Parents’ Guide to Financial Success for College-Bound Hawaii Teens

According to CollegeBoard, in 2025-26 the average college student will spend $3,015 per month ($27,140 over nine months) on living expenses alone. That’s just housing, food, and transportation, not including tuition.  

“How do you prepare your teen to manage their own household budget? As a parent of a college student, I’m passionate about helping others learn from my experience and gain peace of mind about money,” shares Bryan Yucoco, Financial Wellness Manager at HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union.  

Here are Bryan’s best practices for preparing your teen: 

Do: Get a debit card tied to a joint checking account, and practice using it responsibly to build healthy money habits. Use digital banking tools to track spending and for security features such as locking a misplaced card. This way, when they load the debit card to their mobile wallet and cash apps, they’ll still benefit from security features that cash apps alone may not offer.  

Do: Be candid about credit. When is the right time for a credit card? Once they’ve proven they can handle a debit card. The same principles apply: spend within your means and monitor transactions for fraud. Credit monitoring and simulator tools can help them to understand the long-term impact on buying a car, renting an apartment, or even job offers.  

Don’t micromanage: The key is for your teen to take ownership of their income and expenses to practice managing cashflow. Even if they still live at home, scale it to fit their situation. “Yes, they will make unwise decisions. That’s part of the learning cycle,” Bryan says. “Let them learn from small mistakes now to avoid big mistakes in the future!” 

Get more resources for your teen’s college journey, including scholarships for HawaiiUSA members.