Many students have part time jobs to make money and/or save up for college. However, is this money earned carelessly used on food chains and popular clothing brands?

According to a semiannual report by Piper Jaffray Companies, a full-service investment bank and asset management firm, teens are spending the most money on food. The survey showed that 23% of all teenage spending goes towards food, while there is 20% on clothing (Nike ranks number one, followed by Forever 21), 8% on cars and car fees, 8% on electronics, and 7% on shoes.

Bella Mueller, an Arrowhead senior, says, “I currently work at Zesti and try my best to save the money that I earn for college and the future. However, I also set some aside a decent ammount of my paycheck for day to day spending such as going to starbucks, or grabbing food with friends. I use a debit card because it is easy to monitor how much money I have in my account, especially with the banking apps, and easy to deposit money. Occasionally I treat myself to new clothes, or more expensive things; however, most of it does go towards small items which add up quick such as a 4 dollar coffee, a 5 dollar sandwich, and stuff like that. A lot of my money this time of year goes towards Christmas gifts for my family and friends as well as the seasonal holiday drinks at starbucks.”

Jaffray Companies found that out of the money spent on food by teens, the most goes towards Starbucks. However, this hasn’t changed from past years studies. Following Starbucks is Chipotle, and then Chic-fil-A, followed by Panera Bread, and lastly Olive Garden.

Something that has changed has been the shift in teen spending on clothes from jeans to active wear, according to the Jaffray Company report.  It was also discovered from the report that an increased number of males are shopping online, rising from about 20% to about 50% of the teen male spending online, which is more than female teens online spending numbers.

Megan Holowitz, a senior at Arrowhead who works at U.S. Cellular says, “I spend the money I earn from my job on food and gas. I go out with my friends often which uses a lot of gas; therefore, most of my money goes towards my car.”

According to a report by Statistic Brain Research Institute, the average annual income of a 15-17 year old is $4,923, and the total annual teen income is $91.1 billion. Additionally, 51% of teens said they were currently saving for college, and 57% said they were saving for new clothes.

Mueller says, “I think it’s really important to save for the future, and also very important to treat yourself with the money you worked hard to earn. Especially with balancing a job with school, splurging sometimes and spending is a nice reward.”