What are some good ways to make money? I'm too young to get a job, but I want to get a new fish tank.
Hey there! I am going to put together a few ways that I think are helpful when trying to make money as a teenager. These are just the one’s I think are best and you can find these as well as more information and other ideas here!
Babysit, walk dogs, wash cars, or even record videos and put them online, with the right partnership company, there is a lot of money in it. Or mow lawns for your neighbors. You can make a lot of money, but it’s hard work and could take up much of the weekend. If you get distracted or depressed, remind yourself that your hard work will lead to very real results.
Go to every house in a good sized neighborhood charging 10-20 dollars per driveway, or 30 dollars a week for shoveling the snow. (Charge extra when shoveling snow that has been driven on, which is packed down and very hard to remove.) Do this every time it snows. Someone may pay you in advance for a month if they know you, or if they like your work!
Negotiate fees with your parents for extra chores around the house. Try to pick things they might hire a professional to do, like cleaning the toilets, and charge them half price. Ask your parents if you can clean the house each week. Do your laundry and the dishes.
Run errands for an elderly person. Get groceries, do heavy lifting, troubleshoot the computer, or do any other tasks they might have trouble with. Try to have a good relationship with the person; remember that they might be lonely and probably enjoy spending time around younger people such as friends. (It makes them feel younger.) The better they feel around you, the more they’ll be likely to give you for your services.
On the day before trash pickup, hit up all the houses on your street and ask for a dollar from each house to take all the bins out to the curb. (Don’t ask for any more than this; it’s a super simple job, so you have to maintain a reasonable cost-to-laziness ratio to get anyone interested.) If it works on even twenty houses, that’s twenty bucks for almost no work.
Car washing and detailing is another great money-making idea. This is done most easily with several people: one person rinses and scrubs, one does windows, two detail the inside. Remember to thoroughly vacuum the inside, hit the wheels with wheel wax, rub the inside with vinyl scrub (if the surface is vinyl), and do a thorough job. Remember, if people don’t like your work, they can probably go to a professional and get the job done cheaper. Keep in mind who you’re competing against.
Sell items at a yard sale. Even if you don’t think you have anything lying around that anyone will want, you’d be surprised by how quickly a lot of little sales can add up. Empty out your closet, attic, or basement and gather together everything you don’t want. Put all the small-ticket items into a group to be sold at a yard sale, which you can advertise with street signs and Craigslist. (Often, clothes in nice condition will sell at a yard sale. Worthless clothes, especially simple tees, can be cleaned and sold in bundles as shop rags.)
If you find any big-ticket items, sell them individually through the classifieds and/or Craigslist to attract someone who’s specifically looking for that item; they will be willing to pay a fair price for it (compared to people at yard sales who are usually looking for cheap deals and might try to haggle your nice item way down). Again, make sure to talk about Craigslist-transaction safety with your parents beforehand or, better yet, have your parents present wherever the sale takes place.
Make crafts to sell. One friendship bracelet, bag of paper beads, or whale made from a plastic straw won’t do much to your piggy bank, but fifty of them sure will (and each one will be faster and easier to make than the last). Since you probably aren’t allowed to sell on campus or in most public places, make a nice collection of these items and include them in your yard sale or, if they’re unique, post them on a craft site like Etsy.
Save as much as possible. Remember, a penny saved is a penny earned. Cut down on unnecessary spending, and you will have more money as a result. No one ever regrets having saved money. Balance out your immediate needs with longer-term goals.
Save for something. If you give yourself something to save for, this will help keep you motivated. You can save for a new Playstation or you can save for something like a cool community college course you want to take. Whatever motivates you to save, save for that!
I really hope this helps, and good luck!
