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16 Ways Kids Can Make Money

16 ways kids make money

Do you get frustrated when your kids ask for money or hound you to buy them the latest gadget? Most kids don't like to do chores, but learning how to work and save money is vital! It builds character, helps teach responsibility, and is one of the most important principles of personal finance. Although some work requires more maturity, there are jobs younger kids can do as well.

Open communication is a great way to to come up with ideas that will work for your child. As you plan ways your kid can make money think about what will motivate and  bring success. Some important factors to consider :

  • How old should your child be when they first start earning money?
  • Are the kids learning helpful skills while making money?
  • Are there jobs that your kids can do that already align with skills or hobbies they have?
  • Are you/they selecting jobs that interfere with school or family time?
  • Do these money making jobs require supervision or can they do them on their own (once they’ve learned how)?

Ways Kids Can Make Money (8 and up)

  1. Paper Route: This is a great way for them to learn responsibility and earn good money in a short period of time. Many papers are delivered before school even starts which can help with scheduling. Are you an early riser? This one will require your help to drive the kids around.
  2. Babysitting: This job works well for some pre-teens as well as into the high school years. See your own state's laws regarding babysitting for age requirements of both sitter and children being watched. This is done at the discretion of parents who feel these kids are capable enough.
  3. Helping the Elderly: Many older people enjoy the help and company of children. There are odd jobs that the elderly need help with. This is a rewarding way for your kids to help and make money.
  4. Pet Care: Pets need care, washing, walking, even training. These are great activities for kids--especially pet lovers! Pet owners can be busy and in need of help. Also, there are some pet owners who would rather pay a responsible kid to watch their animal than send them to a care facility when they go out of town.
  5. Mowing Lawns/Yard Work: This is a good way for kids to earn good money even though it's a seasonal job in many places. There are always people willing to outsource yard work to others. Along with mowing the lawns, they can make the yard look nice by pulling weeds, gardening, raking leaves, trimming bushes, etc. Considering the physical aspects of the job, this is probably appropriate for ages 12 and up.
  6. House Cleaning/Window Washing: There are many different cleaning projects that can be done around homes. Kids may have a chance to work extra chores for parents or help clean homes for other people. They can do a great job of cleaning windows by simply grabbing a rag, squirt bottle and squeegee. 
  7. Collect Aluminum Cans: A pretty quick way to make a little extra is by grabbing aluminum cans around the house or checking with neighbors. Kids can help keep their environment clean and earn some money. The going rates for cans continually change, but opportunity is out there. Check your local listing for recycling centers. The more cans they can collect, the better the money.
  8. Lemonade Stand: This may be one of the oldest ways for kids to make money, but is still a good one. The overhead is low and most kids know how to do this on their own. This is a more seasonal job as lemonade doesn't do so well during the winter months. :-)
  9. Ways More Mature Kids Can Make Money (14-18)

  10. Sell Stuff Online: You can always find stuff that you don’t need or use anymore that others want. You can help your kids sell stuff online (especially if you aren't that computer savvy). It is important that your kids receive parental supervision for this.
  11. Jobs on Craigslist: You can find any of the stuff listed here and more in the "Jobs" category on Craiglist. This can be an excellent tool to find work. Unfortunately, there are also scams, so you and your kids will need to be aware of those and other potential dangers.
  12. Tutoring: This is for responsible kids that will have the ability to see the challenges others are facing in their school subjects and help them to improve their skills. Kids could find possible opportunities by talking to their teachers, looking up postings on websites  (Craigslist for example) or through the local newspaper.
  13. Photography: This could be an effective money maker for those who enjoy taking pictures. You might want to volunteer services at first to get a foot in the door. There are opportunities to take pictures for families, at weddings, for businesses, etc.
  14. Ways Very Mature Kids Can Make Money (16-18)

  15. Create/Design Websites: This type of work is in high demand. If your child is capable of doing this you can find friends, family, neighbors and businesses willing to pay good money to have this done. This may require parental supervision.
  16. Blogging: Even though this can be a challenging way to make money, it can also be creative and rewarding if you enjoy writing or can find a unique niche. If you treat it as a personal journal you probably won’t get many readers, but there are topics out there that people are eager to learn more about.
  17. Start an Online Business: This is related to selling stuff online. Almost everything is going online now. If your kid has items to sell or a niche idea to build on, you can help them to create their own online business they can do right from home.
  18. Crafts: If you enjoy making arts and crafts, you can sell them on websites like Etsy.com.

Next Step ... Save

Learning to work is vital. The next step is to learn how to save. See the Money Manage for Kids template - a tool for helping to teach about banking and saving.

Comments

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  • well im only 10 yrs old and some of these were helpfull but i probably wont have the time to do this stuff but i like some of the ideas!!!

    thanks

  • I’m glad to see you are thinking about this stuff at a younger age. You don’t have to use every idea, but the ones that work for you and that your parents can help you with.

  • I am [edited] and last summer I made $250 in 3 weeks on a long mowing business with a pushing mower and a small work ethic. But since our lawn mower got ruined in the rain I have had no income and nothing to do. Now Im looking for a $500 loan for a riding lawn mower. But my parents wont give it to me because [edited]. How can I get 500 dollars asap?

    • Sounds like you need to keeping pushing. If you really want that riding mower, maybe that will give you an incentive. Plus, you’ll get some good exercise in the process, and maybe even improve your work ethic.

