There’s more to driving than teaching your teenager the rules of the road. Use this rite of passage to underscore and expand efforts to teach your kid about personal finance.

“Many parents don’t talk to their teens about taking financial responsibility for a portion of the cost of driving,” says Neale Godfrey, author of Money Doesn’t Grow On Trees: A Parent’s Guide To Raising Financially Responsible Children. “If teens have a financial stake in driving, I believe they’ll be more responsible.”

Start talking about the cost of operating a car long before your teen gets a license. It’s a mistake to give your child the car keys and leave the impression that money to cover related costs somehow drops from the sky.

The key lessons: Nothing is free and there are financial consequences for mistakes, even little ones.

Most parents haven’t saved for the cost of their teen’s driving, Godfrey says. You can lower insurance costs by having your student complete a driver’s education course and putting the kid in the safest car possible -- sports cars and convertibles are likely to cost more to insure. Good grades may qualify your new driver for a good student discount on the insurance premium.

A survey by USAA, a diversified financial services company, found that 74% of teens and 88% of parents believe driving will allow teens to take on more responsibility. The downside: Most kids don’t have a clue how to save, budget or pay for driving costs.

If your student has a part-time job, now is a good time to write a budget. It’s never too early to learn how to balance long-term goals such as saving for college with immediate expenses such as putting gas in the tank. See: How To Make A Household Budget That Works and Seven Tips For Saving.

Start by discussing basic costs with your teen. USAA’s survey of 500 teens aged 16 to 18 and 500 parents with kids that age uncovered this paradox: 90% of teens say they understand the financial responsibilities of driving, but only 31% had ever talked to their parents about insurance, registration, maintenance or car payments.

The survey found that 76% of teens contribute to the cost of driving and nearly half cover the cost of gas on their own.

After nailing down the basic costs of operating a car and coming up with a reasonable split of the costs, think about using your student’s growing responsibility to discuss a checking account and a debit card. If your student overspends, set up a payment schedule and hold the kid to it. Be sure your student can handle money wisely before thinking about a credit card. In most cases, delay use of a credit card until college – and keep the limit low, say $500.

Discuss ways your student can cut expenses to cover driving costs. It can be as simple as watching a movie at home instead of going to the theater and cutting back on pizza with friends.

The key: Discuss the financial choices and let your child decide. Allow room for your student to make mistakes – and with luck, they’ll be little ones. But if your student runs out of money and can’t put gas in the car for a Saturday night with friends, you’ve got to say, “Looks like you’re staying in tonight.”

Bailing the kid out of a mistake, even a little one, undercuts the need to stick to the budget. Remember: Driving is a simple thing, but learning how to manage money is an important lesson that will serve your child throughout life.

“Establish the rules before handing over the keys,” Godfrey says. “This isn’t ‘Gotcha!’ – It’s an opportunity to discuss the basics of handling money and most kids are eager to learn.”

However, make it clear to your student that drinking and driving or wild speeding are deal killers and will result in permanent revocation of driving privileges. Say this several times, starting long before your student starts driving and, if necessary, have the kid repeat it to you.

Use a minor speeding ticket to talk about points and how they will boost insurance costs – and have your kid pay up. Make sure your student understands that speeding is a serious offense. If your student is involved in a fender-bender, have the kid cover the deductible and go through all the hassle of taking the car to a body shop for repairs.

“Be a parent,” Godfrey says.