loud changes that. Spend one minute saying what you are weighing, what the numbers are, and what you are not sure of. "This plan is $15 less a month, so $180 a year, but it has less data. How much data did we use last month?"

Question. Which is a think-aloud a teenager can learn from?

We are getting the cheaper plan.
The cheaper plan saves $15 a month, about $180 a year, but has half the data; let us check what we used last month before deciding.
Money does not grow on trees.

Say it back. In your own words: what goes into a one-minute money think-aloud?

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Lesson 2. Why it matters to them

Teenagers work harder at maths they can see a use for in their own lives. Researchers call this utility value.

In one study, researchers sent parents of high-school students brochures about why maths and science matter for everyday life and careers. The students whose parents got them took more maths and science in their last two years of school (Harackiewicz and colleagues, 2012).

You do not need a brochure. Name the maths inside a real choice your teenager cares about: a first job's pay after tax, the cost of a car over three years, interest on a phone bought in instalments.

Question. What did the parent brochure study find?

Students whose parents were sent the brochures took more maths and science courses.
Students who read brochures got higher test scores the same week.
Brochures had no effect at all.

Say it back. Say it back: what is utility value, and how could you show it at home?

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Lesson 3. Let them make the next call

After you have thought aloud a few times, hand over a small real decision: which of two phone plans, how to spend a birthday gift, whether a sale is really a saving.

Ask them to think it out loud the way you did. Ask questions rather than correcting: "What does it cost over a year?" "What are you giving up?" Let a small mistake stand if it is cheap; it teaches more than a lecture.

Question. Your teenager picks the plan with a lower monthly price but a big joining fee. What do you say first?

That is the wrong one.
What does each plan cost over the whole year?
Let me choose this time.

Say it back. In your own words: how do you hand a money decision over without taking it back?

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At the table: One decision, out loud

Players: a grown-up and a teenager. You'll need: a real bill or offer (a phone plan, a subscription, a sale flyer) and a calculator.

The grown-up thinks the decision out loud for one minute: the numbers, the trade-off, what is not known.
Together, work out the cost over a whole year.
The teenager picks a second decision and thinks it out loud the same way.
Each says what they would choose and why. Nobody has to agree.

Answers

The cheaper plan saves $15 a month, about $180 a year, but has half the data; let us check what we used last month before deciding. — The second one shows the saving, the trade-off and the open question. The others give only a result or a slogan.
Students whose parents were sent the brochures took more maths and science courses. — The finding was about course choices: students whose parents got the materials took more maths and science later in high school.
What does each plan cost over the whole year? — Asking for the whole-year cost lets them see the fee for themselves. Telling them takes the decision back.