When Michael came home from the supermarket with a coffee machine and next to no food, the alarm bells started ringing for dad Gabriel.

The 15-year-old was part of a new social experiment to give teenagers total control of the family finances for a month.

So what could go wrong?

"Michael is not good with money," Gabriel warned.

The $150 groceries budget soon blew out to $228 after the flash new coffee machine and pods were thrown in, immediately raising some eyebrows.

"A coffee machine? What do you want a coffee machine for? What am I going to eat?" his father said.

The coffee machine didn't impress Michael's dad as much as he thought. ( ABC TV )

Michael is one of 15 teens to be handed the family cash and be tasked with managing everything from the weekly shopping, to bills, school costs and even parties, in an effort to teach them financial literacy.

The experience is the premise of the new ABC show Teenage Boss, hosted by internet maths sensation Eddie Woo.

The results are mixed, to say the least.

Loading...

When Dimity got her hands on the cash it was time for a reckoning as the 13-year-old enjoyed her newfound power.

"I was getting $50 a week and my family members were getting like $12 and $15," she said.

"Having the power felt pretty good because I'm the youngest child and I'm usually just told, 'Shut up and go to your room'.

"They probably saw a different side of me, like taking authority and stepping up a little."

Others felt the pressure of the responsibility, like 14-year-old Mitchell, who discovered the maths part was easy, but dealing with people dependent on you was far harder.

"If you're making a tough decision you need some advice from your family," he said.

"I also think deliberately trying not to spend so much for your family sounds a bit crazy but then you'll get a lot of savings in the end."

Vasanth learnt pretty quickly that shopping for the groceries meant making some tough choices. ( ABC TV )

Others thrived, like 13-year-old Ula, who not only learnt how to save money but also actually made more for the family.

"At first I thought, 'Oh, I'm the boss, I don't need to speak to them I'll tell them this is what you have to spend and that's it'," she said.

"But going through the weeks I realised how much I can't do this by myself."

'An authentic learning experience'

Mr Woo was tasked with mentoring each teen through their month and helping them if things went a little awry (they did).

The high school maths teacher has become an internet sensation with his YouTube channel, WooTube, amassing 250,000 subscribers and more than 15 million views.

He received the 2018 Australia Day Local Hero award and was also a top 10 finalist in the 2018 Global Teacher Prize.

Sorry, this video has expired 'It's a pretty steep learning curve for these kids,' says Eddie Woo

"It's absolutely the epitome of what we would call an authentic learning experience," he said.

"Often kids are learning stuff at school and they don't necessarily see how it applies to their everyday life. This just absolutely turns it on his head.

"Every question that the kid asks and wants to know the answer to, it's because they have a real-life situation they're trying to solve."

Mr Woo said it was just as much a learning experience for some parents, as they were made to again realise what it was like to ask for money and be dependent on someone else.

There were no emergency credit cards or shortcuts for the experiment, he said, and sudden costs could not be avoided.

"Because it's a pretty steep learning curve that they have to experience, they all make some mistakes and that's a crucial part of the learning process.

"In fact, it's those moments where their expectations are turned on their head, when they realise this food is not going to last, or, actually, bills come up not always when you expect it, those are the most important moments when reality comes crashing down and they realise, 'Oh, I have a lot to learn here'."

Teenage Boss premieres on Sunday, June 24 at 6.25pm on ABC ME.