It's official, today's teenagers still love splurging, especially when it's being funded by someone else. This was highlighted by a 30-year study, which looked at the financial habits of 49,000 high school seniors between 1981 and 2011.

Most of the participants threw their money away on "discretionary spending on relatively short-term wants and needs," instead of saving it for long-term goals like college. One big change that researchers noted was how they spend their money when it came to cars, as the amount seems to have dropped sharply in the last decade. 

While researchers couldn't really explain the change, they believe it could have something to do with how today's teens can stay in touch virtually instead of driving to go see one another.

[PhysOrg]