When I was a kid, there was always something I wanted to buy. The problem was, I usually had spent all my birthday money, and my parents were not in the habit of buying me whatever I wanted just because. If I wanted to buy something, I needed to learn how to make money as a kid on my own.
It was much harder to make money when I was a kid because we didn’t have the internet with all these great ideas! Now, with a quick search, you can end up on an awesome web page like this to figure out exactly how you can start earning money – at any age!
For you grownups reading this post, there are also great ideas for you to make a little extra money on the side as well!
An Easy Way To Make Money As A Kid – If You’re 13 Years Old Or Older
Some online side hustles require you to meet certain legal standards to be paid. This section is dedicated to those jobs for kids 13 years old or older who are too young for a full-time job, but ready to start making extra cash.
1. Online Surveys And Survey Sites
Are you thirteen years old or older? If so, I have a great idea for you. With your parent’s permission, you can sign up for several different types of online survey sites that will pay you in gift cards or cash.
Survey Junkie
should sign up for Survey Junkie! It is a completely free website that will pay you $1 – 3 dollars for every survey you take.
It is not only a simple way to make extra money, but it is relatively simple to start making a few extra bucks in a short amount of time.
Inbox Dollars
Inbox Dollars is a website similar to Survey Junkie where people can take surveys and complete tasks and are awarded real cash.
Swagbucks
Swagbucks take online surveys to a whole new level. You can earn extra dollars from using the Swagbucks app to play games, watch advertisements, and other YouTube videos. Swagbucks makes money from affiliates and passes some of this money along to the user.
You won’t get rich from taking online surveys, but they can certainly make you extra money in your spare time. Kids as young as 13 can use online surveys to make a little extra money for the weekend.
Online surveys, as long as they do not require you to be 18 years old or older, are a great way for kids to make money at home. Making money as a kid online was not something that I had the opportunity for when I was younger. If you have a smartphone and a little extra free time, there are tons of ways for you to make extra money!
*Another alternative is Opinion Outpost. My friend Bella wrote a detailed review about Opinion Outpost here!
Making money fast as a kid online has never been easier than taking surveys!
2. Play Video Games For Gift Cards
By taking various online surveys, many companies will incentivize people by rewarding them with gift cards. Another way to earn gift cards is to play games or watch videos.
Mistplay
Mistplay is another great app that lets you test out video games and earn gift cards while doing it.
Recently I tasked my two older kids with playing a couple of video game apps on my phone to get to the required level to earn my cash. If they’re going to sit on their devices and play games, they may as well make money doing it.
3. Collect And Resell Golf Balls
It turns out, you can make money both online or offline depending on your preference.
If you live near golf courses, you may potentially be sitting on a gold mine! Because new golf balls are relatively expensive, people will pay good money for gently used golf balls. Grab a couple of grocery bags and walk or bike around the outside of a golf course and look for lost golf balls.
To get the most money for old golf balls, use these tips:
- Clean up the golf balls you find to make them look good.
- Separate the golf balls by the brand name. People will pay more money depending on the brand of the golf ball. Golf balls are graded with an, “A”, “B”, or “C” typed on the balls.
- Most “A” golf balls can be resold for 1 dollar each, “B” golf balls for $0.50, and “C” golf balls for $0.25.
- Use online apps like Mercari or eBay to resell golf balls quickly in lots of 500 rather than individually.
How To Teach Your Kids About Money And Work
I just want you to know that it took everything in me not to start this section out with “back in my day.” The truth is, things are different now from how they were 30+ years ago. Change isn’t necessarily bad, but there is definitely generational differences.
It seems that each generation is better off than the last. As parents, we want our kids to have everything we didn’t when we were younger. Unfortunately, this can create many kids that are spoiled brats that don’t understand how work and money are tied together.
We all know those kids who get whatever they want without working for it. The entitlement factor is extremely high, and unfortunately, these kids struggle as they get older. As adults, we understand that to feed your family, we need to go to work. Nothing in this life is free, as you are aware.
How We Teach Our Children About Money, With Extra Chores
In our home, our three children do not get an allowance. An allowance is too similar to conditioning my kids to get free money – for doing nothing. I want my kids to understand that money is directly tied to work, and we do this by paying them for completed chores.
I like to refer to it as commission. My kids get a commission for completing certain tasks. By focusing on teaching my children money management skills at a young age, they will be much more prepared to be financially stable when they are adults.
Chore Charts Work For Us
My wife recently picked out a magnetic chore chart that we use every week. Each kid gets a list of chores that they can complete to be paid at the end of the week. Because I have three kids, and I don’t want to go broke, we offer 1 dollar per completed chore. They each get 5 chores they can complete every week.
We found chore charts give a clear picture to my children about what is expected of them and their progress. Because kids are visual, this has been a great motivator for them.
