Money is an important aspect of our lives, even at a young age. It’s never too early to start teaching children the value of money. It’s also never too early to teach our children the value of a hard day’s work.
But how to make money as a kid? Our little ones can’t exactly go out and get a 9-5 full-time job, a part-time job, or even have the awesome job of writing a blog. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to make money as a kid and earn some cash (likely yours) on your own.
Below are some ways our younger children can begin to earn some extra money for themselves.
When to Teach Kids About Money?
As mentioned in the intro, it’s never too early to start teaching kids about money. They might not be able to pick up on all the in’s and out’s of finances, but they will certainly understand that to buy things, you need money.
Then you can move on to the concept of trading services or chores for money. They should think of it like any other reward system. Keep it simple for them. Do a chore, get some money, earn enough money, they get what they want, Simple.
As your children get older, you can start to introduce the idea of planning and saving your money for bigger items. Clothes, video games, or other things they might want will take more time, effort, and planning to get.
Related: The Best Jobs for 15 Year Olds
Benefits of Teaching Kids About Money
Of course, besides earning some extra money for themselves, there are plenty of other benefits to teaching our kids about money at an early age.
Value of Money
As mentioned early, money is a vital aspect of our lives. Learning how it all works sooner is always an advantage. Understanding the value of money and the value of what you buy with your money is a lifelong skill.
Long-term Goals
Understanding the concept of having a long-term goal is another benefit of teaching kids about money. Most children will only think about short-term ideas. For example, what is happening to them in the present or immediately after an action.
You can begin to introduce the idea of the long-term with money. When your children ask for a toy, game, or other purchase, you can start the process. Learning how to think further ahead and achieve a goal will be another lifelong skill that will help your child.
Budgeting and Disposable Income
Once your children are a bit older, they can learn about budgeting and having disposable income. Once you’ve established different ways for your children to earn money, they can begin to save that money. They can even start to have a monthly budget.
They won’t exactly have rent or bills to pay, but there are certain things they could want that cost money each money.
A subscription to a streaming service, in-app purchases to their favorite game, or maybe just a particular food item they like. These could all be part of a monthly budget for kids.
Once they have a budget set, they can then start to understand the idea of disposable income. Depending on how much money they earn and spend each month, hopefully, your child has some leftover. That’s their disposable income.
They can learn to either save that money for a future goal or spend it on purchases not part of their monthly budget.
Financial Independence
Adding on to all the previous benefits will be teaching your child about financial independence. No, they aren’t retiring early by doing chores, but they can learn not to depend on you for all their money needs. That’s a win\win!
The hard part is not telling them what to buy and not to buy with their money. You might think a purchase is a waste of your child’s money, and it might be, but you should let them decide.
Making a few bad purchases or money mistakes will also teach your child to be more careful with their money, another essential lifelong skill.
How To Make Money as a Kid
Alright, time for the good stuff, how to make money as a kid of almost any age.
Chores Around the House
More than likely, if your child is under the legal age to have a job, their “income” is coming from you. So, what better way for a kid of any age to get paid than doing the chores around the house you don’t want to do?
They can help put dishes away, clean up their room and others, vacuum the floor, give them anything you don’t want to do.
Neighbors Chores
Hey, look, everyone has stuff they don’t want to do. If you are friendly enough with any neighbors, ask them if they would like anything done for them. Keep it simple like watering plants, washing a dog, helping with groceries or running errands, etc.
Dog Walker
The dog’s size will change how young your child can be to do this one. Small kid, small dog. Big kid, big dog. Dog walking can be beneficial during the summer months.
Kids can get the K9s some exercise during the day when their owners are at work or can’t step away from their computer if working from home. Dog walking is an easy and low pressure way for you kiddo to earn some extra cash.
Pet-sitting
Pet-Sitting combines our last two options. When neighbors are away, it can be costly to put your dog or cat in a professional kennel.
All they will need is a little food and water for a few days, and your child can 100% be the person to do it. Pet-stiing is one of the best ways to make extra for your kid.
Help With Yardwork
More chores, but this time with the bonus of being outside. Not many of us enjoy yard work, but having a helper always makes it a bit easier. There are plenty of ways kids can help you, a neighbor, or a relative with their yard work.
Sell Stuff Online
There is no question that most of our kids have waaaaay too much stuff. If they want to earn some extra cash, have them find some toys and games in good shape and post them online to sell.
Contribute to a Garage Sale
Don’t want to put the toys online? No worries, next time you have a garage sale, give your child their table, and anything that sells goes straight into their pocket.
Lemonade Stand
A lemonade stand is a classic business venture for kids of a young age. With just a little start-up money from mom and dad, kids can be on their way to owning their business. Hopefully, your street has a bit of traffic on it that you can get enough customers to pull in some big bucks.
Sell Crafts
While you draw a customer in with the cheap lemonade, have your child make some crafts worthy of being purchased too. If you want to go the online route, sites like Etsy will have plenty of kids selling their crafts, so join on in!
Car Wash
Another classic funding-raising event for many kids. This will likely require a few kids, either of your own or from around town. All you need is a hose, a bucket, some soap, and a nice day. Kids can get paid to give all your neighbor’s cars a good scrub down.
Rent Out Toys
This one may be a bit tough to run past other parents, but if your kid has a toy others might want to use, let them rent it out. There’s nothing wrong with charging someone a few bucks to take a toy on a test run before buying it for real.
Teach Others
Likely for a child that is a bit older, but for any child with a teachable skill. This could be education-related, like tutoring or teaching other kids how to make a craft. No matter the skill, get a couple of other kids together and let your’s show them how it’s done.
Take Online Surveys
With parental consent, a few online sites will have surveys available to kids as young as thirteen years old. When companies demographic or a study that requires a younger point of view, your child can be their go-to and make money online too.
Play Video Games
I know, I know, we are always trying to limit screen time, but they are going to get it anyway, might as well earn cash while doing it. Apps like MistPlay will pay kids (or adults, for that matter) to download and play new games. Believe it or not, it can actually be quite lucrative for kids.
App Tester
App research isn’t limited to just video games. Sites like TesterWork and UberTesters are looking for younger teens to try their apps to gain valuable insight and feedback.
Collect and Resell Golfballs
With the consent of the golf course, kids can walk 18 and collect as many golf balls as they can. Golfers will pay top dollar for new balls, and your child can make good money by selling the ones they find for a fraction of the price.
Best of all, it costs you and the course nothing, all you need is something to carry all those balls in!
Recycle Aluminum Cans
Yup, this is still a thing. Collecting aluminum cans and bringing them to a recycling center near you is another way to make a few dollars for your kid. The return is relatively low, so you won’t make a lot of money, but you’ll be helping the environment too, and that’s payment in itself.
Organize Peoples Stuff
There are plenty of kids out there that are far more organized than any adult they might come across. If your kid is one of those kids, feel free to offer their organizational skills to someone you know.
Sell T-shirts
There are plenty of websites out there where you can design your t-shirt online. Then, anytime someone orders one of your designs, you get a piece of that sale.
Start a YouTube Channel
Kids can do a surprising number of things with their YouTube channel. Of course, toy reviews are likely the most popular. Still, video game walkthroughs, craft building, or even movie reviews are all something kids can do that would be helpful to other kids.
Related: Financial Literacy for Teens
How To Make Money as a Kid – Final Thoughts
It’s tough to start making money at a young age, but there are plenty of options in today’s world. It’s never too early to have your children start learning about how to earn money and, more importantly, how to budget and wisely spend their money.
