Growing up, I naturally desired to learn how to make money as a kid. One of the reasons I thought about this at such a young age was that my parents struggled financially. My mom and dad had jobs, but their monthly income combined wasn’t enough to cater to the needs of the entire family.
Instinctively, I wanted to make my own money to support my parents and afford the little things I craved at the time. Although it wasn’t easy, I worked an after-school job until my senior year in high school.
As of today, making money as a kid has become much easier than it used to be about 50 years ago. Since the world is constantly evolving with diverse industries and sectors springing up, there are numerous opportunities to make money even if you’re still a child.
Whether you’re a parent looking out for your kid or you’re a child yourself right here on this post, I have lots of money-making shots I will be sharing with you in this post.
What Is The Fastest Way To Make Money As A Kid?
The fastest way to make money as a kid would be through online surveys. Completing short surveys on different websites can make you some cool bucks within a few days or a week. Besides, it’s not a strenuous job that requires you to leave your home. You’d only be making use of your smartphone and an internet connection.
Benefits Of Making Money As A Kid
From building life skills to learning how to manage money, let’s delve into some of the biggest merits of being able to make money as a child:
1. Making Money As A Kid Teaches Financial Planning
This is one of the main reasons to learn how to make money as a kid. Once you begin to earn money as a child, you will gradually get used to financial planning. This is an essential skill that even adults need in order to reach their money goals.
Learning it as a kid will save you years of mistakes and financial struggles. Financial planning should begin when you get your first paycheck. How much would you want to spend and save? What are the right expenses you want to consider? Answering these questions correctly is how you become a good financial planner.
2. Making Money As A Kid Teaches You How To Budget And Save
Saving and budgeting money can be pretty difficult, especially when you have too many expenses to take care of. But as a kid, you have almost no financial commitments to make. You are being taken care of by your parents, and you probably don’t need to spend money on several things.
What this means is you have the opportunity to build up your savings habit. You can save up to 60% of your monthly income; before you realize what’s happening, you’d have saved a significant amount of money.
3. Making Money As A Kid Creates A Sense Of Independence
The fact that you won’t remain a kid forever is enough reason for you to understand what it feels like to be independent.
Making money as a child will naturally teach you to be independent. This is because, by the time you start earning your own money, you will solely decide what you want to do with your earnings. No one would make that decision for you. That’s what independence actually means in this context. You will have the liberty of making your own choices concerning how you want to spend and manage your salary.
4. Making Money As A Kid Teaches You How To Spend Responsibly
A lot of adults do not know how to spend responsibly. They make impulse purchases and use up their credit cards without caution. One of the main reasons this happens is that these folks probably never handled money independently as children. The point is, working and earning money as a kid will naturally teach you how to spend wisely over time.
For example, if after receiving your first few paychecks, you lavish the money, your instinct will definitely caution you to spend wisely the next time you get paid.
5. Making Money As A Kid Teaches The Value Of Money
When you know how to make money as a kid, you will understand the value that money holds. There’s no denying that money is one of the most invaluable resources in the world right now. Aside from your time, skillset, and social connections, money is the next valuable thing.
Spending, saving, and managing cash will teach you how money can be a solution to many problems. You will understand why money is the lifeblood of every important goal you want to chase.
22 Ways To Make Money As A Kid
Have you imagined what it would be like to start earning your own money and stop depending on your parents for everything? Of course, it would be a great feeling. Every child, including you, should aspire to have that kind of life. Here are various ways to make money as a kid:
How To Make Money As A Kid In Person
Sometimes, you have to physically avail yourself in order to make money. Here are some ways you can make some cool dollars as a kid in person:
1. Babysitting
Do you enjoy the company of younger kids? If you do, that’s a sign you could be a good babysitter. Some parents are way too busy to look after their kids during business days. After school, you can offer to look after a few kids for some money.
Babysitters can earn up to $10 per hour. You can make as much as $100 weekly by offering babysitting services.
2. Help With Chores And Odd Jobs
If you are a hardworking kid, you can assist people with house chores and get paid. Ideally, you should do this within your neighborhood. You might have some neighbors a few blocks away from your home who need someone to use the vacuum cleaner or take out the trash. Taking up this job will fetch you some money ASAP.
