Is making money as a teenager as easy as it used to be?
After all, that old standby – the newspaper route – has mostly gone into the dustbin of history. I mean…who reads newspapers anymore? smh…
Meanwhile, child labor laws have cut down on the number of jobs that young people can hold.
How to make money as a teenager has become something of a matrix. You have to look for moneymaking opportunities from non-traditional sources.
But that’s not a problem, because there are more of them than ever before. We’ve come up with 50! And the only reason we stopped is that the possibilities are almost unlimited!
So, here are the ways to make money as a teenager that we thought were the best.
We left off the usual teen job situations, like fast food restaurants, grocery stores, and big-box retailers. You don’t need us to tell you about ordinary jobs.
Oh, and even though the opportunities are numbered, they’re not in any special order.
It’s mostly a matter of picking which one (or ones) will work best for you. We only numbered them so you could pick them out more easily.
Let’s get started…
Table of Contents
Benefits Of Making Money As A Teen
There are so many benefits to making money when you’re a teenager. It helps you learn how to manage money on your own before you get out of your parent’s house. Not to mention, you get to spend it (for the most part) how you want.
1. Making money as a teen teaches kids balance.
Having a job teaches teens how to balance time, money, and prioritize what’s important in their life. It allows teens to learn how to balance what they want versus what they need. Having a job allows teens to learn how to save up for an item that they want. Likewise, it teaches them that they can say no to something that might not be worth their hard-earned money.
2. Making money as a teen teaches valuable work experience.
Teenagers are only a few years away from going off into the adult world, going to college, or going to work in their selected field. Having work experience before applying for a job will be a HUGE bonus.
Ultimately, having a job as teen makes them more marketable in the future. Companies and employers will be more inclined to hire someone if they see that person has previous work experience rather than someone who hasn’t.
3. Making Money As A Teen Builds Confidence.
When a teenager works a job they’ve never worked before, they are being given the opportunity to learn something new. And when you learn new things, you increase your skillset. This helps build confidence in teens to believe that they CAN do things they never thought they would be able to do!
Having a sense of humility paired with confidence will set teens apart when looking for a job and talking with potential employers. When they see confidence and sureness in a teen, they know they can count on them. The more practice and experience teens get, the more confidence they build!
Ways To Make Money As A Teenager
1. Swagbucks
There are tons of ways to make money through Swagbucks. You can earn points by shopping online, watching videos, searching the web, and answering surveys. You can redeem your points for gift cards to places like Amazon, Walmart, or even get cashback through Paypal!
2. Survey Junkie
Completing online surveys is so simple. Literally all you have to give is your opinion or experience, and you can earn rewards. With Survey Junkie, you build a profile and they match you to certain surveys that fit your criteria. When you complete the surveys, you can earn virtual rewards. These virtual reward points can be redeemed for PayPal and e-gift cards!
3. Work as a camp counselor
I almost feel like being a camp counselor is the ideal summer job. If you have gone to a summer camp growing up or you know of some in your area, try applying to be a counselor. Camps love and need good, hardworking, energetic people to mentor the campers. It not only keeps you busy throughout the summer, but it’s also an incredible way to make money! You’ll enjoy fun games and activities; plus you’ll have the opportunity to build relationships with all types of people. How awesome is that?
4. Sign up for Fetch Rewards
With Fetch Rewards, you can earn points by scanning your receipts. All you have to do is scan your grocery receipts wherever you shop. You earn points on products every single time they show up on your receipts. Then, you can redeem your points for tons of gift cards! This is one of my personal favorite ways to make extra money through gift cards!
5. Babysitting
Everyone needs a babysitter, especially one they can trust! Building relationships with your neighbors, friends’ parents, or even teachers who have younger kids can help set you up with families you can babysit for longterm. You can even sign up on Care.com or Sittercity to advertise your babysitting services!
6. Pet Sitting
If you love cats, dogs, and pets in general, then why not offer your pet sitting services! You can advertise on Facebook, Instagram, around your neighborhood, or even through the Rover.com app! Getting paid to love on dogs is my kind of job!https://8142f8e78778321357b6c0772cb7953a.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
7. Freelance writing
If you’re a talented writer or if you are interested in writing someday, freelance writing is a great way to gain practice and build up your resume. People are constantly looking to hire others to write blog posts for them or even ghostwrite parts of their books. You can start your own blog to show examples of your work, then add it to your LinkedIn resume or social media.
8. Referee or umpire
Every little league or recreation league needs refs and umpires! If you’re into sports or want to get some extra exercise while making money, this could be the perfect part-time job for you!
Bloggers, entrepreneurs, and others don’t always enjoy the social media side of their businesses. They look to hire virtual assistants or social media experts to run their accounts. Plus, if you’re up to date on the latest trends and hacks to social media, you may be exactly who they want on their team!
10. Sell your clothes on Poshmark
Millions of people are currently buying and selling clothes on Poshmark! This is a great way to make extra money and clean out your space of clothes you never use or wear anymore in the process.