  • Nicholas,

    I commend you on getting started on your work ethic at your age. It’s great that you have a goal in mind with your riding lawn mower. If legally, you are required to be a certain age than I woud save the amount incrementally over time, that way you don’t get in debt. You’re parents could very well be a helpful resource in helping you. Part of “working smarter” is to do things right financially as well. Good luck!

  • this are some very hepful suggistions i’m 18 and want to earn a few extra bucks i already have a job but these suggestions could help me i work at a hair salon and own the shop it’s mine but these could help me earn even more money to put into my summer vacation.

  • Some are these are origonal but most of them are not. I am not trying to be rude but i have been looking around and i need so really unique ideas

  • I will try some of these things for the summer the lawn mowing thing sounds cool. But the only thing is that I don’t really like to go up to peoples doors and asking them stuff what should I do HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Hi Kayla,

    There are different approaches you could take. You may want to talk with your parents to get ideas and also so they know you are doing it. If you don’t like talking to people directly, you could create flyers and leave them on doors or other approved locations. If you’re still in school, you could take some of the flyers there and ask teachers if you could hand them out.

    Networking is a real handy way to get the word out as well. You can use social networking sites or email to let friends and family know that you are trying to find places to mow lawns or whatever the case may be. Working with people you know can open up possibilities.

    I’d also recommend doing some research as to the best way to advertise yourself. Put down qualities or qualifications that can help you advertise and sell yourself. If you have any experience doing some of these things, put that down.

    I hope this helps! Good luck!

  • What would I do if my parents don’t let me go around selling stuff
    What would I do If there was no elderly in
    My street
    What happens if there’s no one I can babysit
    My parents wouldn’t let me do this stuff!

  • These suggestions are really good! I’ll probably do the photography one. Thank you, Internet!

  • Hey my name is nicki and my parents said if i want any clothes, accesories, or anything.. then i have to pay for them my self. And I babysit, but have no kids in my neighborhood, and I have nothing to do in the neighbor hood and i have no way of earning money!! HHHEEELLLPPP! please!

  • Nicki, I’d recommend reviewing this list again and trying to think outside the box a bit. See what you and your parents can agree on and go from there.

  • Hi im a girl who likes to make my own money. My friends like to help me, but they are very demanding. They wont help me unless they get 50% of the profits. I was fine with it at first,you know, b/c it was fair. Then i noticed that I was the one doing the work. I was the one handing out flyers all over our neighborhood. So I’ve been looking around the web for new suggestions so I can leave the buisness to my friend and start a new buisness. I looked on here and its the same as all the other ones. Any suggestions?

  • these are great ideas! thank u ever so kindly. in fact, im actually already collecting cans. hahahaha thank you

  • i found this website pretty hellpful i am going to use some of the ideas but i am also going to use my ideas.(:i am going to make my own ads post them around my town and see what happens.(:

  • Shayda,
    What isn’t “fair” is you doing all the advertising and all the work. I don’t see why you need to let your friend keep your current work. Tell her that you are doing it on your own and let her go do something else.

  • Okay, … I was wondering if thats weird to put up just flyers around the neighborhood. (Because its really nice..) What should they say? Should it be my cell number because I don’t have a home phone? Should it be my dad’s?

    Thank you(:

  • Hi Katarina,

    Some good questions. Flyers in and of themselves can be helpful. It depends on how you want to spread the word. Flyers can be a really quick and reasonably cost efficient way to do that. I always recommend talking to parents when getting ideas and for what information to use. You DEFINITELY want to talk to your Dad if you are desiring to use his number, but there are potential problems with using someone else’s personal number, so you’d need to discuss that. Flyers usually don’t have A LOT of information, but they are a way to quickly introduce you to the potential customer (neighbors, family, friends, etc.) and list some quick qualifications or talents that tell them why they should hire you to do something. You SHOULD avoid giving any type of personal information that could be dangerous or used against you. This is why it’s good to talk to your parents. Using something catchy to grab their attention is also a good way to get results.

    Hope that helps.

  • well, my cousin and i want to do multiple things. we want to change the world, by selling tshirts with persausive things on them like” save our oceans”. we also want to make money to get an i pad2 for a website that we are making. any advice??? please respond as soon as possible!!!! we want to make a difference!!!!!!!!!

    p.s.
    money making stuff is great!!!

  • I loved this thing! I cant wait try some of them! Thanks, Kori!!!!

  • i like these jobs

  • I would do these jobs but no one goes on vacations so I can’t pet sit, no one wants someone to walk their dog, people don’t buy from lemonade stands (tried it and failed), I don’t do babysitting, my parents stopped allowance :(, not allowed to mow, no one needs yard work done, people in my neighborhood just don’t need help with stuff/won’t pay you and I need money to buy stuff cause my parents won’t buy it for me anymore. :(

  • nice… I suggest the website buisiness, it is really important to make your kids learn the value of work and money.

  • these are some good ideas id did 1 of these my self and i made a lot of money i told my friends about this and they tried it and they made a lot of money 2

  • Well I like the lawn mowing idea and the website idea but my parents won’t let me make a website. And I am really shy, I do not like to go to people’s doors and ask if I can. And in my neighbor hood there is no place to put up flyers…. Please help. Any help at all would be appreciated