3. Yard Work In The Neighborhood
Some kids prefer outdoor jobs. You can help some adults, especially seniors, to clean up their yards and put some things in order. This is the kind of job you do during weekends, so you can call it a part-time job.
Before accepting to work, always negotiate your pay. If you are good at selling yourself, you could make a nice amount of money every weekend by doing some yard work.
4. Washing Cars
This is something almost anyone can do. You don’t need to be a professional in car detailing to wash people’s vehicles. You should know that some folks in your neighborhood would rather allow you to wash their cars than take them to the car wash. This is simply because you will get the job done at a much cheaper rate.
If you don’t mind getting your hands dirty a little bit, start washing cars to make money.
5. Look After People’s Pets
Just like babysitting, watching people’s pets is one of the easy ways for kids to make money. Whether it’s a dog, a cat, or a guinea pig, you can spend a few hours taking care of the pet on behalf of the owner. At the end of the day, you get paid and smile home. This should be easier if you enjoy the company of animals.
6. Tutor Other Kids
Aside from the nice grades, you can benefit financially from being book-smart. You can offer to teach other kids like yourself during weekends and get paid for it.
Amazingly, some kids prefer to learn from someone in their age group since it makes them feel comfortable. This doesn’t mean you will end up as a high school teacher in the future. You’re simply trying to make a quick buck.
7. Find A Part-Time Job
One of the common ideas to make money as a kid is to find a part-time job. There are many after-school jobs you can apply for as a child. You can work in a bookshop, library, or a small retail store. You won’t be needing any degree or certificate to be eligible for this kind of job.
If you’re perceived to be well-behaved and smart, you could get hired. By working for a few hours after school, you can make enough money to meet your small financial goals and save.
How To Make Money As A Kid Online
Learning how to make money as a kid doesn’t mean you have to always leave your home. Here are some online-based jobs you can start as a child to make money:
8. Complete Online Surveys
Completing online surveys is actually one of the easy ways to make money as a kid. This is because what you need is your smartphone connected to the internet. You can answer various surveys on diverse topics of interest. Some online survey sites pay up to $3 for each survey you answer completely.
If you think this is a great idea to make money, check out this post where I talked about 15 legit online survey sites that pay well.
9. Starting A Blog
If you think blogging is meant for only adults, you need to open your eyes to reality. Thousands of blogs on the internet are owned by kids. If you have a flair for writing, you can explore your passion by starting a blog.
Once your blog begins to attract a good number of daily visitors, you can monetize it through Google Adsense. This means Google will pay you for placing ads on your blog.
10. YouTube Creation
Blogging is quite similar to YouTube creation. But when it comes to YouTube, you are expected to make videos instead of writing.
If there’s anything that really interests you and you aren’t camera shy, you can decide to shoot short clips talking about it. You probably don’t have a camera. So you should plead with your parents to use their smartphones to record your videos.
Remember that YouTube takes kids seriously, which is why they have created a special streaming platform for kids only.
11. Sell Old Stuff Online
Selling stuff via the internet is one good way you can learn how to make money online as a kid. There could be some old items in your basement that your parents no longer need. If you refurbish these items or transform them into something different, someone online might be interested in paying for them. You could make a ton of money selling vintage-style items online.
12. Live Streaming
If you enjoy watching live streams, you can start creating yours. One common type of content you can share via live streaming is video games. You can share live streams of yourself playing the most popular video games such as Minecraft.
Twitch is a very good live-streaming platform where you can get started for free. Mind you; your live streams can be monetized when you start attracting a lot of viewers. It’s one of the simple ways to earn money as a kid.
13. App Tester
Imagine getting paid instantly for testing new apps. TesterWork and UberTesters are two common companies where children can sign up to start making money by examining new mobile applications and web apps from different companies.
As much as this is one of the common ways kids can earn money online, some adults also make extra money through this. That shows you how credible it is.
14. Create Illustrations
Creating illustrations is one of the sure ways for kids to make money in the online space. This is something you could do if you have a brilliant imagination when it comes to telling stories or expressing ideas with drawings.
