Watch out world!  The sixteen year old who lives at my house just got his driver’s license and is hitting the road today.  We actually delayed the process considerably, since he’ll turn 17 in September.  I feel relatively good (I guess as good as a mom can feel) about his preparation and his ability to drive responsibly. 

In doing some research on the topic of teenage driving, I thought I’d share the following resources in the event that you find yourself with a teen driver in your home:

• TeenDriving.com - A site full of helpful tips for teen drivers and their parents. I found their parent center, which included a draft Teen Driving Contract, to be very helpful.
• Consumer Reports Cars for Teen Drivers - A list of the most suitable cars for young drivers.  I don’t see any of our cars on the list, so we may be in the market soon for a trade in.
• National Safety Council Teen Driver - A downloadable family guide that promises to help take the anxiety out of the process - and believe me, there will be anxiety!
• Insuring a Teen Driver - Helpful information from the Insurance Information Institute
• Cut the Cost of Insuring your teen driver - More good tips from MSN Money

I’ll admit to feeling a bit emotional and very nervous over this next step in my son’s life.  I’d love to hear from any of you who have survived having teen drivers in the home!

Best of the Blogs:
(recent posts related to today’s topic of Family Finances)

• Gifts that Matter Don’t Come from Walmart
• Small Gains
• Seven Words on How to Invest Well
• 16 Hardcore Tactics for Minimizing Your Monthly Bills

Home-work for Today:

• Do your cars need maintenance?  When was your last oil change?  Have you checked the air level in your tires?  Take time today to check on needed maintenance issues.