Last week a semiannual survey of 7,000 15- to 18-year-olds by Piper Jaffray, an investment bank and research firm, showed that annual discretionary spending by teenagers, whose money comes from allowance, gifts and part-time jobs, had dropped 27 percent to $2,600, from its spring 2006 peak of $3,560.
Interestingly, the survey showed that the amount teenagers allocated for clothes had increased 1 percent, but that they were patronizing stores with lower-priced labels.
So where’s the money coming from? Parental negotiations. As parents drop housecleaning and lawn services, they are asking their teenagers to pitch in, for pay.
This is classic back-to-basics. How much more fundamental does it have to get than: "This is your house too!"
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Photo: Beanbags in Wal-mart.
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