How To-50: How to Make Money (For Teenagers)

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Many things are expensive, but money is everywhere. There are many ways for a teenager to make money. You just have to work hard and work diligently.

Steps

1. Work for someone else: this is the most popular way to make money even when you're an adult. In most countries, child labor laws limit the amount and type of work you can do, and the age at which you may begin. You will certainly be limited to after school hours, weekends and summers.
   
• Get a job: the retail and food service industries are happy to hire teenagers at minimum wage, but look around and consider a call center or a hospital. You might enjoy a paper route, or you might find a job as a referee for a soccer league. See also How to get a job when you are only 16 and How to get a job when you are not yet 16
  
• Sign up for a paid survey
  
• Negotiate fees with your parents for extra chores around the house. Try to pick things they might hire a professional to do (like detail the car) and charge them half price. Ask your parents if you can clean the house each week instead of them or your housekeeper. Do your laundry and the dishes. This can be a weekly sum. Do the chores properly or your parents might not think it's worth their money. Parents are sometimes more willing to help out if they know what your plan is, so share all the details with them
  
• Babysit
  
• Walk dogs
  
• Mow lawns for your neighbors. You can make a lot of money, but it's hard work and takes up a lot of Saturdays. Also consider the maintenance aspect in respect to the lawn mower itself - hours on motor, oil, spark plugs, blades if this is your parents mower. However, most parents will not care and just be thankful that you are out making money.
  
2. Work for yourself
   
• Sell soda, gum, or other products at school (if permitted), after school, on the bus or around the neighborhood.
  
• Make a product in school and market it
  
• Create paintings and sell them.
  
• Write music. Post your music on the Internet or burn CDs and sell them around school.
  
• Tutor others in lower grade levels for money.
  
• Coach others in lower grades.
  
• Have a garage sale.
  
• Sell stuff on eBay. You will need the help of an adult to set up the account.
  
• Learn a cool skill, like magic or how to juggle. You can enter talent contests, perform at parties, do street theater, etc.
  
3. Hire others to work for you. Hire all your friends to mow the neighbors' lawns. Sell tickets to a talent show featuring the most talented kids in your school.
   
4. Put your money to work for you
   
• Put your spare change in a jar. Remember, a little here and a little there can really add up to a lot. Put the jar somewhere where you can always see it, such as your bedside table or desk. This will help you remember to add change every time you see it.
  
• Move all your money into a savings account where you can earn a good amount of interest. ING has a very good rate, check out their site.
  
• Buy one share of stock.
  
5. Win money: you usually have to be 18 to enter such contests, but keep your eyes open. There are a lot of companies giving away a lot of cash and prizes in an attempt to win you over as a loyal customer.

Tips

• Don't lend people money unless they are trustworthy and you know they will pay you back. The fact that someone is your friend does not automatically make them trustworthy or reliable - sometimes, lending money to friends can be like gambling.
  
• Try making flyers on your computer and hanging them on telephone poles. Some places will allow you to hang ads on a board of some kind. This can be very helpful. Be sure to add in your flyer how much you charge for each service; that way your customers know what to expect, and there aren't any surprises when it's time for you to be paid.
  
• If you are able to make a product, sell the product for about 10-20% more than price of production.
  
• Work for more than money; work to learn. Even flipping burgers presents opportunities; watch who they pick for management, how the workers are organized, anything. Rich people own businesses, they don't work for them. Money is temporary, knowledge is permanent.
  
• Try to dress sensibly. This will help you look responsible and dedicated.
  
• Organize your thoughts and keep a simple plan for making money. Trying to tackle too much can be very stressing and can be a hazard to your developing body.
  
• Sometimes you can get work at a summer camp. This is useful because it's rewarding and doesn't interfere with school at all (unless you have a year-round school, of course).

Warnings

• In the USA, don't put flyers in the mailbox; that is illegal in some places. Just tape the flyers to the outside of the mailbox or the front door of the house. You may put your flyers in the boxes intended for newspapers since the federal government does not regulate these.
  
• Make sure you have permission for everything you choose to sell. You don't want to sell something your parents still want! Also, consider an objects personal value before you sell. It might only be worth $10, but if you would rather have it than the $10, then you should definitely keep it.
  
• Do not forget that your main priority as a teenager is your education. Do not sacrifice schoolwork or homework for a paid job. Having money as a teenager is very nice, but your main goal is to get an education so you can get a good job and have money as an adult.
  
• Don't be pushy when trying to get a job. People don't like to be told they have to hire you. Be nice, pleasant, and show the person you are seriously interested in working for them
  
• Try to make sure that you do your job the best you can so that people will want to come back to you

Things You'll Need

• A jar, container, or bank account (physical or online bank) to store your money

Related wikiHows

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• How to Start Building Wealth at a Young Age
  
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