By doing this, in a worst-case scenario, I could be out $60 a month if all my kids did all their paid chores. It’s a small price to pay to teach them about responsibility and good work habits.
If you’re interested in which chore chart we use, you can find it on Amazon.com through this link here.
If you’re a kid reading this, this may be a great way to make some extra money. Just tell your parents how much more responsible you will be if you learn the value of doing chores for money!
**On a side note, my kids also have “regular” chores they are required to do that they are not compensated for.
Make Money Fast As A Kid – At Any Age
Here I will give you a list and explanation of some of the best ideas for children to make money. It involves a little work, but you will make more money by doing some of these chores instead of online surveys.
4. Recycle Aluminum Cans Cans For Cash
This was probably my favorite way to make money when I was young. We would collect cans at home in a separate bin and take the cans to a recycler when the bin filled up. With an entire bin, I usually could make about 30 dollars from the collection.
When I needed extra money, I would go around the neighborhood and look for cans or check trash cans for soda cans that people threw away. Not only can you make extra money by looking for cans, but you can also clean up the neighborhood!
5. Recycle Plastic And Glass Bottles For Money
In a similar vein, some states will pay you for glass and plastic bottles in good condition. Unfortunately, in Arizona, we don’t have these types of recycling facilities. However, we frequently visit California, and we recycle our bottles when we are visiting there.
Side note – it is illegal to transfer recyclables from one state to another to cash them in. You can only recycle cans and bottles for cash if they were purchased in that state.
6. Help Your Parents With A Garage Sale
More than likely, your parents have a house filled with stuff they no longer use. Work with your parents and see if they would be willing to help you organize a yard sale.
Honestly, most of us adults would love to have a yard sale next weekend to get rid of a bunch of stuff we don’t need. Unfortunately, we usually lack the motivation actually to organize and put together a yard sale. This leads to more and more stuff piling up that needs to go.
If you offer to do most of the work, which includes labeling and organizing, you may be able to get your parents on board. As adults, the less work we need to do – the better. Offer to do some of the more tedious processes, and you may be surprised by our answer!
A weekend garage sale can easily bring in over $100 if you have enough stuff to sell. Make sure you put plenty of signs out in the neighborhood and post on Nextdoor.com to let people know about the sale!
7. Run A Lemonade Stand In Your Neighborhood
This tried and true business model has stood the test of time! I’m pretty sure that even my grandparents had a lemonade stand when they were younger. No, seriously – I bet they did.
Last month two kids set up a lemonade stand on a busy street corner in our neighborhood, and from the amount of traffic that stopped, I’m sure they made a ton of money!
Believe it or not, but it’s hard for us grownups to drive past some cute kids who are trying to make a couple of bucks selling lemonade. Also, most people will give you even more money than you were asking for.
For the absolute best tasting lemonade, use this recipe:
Basic Ingredients For The Best Lemonade:
- 2 Cups Of Sugar
- 3 Limes
- 5 Lemons
- 1/2 Of An Orange
- 1 Lemon (thinly sliced)
Step By Step Instructions:
- Cut in half and squeeze the 5 lemons, 1/2 an orange, and 3 limes into a large pitcher (at least one gallon).
- Add two cups of sugar, one cup of hot water and stir until all the sugar dissolves.
- After the sugar is dissolved, fill the rest of the pitcher up with cold water and add the thinly sliced lemons.
- Pro Tip: Before serving, make sure you add ice. No one likes warm lemonade!
8. Walk The Neighbors Dogs
Adults are notoriously busy people and rarely have time to walk their dogs. As you may know, dogs need exercise and should be walked daily. If you know one of your neighbors who has a friendly dog, offer to walk their dog on specific days. You’ll have to invest in a leash and collar if the owner doesn’t have one already.
Tell them you are saving up money for something special and ask if they would be willing to pay you for your time. If you ask nicely, they may pay you more than you thought they would.
Petsitter.com and other similar websites help connect dog walkers and pet owners willing to pay for this service. In addition, Petsitter offers other ways to make money by working with animals to include watching puppies.
9. Water The Plants At Home
If all the plants or gardens at your house are not on an automatic timer, your parents know how exhausting it can be to water the plants every week. If you offer to take over the watering schedule and are reliable, you may be able to make a few extra bucks each week!
Have a conversation with your parents to see if this is possible or what other jobs they would be willing for you to do to be paid.
How Teenagers Can Make Money – Jobs For Teenagers
The older you get, the more potential you have to make even more money. This is true in your adolescent years, as well as your adult years. Check out some of these great jobs for teens to make money!
10. Mow Lawns And General Yard Work
If your neighbors have grass in their front and back yard, I’m willing to bet they would rather pay someone else to do it if the price was right. Many adults, like me, do our own yard work because hiring a landscaper is expensive.
