The challenge

The first step is to look at your teen’s pay slips or a job advertisement they’re interested in that specifies the hourly rate available.

• If your teen doesn’t have a job, work out how many hours they would like to work per week and then multiply it by the hourly rate.
• If your teen does have a job, use their payslip to find out their hourly rate by dividing their earnings by the number of hours worked on that payslip.
• If they’re working “gig” work, like takeaway delivery, then you’ll need to work out what their average minimum hourly salary is.

Once you’ve got this information, get your teenager to map out their expected hours over the course of the next month, and multiply this to their hourly rate.

Finally, start creating a budget planner by factoring in expenses and outgoings. This will enable them to plan how to save and spend their earnings.

The conversation

This activity can and probably will spark all kinds of questions or thoughts. Rest assured, this is a good thing and an opportunity for your teenager to make some informed decisions about their future and the value of their time.

• Is this budget feasible? Are your teenager’s expenses more than their outgoings?
• Do they feel their hourly rate is fair for what they’re doing? For example, if they’re working a job that pays per takeaway delivered, how many deliveries will they have to make before they can save?
• How much will they ask for in terms of an hourly rate for their next job? How do other industries compare?

The career

You’ll be needing this skill if you’re in charge of almost any work budget, but it’s vital to know if you’re self-employed, freelancing, or paid on commission. Such professions include author, real estate agents, actors, web developers, designers, retail workers, entrepreneurs, consultants and tradies.

Anybody who is selling their services needs to know how much they’re worth and what they need to do to work out their worth. If your teenager has ever expressed an interest in working for themselves, knowing hourly rates is a very important skill