The following has been adapted for our teen audience from a post featured on Workman Publishing’s blog, written by the creators of Biz Kid$. 

Happy New Year, Biz Kid! We’re almost two weeks in to 2017; how are you doing so far? Have your resolutions held up? If you haven’t made any resolutions yet, allow us to suggest one: a savings resolution.

Set your goal.

Set a goal that’s specific and achievable. For a ten-year-old, perhaps that’s $100. Once you’ve defined your goal, write it down, post it on the mirror, or make it the background for the phone. Put it somewhere that you’ll see everyday.

Make it a priority.

The key to meeting any savings goal is understanding a concept we call PYF. That stands for Pay Yourself First. No, we’re not talking about a Scrooge-like mentality. We’re talking about a commitment to saving toward your financial goals before other excuses get in the way. When you get your allowance, paycheck, or make a sale, put the money towards your savings goal first. Then you can eye that new pair of shoes. Just take it from Beauty and the Budget:

Take advantage of free tools!

For older Biz Kids, creating a more extensive budget can go a long way in helping to nail down your expenses and keep your goals in check. Here are a few (free!) budgeting tools that we love:

You Need A Budget

Mint Budgeting App

PocketGuard

Good Budget

Mvelopes

Turn that $100 into a cool million.

Once you’ve made your goal, it’s time to make it grow! With some dedication and savvy investment, even a crisp, cool Benjamin could turn into a healthy fortune. Our new book, How to Turn $100 into $1,000,000 is chock full of tips for teens who want to earn more, invest more, and save more. Check it out!