Due to the price, I am forced to mow my own yard each week and do my best to keep up with the weed pulling and tree trimming.
I do this because some ambitious neighborhood kid has not come by and offered to do my yard work for a lower price. The landscaper in our neighborhood charges 100 dollars a month to come by every two weeks. If some neighborhood kid offered to mow my grass twice a month for $50 bucks, I would take it in a heartbeat!
While $50 a month may not sound like a lot, it can quickly add up if you can work for 4-5 people in your neighborhood. That $50 per yard could quickly turn into $200 a month for you!
11. Babysitting
If you are in your teenage years, you may be a great candidate to babysit other people’s younger kids. Many of us wish we could go out with our spouse more often, but we often feel guilty asking family members to do it for free. For the right price, you may be the right person for the job!
Before you start asking around for babysitting jobs, I recommend attending a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certification class.
If someone stops breathing and their heart quits pumping, CPR can jump-start their heart and save their life! By using simple CPR techniques, you can save kids and even adults. In short – CPR SAVES LIVES!
You can find a local class online here. Having this certification will not only make the parents feel better about you watching their kids, but you could actually need to use it to save a life! Knowing CPR is an awesome skill to have – I strongly recommend you attend a class before babysitting.
Sign Up At The Red Cross
The Red Cross routinely offers babysitting classes to kids 11 to 15 years old. The Red Cross offers in-person and online babysitting classes to prepare kids to be responsible and make extra spending money.
12. Sell Your Skills And Art On Fiverr
Are you a teenager who loves computers and has a knack for designing things? If you are 13 years old or older, you can take orders from people who need specific online tasks done or created for their business.
On Fiverr, you can set up your own Fiverr Gig and sell services to people who want you to design a logo, design a poster, edit a photograph, or write a short song or introduction jingle.
There are a ton of other services you can sell on Fiverr if you are a creative person. If you are tech-savvy or can create To find out more, head over to Fiverr here and see how you can make money!
Here is a great step by step tutorial on how to start selling services on Fiverr:
13. Host A Neighborhood Carwash
If you have a few buckets and old clothes/towels lying around, you could use them to wash cars for donations. Every weekend in my city, it seems I drive past at least a couple of car wash fundraisers.
A couple of things you will need to prepare to have a car wash:
- Buy soap and sponges
- Get permission from a local business to have the carwash in their parking lot
- Get permission to use their water
- Bring your own hose
- Bring plenty of sunscreen, drinking water, and friends or family to help you!
- Be sure to advertise with signs or people directing traffic in
14. House And Pet Sitting
Many of us as adults hate going on vacations because we know we will have to find someone to watch our animals. If you love animals, you could be the perfect solution for many of us who have difficulty finding people to watch our dogs and cats.
Pet care services are in high demand, and people are willing to pay someone else to watch their animals if they know their pets will be taken care of.
Knowing that a reliable teenager can come by every day and feed our animals lifts a huge burden off our backs. If you think you could play with animals for an hour or so and make sure to feed and water them every day, pet sitting may be perfect for you! Even if you’re only getting 10 dollars a day, that can quickly add up with a minimal amount of work.
Great places to post an advertisement for house sitting or pet sitting would be:
- Your Church
- Local Library
- School Office
- Nextdoor.com
- Word of mouth
- Go door-to-door
15. Social Media
While social media can be a dangerous place for a kid, it can be a great way to make money as a kid with the right direction and oversight. Have you ever heard of EvanTubeHD? He is a kid who makes over $1.6 million each year with his YouTube channel.
If you’re entertaining and like to capture funny or informational incidents on camera, YouTube and social media can be an excellent way to make money.
USA Today recently announced that the top earner on YouTube is a seven-year-old who made 22 million dollars by unboxing and playing with toys on video!
Evan makes so much money because he has a large following of people who watch his videos. However, every social media platform can be used as a method to bring in additional income. As an added plus, the younger you are, the easier it seems to be to learn how to use social media to quickly build an audience you can use to make money with.
16. Sell Flowers
If sitting in front of a screen doesn’t sound fun to you, maintaining and profiting from a flower garden can be an awesome way to make money as a kid. If you enjoy learning new things and working with your hands, you can start making money by growing flowers and arranging them for special events. This can be a cheap and easy way to make extra cash.
Not only does a flower garden teach responsibility, but it can also be a great way to learn independence and start a small business on the side.
17. Come Up With A Business Idea
If you can find a way to fulfill a need or add value to someone’s life, these skills can develop a business idea. Thinking of the perfect business idea can be challenging, which is why it is a good idea to talk with your friends, family, and neighbors about the common problems they have.
