But let's face it, once you hit the teen years, your parents are more likely to be thinking about renting out your room than opening their wallets to you. And despite people telling you that you don't have to go out to have fun, everyone knows that having a little cash in your pocket doesn't hurt - especially with college steadily approaching.

So how are teens supposed to satisfy their cravings for cash? According to a poll taken by the nonprofit group Junior Achievement, 80 percent of teens had the same idea in mind this summer - finding a job.

Jeannine Runkel of Lancaster is part of that percentage. Aside from needing to save money for college this fall, Runkel, 17, decided she needed to get a job after she bought a car. "I just recently bought my dream car, a 2003 Grand AM GT with a performance hood which I have to make the payments on," she said. Adding this huge responsibility to her shopping addiction, Runkel needed cash and fast.

After a few weeks of job hunting, she decided to work for the Lancaster Recreation Department. She had worked as a "sub" last summer for $6.50 an hour, but a two-month Water Safety Instructor Certification course she took last winter raised her pay to $7 an hour and qualified her to teach children's swimming and senior citizens aquatic aerobics classes. "When I first started to do it this year, I had no idea what I was doing and was very thankful that the seniors put up with me," she said.

Higher wages aside, was the opportunity to teach classes worth taking the course? "I truly enjoy leading the senior aerobics; even though there are days when I'm just so tired and want to sleep, the seniors put me in a good mood. They always seem to be happy and appreciate the effort I put into the classes for them," she said. And while Jeannine loves her job, she candidly admits that her favorite part of her workday is going home, changing into dry clothes and going back to bed.

Some teens work more than one job. Clarence sophomore Nick Hathaway, 15, has worked three different jobs this summer. While lifeguarding at the pool at the Renaissance Place Apartments takes up 12 to 15 hours of his week, teaching swim lessons at Clarence Middle School claims another 10 - and that's without mentioning his job as a caddy one day a week at the Brookfield Country Club.

Nick confesses that the most rewarding part of all his jobs is getting paid, because he uses his paychecks to fund his love for BMX bikes, and also to help save for car insurance. Although most of his friends don't work yet, he predicts they will be encouraged to sometime in the near future. "I think most teens work because their parents want them to learn responsibility and to keep them out of trouble," he says. "I plan to work all the same jobs next summer."

Brittany George, 14, who will be a freshman at Hutch-Tech, also hopes to return to the job she landed this summer. After being accepted into the Mayor's Summer Youth Program, Brittany worked for minimum wage at the Buffalo Employment and Training Center, answering phones, directing calls, organizing filing cabinets and checking time sheets for payroll. Although she is the youngest employee (her co-workers range from college students to grandparents), she says the job was "a great experience to meet new people, learn basic working skills, explore different types of of careers, and make your OWN money."

Working in the summer appears to offer a myriad of benefits - flexible hours, extra cash, and that bonus tan doesn't hurt. But with the first day of school quickly approaching, what happens when work starts competing with student council meetings and weeknight flute lessons? As students enter another school year, they are suddenly expected to master a balancing act between studying and work.

Nick Hathaway works only one job during the school year. He'll teach swim lessons when needed, in the evenings from 5 to 7:30 p.m. "I can fit it in," he said.

Although Jeannine Runkel did not have a job during her senior year at Lancaster High School because she wanted to enjoy it as much as possible, she says she's aware that it will be a balancing act and she'll need to work fewer hours once classes start at Buffalo State College. "I am starting college this year and I would like to do well and not flunk out, which means I need to make time to study. Second, I enjoy hanging out with my girlfriends, so I try not to live my life around a job. Everyone needs "me time'," she said. She'll teach swim lessons on Monday and Thursday evenings and also work parttime at Dave's Christmas and Craft Store.

With two jobs during the summer and during the school year, Sacred Heart Academy senior Erica Rodman has had to learn to manage her time effectively. On top of taking three Advanced Placement classes this fall, serving as the children's choir director at St. Benedict's parish and taking an SAT course at UB, Erica will keep working at both the Bead Gallery in Amherst and at a doctor's office, but will cut back her hours. "I work fewer hours during the school year - I have to. There is not enough time in the day to fit in school, homework, studying, sleep, AND work!" Rodman explains that she'll do most of her work for the Bead Gallery on weekends and a few hours after school, while she plans on working two afternoons a week, from 3 to 5 p.m., at the doctor's office.

When asked what compels her to keep two jobs during an already busy time in her life, the answer, once again, is that it all comes down to money. "I think there is pressure on teens to a certain extent. My parents provide everything I need to live comfortably, but beyond that, now that I'm older, I am expected to pay for my own outside things; for example, extra clothes, CDs, tickets, outings with friends," she said.

But two jobs during school? Rodman says: "I really think that having a job as a teenager is very important. It teaches responsibility and it helps one to realize how expensive things are. When the money is coming out of your own pocket, you pay a lot more attention to how it's being spent. I also believe that people who love work, love life. And if you can have a job that you look forward to going to every day, then you are a very lucky person."

Microsoft Word recently released Madden 2004 for XBox, at $50. A&F is already starting to market its fall wardrobe, with jeans alone starting at $60. The question is, how much do you want it?

Molly Hirschbeck is a senior at Kenmore West.

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