If your parents get you a decent illustrating tablet and intuitive software, you should be on your way to landing your first gig. Also, Deviantart is a great website where you can create your portfolio as a beginner.
How To Make Money As A Kid At Home
There are things you can do from the comfort of your own home to make money legitimately. Here are some fantastic ideas to consider if you want to learn how to make money as a kid from home:
15. Host A Garage Sale
Examining your old clothes, toys, and some household items that are no longer needed can lead to your next cheque. With help from your parents, you can set up a garage sale and sell these items at cheap prices to people in your neighborhood.
16. Selling Arts And Crafts
Figuring out how to make money as a kid is easier when you are highly creative. Some kids are naturally blessed with extraordinary artistic abilities. If you find yourself in this category, you should take advantage of it as soon as possible.
Creating and selling pieces of art or handmade crafts could make you a ton of money. Whether it’s a painting, flower vase, or fancy hat, you can sell some interesting items at good prices. It’s one of the best ways to make money as a kid.
17. Teach Music Lessons
Is there any musical instrument you know how to play quite well? You can teach other kids like yourself how to play the drums, piano, violin, saxophone, or any other nice instrument you play. You can provide these music lessons during weekends and earn up to $10 an hour.
18. Flip Furniture
If you want to learn how to make money fast as a kid, flipping furniture might be the best thing to do. This is a simple business for smart folks. What you have to do is find a solid old piece of furniture that you can revamp and resell at a reasonable price.
Whether it’s a coffee table or a rocking chair, you can transform old furniture into something that everyone wants to spend their hard-earned money on.
19. Tech Support For Parents/Grandparents
Your grandparents were definitely born when mobile phones and other cool stuff didn’t exist. What this means is that they probably find it hard to navigate their smartphones and operate their personal computers easily. If you’re a smart kid who knows how to handle these devices, here’s your chance to make money.
Become tech support for your grandparents or even your parents by helping them understand how to use their smartphones, laptops, or even the apps on these devices better. Although it’s not one of the common money making ideas for kids, you should try it.
20. Lemonade Stand
Kids were selling lemonades even in the 1930s. To this day, the business is still feasible.
You can set up a lemonade stand in front of your home, offering to sell a chilled cup of lemonade to anyone who comes around. Besides, making lemonade is not as difficult as making spaghetti and meatballs. Learning how to prepare the beverage will be easy.
21. Putting Up Holiday Decor
As a creative kid, you can put up decorations in people’s homes during Christmas, New Year celebrations, thanksgiving, or Easter. Most Families in the US make it a tradition to put up some holiday decor multiple times a year. If you find senior citizens who are not agile enough to decorate their homes, you can help them instead for a reasonable fee. You won’t be worried about how to make money as a kid if you can do this.
22. Baking
For some kids, baking is fun. It’s a hobby they enjoy doing with their parents or grandparents. But since you want to learn how to make money as a kid, you need to see the possibility of monetizing your baking skills. Whatever you know how to bake can be sold.
Interestingly, this could be a side business for you. You can make money baking pies, cakes, and pastries for your friends and neighbors.
What To Do With The Money You Make As A Kid
There are so many valuable things you can do with your hard-earned money as a kid. Firstly, there are certain things you probably want. It could be a 50-dollar wristwatch, a trendy pair of jeans for kids, or a headphone. When you begin to make your own money, you might be able to afford these things. Even if you can’t purchase them outrightly, you can ask for some support from your parents.
Aside from purchasing things with your money, another important thing you can do is save. Savings goals aren’t meant for only adults. As a child, you can decide to save some of your earnings for as long as possible. You never can tell when that money stashed up somewhere could be helpful.
No matter how little, stuff some dollars in your piggy bank. Besides, saving is one of the best financial habits you should begin to build even as a child.
Final Thoughts On How To Make Money As A Kid
Learning about personal finance is one of the best things you can do for yourself. When you know how to make money as a kid, learning about finances happens naturally. You may not need your parents to teach you certain things about money.
Over time, you will see for yourself why it’s important to save toward financial goals, spend wisely, and make extra cash. These lessons will help you make better financial decisions when you become an adult.
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