23 Jun Our Futures Are ‘Being Robbed From Us’: Teens Get Real About Money

(Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash)

Commentary, Various Authors

Editor’s note: A recent study found that 43% of teens 13-18 worry “they won’t have enough money to meet their future needs and goals.” So we asked local youth about their financial worries, how it affects them, and what would help them feel better about their financial futures. Their responses have been lightly edited for clarity.

I worry about my family’s financial situation. I worry about how much I spend and if I spend too much, it’ll affect my family’s budget.

I worry about how much I’ll pay in college because college can be very expensive, depending which college you go to.

While I’m buying things when I’m with my mom, I tend to worry about how much I’m going to spend; I usually ask my mom how much I can spend.

It doesn’t affect my mental health or mood or sleep. If I work and save up, I will be less worried about my financial future.

— Natalie Arriola, 16

I am somewhat stressed because I have no source of income at this moment, but I have faith I can pay for cheaper classes at community college. I try not to think about finances day to day, because I’m just focused on my hobbies and picking up skills right now.

Financial stress does affect my mood, but since I know it’s only a temporary part of my life and it won’t be like this forever, it goes away after a couple days.

A scholarship offer would make me feel more secure in my future.

— Isaac Flores, 17

I always wonder if we have enough money for a university that I maybe want to go to. I think I will be stressed because I would have to get a job after high school for money and make a budget for myself to make things easier.

What triggers my thoughts about money and finance is if I hear the word “financial” because that is what just reminds me that I have to get a job and possibly work for myself. It does not impact my mental health; it only just makes me wonder.

The thing that would make me feel more confident is not thinking too much about finances.

— Sergio Raygoza, 17

I often worry about my family’s financial situation, especially lately as there hasn’t been any work for my dad and my mom doesn’t work. There are times where we don’t have money to pay for bills or even groceries. I had to be aware about money and not spending it on unnecessary things since I was young since I often would hear my parents talk about not having enough money to pay everything.

Now that I’m going into college, I worry that I may not have enough money to pay for college and I will have to drop out.

Financial stress impacts my mental health as it doesn’t give me time to worry about other things and just myself without feeling selfish and like I’m lazy. What would help me feel less anxious about my financial situation is if I knew that the country I live in was more supportive and gave us good resources instead of taking them away [instead of] having to think about what I’m going to do if they were to, for example, take away my financial aid, which I would use to pay for school.

I hope they stopped focusing on unnecessary thing like taking away the good stuff instead of other important things like our ecosystem.

— Valeria Rodriguez, 18

I get stressed sometimes because of the economic and financial direction we’re going in, but I’m hopeful that nothing too bad will happen. I worry because I don’t want to become a burden on my parents if all the financial aid for university I’m receiving disappears. If it happened, though, I guess I’d have to drop out and get a job to help them or just take out a lot of loans in my name.

I would hope the economy actually fixes itself, but I’m not really sure, so it’s just something I hold onto. I really hope we won’t be in another recession or Great Depression, though, because I love vanilla lattes with whipped cream too much.

— Andrea Ochoa, 17

Things are becoming worse by the second. I know anything could happen that can ruin or, at least, [make] my future harder. I think about it almost every day, probably because I see a ton of people dealing with that every day. It makes me hopeless. What future can I and others have if our futures are constantly being robbed from us?

The only thing I can say in terms of what makes me less stressed about it is the idea things can get better, but even that hope is getting more quiet by the day.

— Cesar Ayala, 18

I am worried that while attending a public school (UC Berkeley) with what’s going on politically, government funds will be taken away, and I will receive less financial aid the upcoming year of 2026-2027. Also, even though in numbers, my parents’ income seems high, it is not enough to be able to support me, as there are many financial responsibilities they need to take care of.

I am ready to prepare by doing work-study and applying to a lot of scholarships.

— Lourdes Mendoza, 17

Sometimes, I do worry about the financial situation of my family, but it doesn’t exactly ruin my day-to-day life. It’s mostly me worrying about if there will be something that we can’t afford yet and will have to wait a while to buy.

I want to try and help with paying for my future after high school, especially when it comes to college. I want to be able to help my mom not have to pay as much. I do not think about it often, but it does occasionally cross my mind.

The best way for me to feel confident about my financial future would definitely be making sure that I can get a job that pays at least enough to somewhat help my mom.

— Florian Banagan, 17

Many times, I worry about my family’s financial situation since it does become more obvious as time passes by. We live with too many people, and my mom has to essentially overwork to provide both supplies for her job and for me and some family members that live with us. I get more and more stressed when it comes to my future, since I don’t yet know if I’ll be able to come up with a sustainable source of income.

I don’t usually think about money, but nowadays, it has become more and more of a worry since more and more of it has to be used. I don’t necessarily become too stressed about it, since we are able to handle it, but I don’t know if there will come a day where we straight up cannot.

It would be nice to know that I wouldn’t have to worry about anything financially, but that’s just not how the world is going to work.

— Hector Perez, 16

I don’t worry about my family’s financials for right now. I am a little bit stressed about what I am going to do after high school. I haven’t chosen what I want to do, and I don’t know if I am going to go to college since it’s going to be hard to pay. I don’t really think about money or finances for right now because my parents provide everything I need until after high school. [Finances] sometimes makes me overthink what I am going to do or become in the future and how I am going to be able to provide for myself and my future.

I would feel less stressed if we talk about this more in class and discuss our plans after high school.

— Rafeef Saleh, 16

I don’t worry about my family’s financial situation because we are not in debt and we are doing well living.

Sometimes, I do worry about my future to pay for college, but then I start thinking when I have my career, I could start paying it off. I barely think about money or other finances because I don’t really spend nor does anyone in my family — only buy things that we really need and really want. Sometimes, it’s hard to sleep when I start to think about my future because I’m going to need a lot of money when I go to college.

I would feel more confident if I think about succeeding in the career I want to be and making more money than I ever did.

— Iory Blancas Perez, 16