Handouts at home, jobs let teens live the good life
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Before Malia Blumhardt started her first job working at Round Table pizza, she had an allowance of $5 a week.
"That kind of sucked," said the 17-year-old Sacred Hearts senior, who has since gone on to bigger and better things: She is now a hostess at Zippy's.
These days, the Kailua teen covers most of her own expenses beyond room and board, and is saving for a trip next summer to visit relatives in Italy.
Sara Magliulo, a senior at Punahou, said some of her peers rake in much more. She told of one 17-year-old friend (she wouldn't say who) who drives a new SUV, gets plenty of gas money and goes out on the town all the time.
"I know of people for Christmas who got a brand-new car," Magliulo recalled with a laugh, "and I'm getting a new CD."
Magliulo said her parents give her cash as needed. She estimates her allowance at about $50 a week in the summer, but only $15 during the school year.
Experts say today's teens are the most affluent generation of young people to date. Not only are their prosperous parents generous when they dole out money, but those who want to work are finding jobs paying well above minimum wage.
Last year, despite the economic recession, teens spent $172 billion, up from $122 billion five years ago, according to Chicago-based Teenage Research Unlimited. Even tomorrow's teens, kids 4 to 12, are big spenders. In 2001, the group spent $40 billion compared with $17.1 billion in 1994, according to the Center for a New American Dream, a Takoma Park, Md.-based nonprofit that encourages consumer responsibility.
"Teens have the most disposable money they'll have for years to come, because somebody else is providing all of the basics," said Marian Salzman, chief strategic officer for New York ad agency Euro RSCG Worldwide. "Their high school years are their years of real affluence."
According to TRU, teens have three main sources of income: parents, gifts and jobs.
Allowances remain popular but the amounts have grown.
On average, kids "earn about their age in weekly allowance. But that doesn't really cover much," said Jennifer Park, a Northwood, Ohio-based teen market researcher with NFO WorldGroup. "Maybe one compact disc or one meal."
To pay for the high costs of being a teen — which can include expanding wardrobes, frequent trips to 7-Eleven, compact discs, concert tickets, makeup and electronic toys — many teens make a habit out of asking their parents for cash handouts in addition to weekly allowances.
And many parents have a hard time saying no.
"When parents aren't available, they flip around and throw cash at them," Salzman said. "And what used to be a $5 or $10 bill is now a $20 bill every time mom and dad feel guilty."
Park said she believes many teens get accustomed to having lots of cash while living at home.
"Going to college may be big letdown," she said. "That may be why more teens are living at home after school, because they got used to this great lifestyle at home. They are used to a more affluent lifestyle."
Advertiser staff writer Mary Kaye Ritz and the Knight Ridder News Service contributed to this report.