11. Blog
If you have a blog that has a solid amount of traffic, you can easily make money by monetizing your blog. You can promote affiliate links or even run ads on your blog to make extra money.
12. Become a personal assistant
There are tons of adults who run their own businesses or who are just busy that need extra help with their tasks for their business. If you are good at organization and administration, this could be a great job for you!
13. Start a Youtube Channel
Learn how to make Youtube videos and create content for people on a topic you’re good at or interested in. If you want to learn how to make Youtube videos, check out this video! You will eventually make money by allowing ads to be displayed on your videos through GoogleAdSense.
14. Deliver groceries with Instacart
An easy way to make extra money is to become a shopper with Instacart! You’ll be able to go shopping for other peoples’ groceries and deliver them straight to their door. If you do this during peak hours, you can make up to $20/hour! You have to be 18 years old to do this one, so be sure you read the fine print!
15. Deliver food with Doordash
This is the same concept as Instacart, except with Doordash you will deliver food that people have ordered from restaurants. You still have to be 18 years or older to appply. Also, it’s a great job to have if you want to create your own schedule!
16. Shop with Ibotta
With Ibotta, you can literally get paid for spending money on things you’re already buying. All you have to do is take a photo of your receipt after you make a purchase. If you bought any qualifying items, you’ll have cashback in your account within 48 hours. It’s that simple!
17. Start a lawn care business
You can make really good money by mowing lawns, pulling weeds, or helping spruce up flower beds. Simply advertise your services to your neighbors, family, friends, and even on social media. You’d be surprised how many people dislike mowing the lawn and will gladly pay a teenager to do it for them!
18. Work for Chick-fil-a
Chick-fil-A is a wonderful company to work for and there are tons of ways to grow in the company. Plus, their customer service training is above reproach!
19. Lifeguard at your local pool
This is such a great summer job for teens! It’s easy to sign up for lifeguard training and certification. Then, simply can apply for a lifeguard job at your city pool, recreation center, YMCA, or even neighborhood pool.
20. Become a tutor
You can charge at least $20/hour for tutoring a subject you’re strong in! Math and English are the ones most in demand, but really any subject is needed. You can market yourself on social media platforms, at your school, and by even making flyers or business cards.
21. Sell stuff on Facebook Marketplace
Clean out the clothes you never wear or the things you never use anymore and sell them!! It definitely adds up when you sell several items. You can clean out books, shoes, and even electronics you never use anymore. You’d be surprised how much you can make!
22. Sell your stuff at thrift stores
If selling on Facebook isn’t your thing, then check out your local thrift store or pawn shop. You can also check out Ebay to sell your things!
23. Walk dogs
Dogs need to be walked every day, sometimes multiple times. This one is in high demand as people need someone who can walk their dogs while they’re at work! Ask your neighbors or put flyers at your neighborhood hot spots where you know people will see your flyer or business card.
24. Work at a movie theater
The smell of buttery popcorn and the fun movie theater atmosphere could be your workplace! Plus, you can usually get discounts on movies for when you want to attend.
25. Teach music lessons
People are always looking for music lessons…especially for beginners! If there’s a musical instrument or skill you’re good at, then this could be a fun job for you! You can charge per lesson and make pretty good money doing it. Plus, you can make your own schedule!
26. Make things and sell them on Etsy
If you’re a painter, handletterer, make t-shirts, or any craft you’re good at, you can sell on Etsy! It’s a website for creatives to sell their creations. You can check out Etsy here!
27. Work at an amusement park
Do you love rollercoasters and a good time? Then consider working at an amusement park! Check your local amusement park for job openings. You can work this as a seasonal job or all year according to their openings schedule!
28. Become a housecleaning assistant
Reach out to an adult who does housecleaning and see if you can join the team! As a teenager, you probably can’t do this solo. However, if you join the right team, you can work with them!
29. Wash cars
Advertise through your neighborhood your car washing services! If people know they don’t have to get out to wash their car or drive to a car wash, some would gladly pay someone to come to them to wash their car.
Tips for the Teenage Hustlers
- Start NOW – When I was younger there were a lot of things I thought I couldn’t do because I was too young. I was wrong and I wish I would have just started.
- Have fun – You don’t need to get rich off your first side hustle. Have some fun with it and find out what you enjoy doing. You’ll learn a lot.
- Experiment – As a teen, time is on your side. Experiment with the different opportunities above and once you find something you enjoy doing, don’t give up right away if you’re not making money with it.
- Consistency and perseverance is key!
- Learn from your mistakes – When you start something new, you’re bound to make mistakes. Instead of getting discouraged, figure out what went wrong and learn from it.
- Do the best work possible – If you want your business to grow, you can’t do crappy work. When you do good work, people notice, and your business grows.
- Be creative – Use the ideas above as a starting point and put your own spin and creativity on them. The more unique you are and the more you stand out, the better your chances of success.
Conclusion
Now that you’ve learned a bit about how to make money as a teenager, you’re done the easy part.
What’s the hard part? Taking action and actually making money as a teenager.