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And abusing his call minutes, talking on his phone with girls like talktime’s free? Even with free unlimited student minutes, this is still not a good thing. It’s a downright bad habit.

So how do you control it? Most parents pay for their kiddo’s handphone bills, and we all know how much you treasure money you never see. ;)

Here’s how I would do it.

1. Sign up for a prepaid plan for your kid. 
2. Give him an additional $30 or $40 (or whatever budget you determine is appropriate) dollars pocket money and tell him that this is his handphone allowance.
3. If he uses less, the rest is his to spend or save. 
4. If he uses more, he will have to top up with his own pocket allowance.

To me, this achieves a few key points in financial and management education. You teach him how to plan his expenditure and budget for things he wants to buy. He’ll soon learn how to prioritize his expenses because if he doesn’t plan and blow his budget, that will simply mean that he has no money to top up his phone and will have to suffer the inconveniences of not being able to contact his friends.

Of course, you can still use a post-paid plan, just give him the additional allowance and tell him to pay for his plan himself! Don’t do everything for your kid, it’s as good as spoiling them.

How else would you educate your kid about good financial habits? 

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