Finding solutions to problems can be turned into a small business to make money as an entrepreneur.
18. Graphic Design
If you love drawing and creating different graphics on a computer, graphic design can be an extremely profitable way to make money as a kid. Fiver, Upwork, Peopleperhour.com are all places where you can work as a freelancer and sell your services.
Small businesses are constantly outsourcing much of their graphic design work to talented individuals who can create amazing images with popular graphic software.
If you have special talents involving design, kids can make money by providing services related to:
- Photo Editing
- Copy Writing
- Graphic Design
- Video Production
- Logo Design
- Sound Editing
19. Post Office And Other Errands
Busy households often require additional help with odd jobs and errands. Some small businesses need people who can run items to the post office to ship them to meet deadlines quickly.
If someone in your neighborhood is going out of town, you can offer to pick up the mail while they are gone. Think of common tasks that people hate doing and offer to complete these chores for a price.
20. Run A Hot Chocolate Stand
The tried and true lemonade stand is a great way to make money, but not many people are willing to buy lemonade in the winter. By learning to adapt your product and services to meet current needs, kids can learn to take advantage of winter weather by selling hot chocolate!
Learn to meet customers’ needs by offering things for sale that are appropriate for the given circumstances.
21. Start An Online Blog
Kids are never too young to work on their computer and typing skills. By learning how to manage a blog, kids can pick up valuable life skills to transition into a full-time career later in life. Did you know kids can make money blogging? It’s true; bloggers can make a decent income by providing relevant information and unique stories to people seeking answers.
Bloggers make money in their online business through affiliate marketing to start earning money online.
My nine-year-old daughter runs a blog and is actively on her way to start making an income with it.
22. Virtual Assistant / Personal Assistant
Similar to helping others with routine tasks such as grocery shopping or house sitting, people often need help with online tasks.
Virtual assistants help small businesses and people with data entry, scheduling meetings, answer customer calls or manage social media accounts. Imagine all the things people do online and how you can help them with their routine tasks.
Because social media can be time-consuming, in the past, I have hired a social media manager to ensure I maintain a positive social media presence.
Again, Fiverr is a great place to offer your services for hire.
23. Sell Items On Etsy
If you’re particularly crafty and like creating things, Etsy is a great place to make money as a kid. Think of Etsy as an online yardsale or marketplace where you make money selling your personal creations.
Many successful business owners have made money on Etsy by starting a homemade jewelry business.
Kids can set up an Etsy account with the help of their parents and sell crafts and items such as:
- Handmade Decorative Signs
- Art
- Toys
- Clothing
- Handmade Jewelry
- Cotton Bags
- Anything else artsy and crafty
24. Sell Old Toys And Items On Mercari
My wife and kids are addicted to Mercari.
It is a new and upcoming app that lets you buy and sell items online without meeting people in person. We recently wet through our closets and pulled out the old toys and clothes we no longer use. Normally we would donate these items to a local thrift shop, but we wanted to see how much money we could make by selling our old stuff online.
After spending some time taking pictures and listing our stuff for sale, we were able to rake in $125 in just a week!
25. Sell Items On eBay
eBay is a competitor of Mercari but has a larger track record of success. You can download the eBay app to your phone or access the site on desktop to start putting items up for sale. To make the most money, be sure to accurately describe the items you are selling. If there is a defect, be sure to mention it.
How Kids Should Spend And Save Their Money
If you give a child 10 dollars, what do they want to do with it? I can tell you that from experience – spend it immediately!
I paid my kids for doing their chores. My middle son is not always the most ambitious and only made 3 dollars for what he had done the previous week. We sat down on Sunday, and I paid him his earnings.
Right after I paid him, he immediately asked if we could go to the grocery store to buy something he saw in the checkout lane that was only $1. It’s apparent he is going to be my kid with a spending problem if we don’t get it into check immediately.
Changing Your Child’s Bad Spending Habits
I sat him down, and we had a brief discussion about materialism and buying things just to spend money. He understood that buying that item was probably not a good item after our conversation, but he still wanted to buy it.
Because of his inclinations, we have money envelopes set up for the kids. They each have a save, spend, and give envelope. Each time they are paid, they are required to put a certain amount into each envelope. We are training them to know that when they receive money, it doesn’t mean that they should spend every last cent. Teaching these good money habits early on is extremely important.
If you’re interested in which money envelopes we use at my house, you can find the ones we use here on Amazon.com.
Encourage A Strong Work Ethic By Rewarding Hard Work
Allowing kids to make money when they are young gives them a sense of responsibility and independence. Avoid giving your kids an allowance just for existing. By encouraging them to work for commission, you are teaching them financial skills that the average adult doesn’t have.
If they are trained to work for the things they want, they will grow up much more prepared to add value to this world to provide for their future families!
