LIFE

Good for you for wanting to shoulder the burden! You’re on your way to becoming a smart, independent young woman, and earning at least a share of the field trip cost will definitely make you wise about working, saving and budgeting your bucks. We’ve got a few ideas to get you started on the right foot…

Talk it out

The first thing you need to do is talk to your parents. Give them all the info you have on the trip, tell them why you want to go and answer all of their questions. Ask them if they’d be willing to let you go, and whether or not they could contribute to your field trip fund. Perhaps they could pay for a third or half of the cost, leaving you to come up with the rest.

Make a plan

Once you’ve hammered out the details with your ‘rents, you need to sit down and come up with a way to earn your way to Costa Rica. If your parents are forking over a share, ask them to transfer the moolah to a savings account so it can earn a li’l interest. For your part, consider our suggestions below on rakin’ in the dough:

Sub out your birthday gifts

If you will be celebrating a birthday before the trip, consider asking not for gifts but rather for money to fund your trip. Your fam should have no trouble dishing out the dollars instead of packages this year since you have a goal in mind. The same goes for holiday prezzies and report card treats, too.

Save your allowance

If Mom ‘n’ Dad are paying you to do chores around the house, toss that cash into your piggy bank and leave it alone. Can’t nix those spending urges? Try stowing half to three-quarters of your allowance and tossing the rest into your wallet for your next shopping spree.

Rake in the dough

Once school lets out, you’ll have the summer months to get busy. If you’re not into babysitting, try house sitting for vacationing neighbors or dog walking for busy families n your block. You can do odd jobs for folks you know, tutor kids who need some extra help or even start your own business.

by Brittany Taylor | 2/1/2016