How to Make Money as a Kid – 40 Awesome Ways

Okay, maybe awesome is a strong word when it comes to how to make money as a kid, because, work is involved.

But the money part is awesome!

If you’re a kid and you’re looking for ways to make money, this list is for you.

While every job doesn’t work for every age, there is something below for everyone who’s motivated to make some cash! And with technology today, there are more ways than ever for kids to make money!

And be sure to read on after the list to see why making money as a kid helps build life skills and teaches you how to better manage your money.

Some of these ideas require the use of power tools or lawn equipment. Make sure you know how to use those safely and that your parents are comfortable with you doing so.

Additionally, some may require an initial investment or assistance from an adult.

But let’s not delay any longer…here’s how to make money as a kid!

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How to Make Money as a Kid

Here are over 40 legitimate ways to make money fast as a kid. Okay, not all are fast, but most are.

1. Online Surveys

If you’re 13 or older, you can earn Swagbucks, or SB points, just by take surveys, watching videos, shopping, searching the internet, and even playing games!

It has an app for your phone, and you can even earn a $10 bonus!

Now you don’t get cash directly from Swagbucks – you trade in the SB points you’ve earned for gift cards. However, you can either use those cards like cash at many of the places you like to shop and eat already, or you can convert your gift cards to cash!

And if you refer your friends to Swagbucks, you’ll receive 10% of the SB they earn for life. Once they sign up, there is nothing else for you to do! To refer them, you can email or text them from right inside the Swagbucks app.

When looking for ideas on how to make money as a kid, it doesn’t get much easier than having someone else do it for you!

2. Start a Blog

There are no age requirements for creating a blog or a website. And you don’t even need any advanced technical skills.

You can create a blog about anything. You could write about your hobbies, school-related topics, or how you make money as a kid!

If you don’t think you have anything to write about, just think about things you like and how popular they are.

Do you like taking pictures? Do you like biking? Do you play any instruments? Do you love pets, sports, or cooking?

All of those are popular topics that you can put your own spin on.

So you may be wondering, “How do I make money doing this?” Well, there are several methods for how to make money as a kid blogging. These include:

• Ads – You place ads on your site, and when visitors click on them, you make a little money. It isn’t much for each one, but it can really add up as you get more visitors.
• Affiliate marketing – You promote other people’s or company’s products on your site. If someone clicks on your affiliate link and makes a purchase, you receive either a fixed amount or a percentage of the purchase price for a referral fee.
• Sponsored posts – Companies pay you to create an article to promote their products.
• Sell your own products or courses – You can create your own products (physical or digital) or courses, and promote and sell them on your blog.
• Sell your services – If you build websites, walk dogs, or do just about anything, you can promote your services on your site.

These are the main ways people monetize their blogs, but there are many other ways to make money with a blog.

And starting a blog isn’t expensive. You can get started with Bluehost for only $3.95 per month!

Bluehost is the best web hosting site to start a blog as a beginner. You can get your blog going in under 10 minutes.

Just be aware, building a blog to the point where it makes money takes time and a lot of work, but the payoff can be worth it.

3. Build Websites for Others

If you’re tech-savvy, but starting a blog doesn’t interest you, you can offer your services to get a website started for others.

It helps to have examples of your work to promote this, but you can reach out to small businesses in your community to help them either create a website or improve one they already have.

4. Become a YouTube Star

Well, you might not become a star, but you can still create your own YouTube channel if you are over 13. Of course, there are YouTube stars younger than 13. You can do this with the help of your parents.

Once you’ve met Google’s requirements to join the YouTube Partner Program, you can start monetizing your channel with ads and even products.

You’ll need more than 1,000 subscribers and over 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months to apply.

5. Start a Lemonade Stand

Starting a lemonade stand is the most iconic idea that comes to mind for how to make money as a kid.

And while there isn’t much to it, there are valuable lessons that can be learned running a lemonade stand.

Kids can learn about dealing with customers, ensuring they have enough inventory, advertising, and more. And for little kids, it is a great way to learn about counting money and giving the right amount of change back.

And you don’t have to limit it to lemonade. You could sell baked goods too or even just water on a hot day. And when it gets cold out, everyone likes hot chocolate!

6. Help a Grown Up

If you’re an entrepreneurial-minded little kid, but you aren’t old enough to do most things on this list, you could assist a grown-up.

This could include things like helping to take care of or entertain a baby, assisting in the garden, or helping with other tasks around the house.

7. Walk Dogs

If you love taking care of dogs, offer your services to people in your neighborhood. You can make fliers and hand them out or post them in the neighborhood. Or ask your parents to post it on social media.

Just make sure that you are big enough to handle the pet you’ll be walking and don’t mind picking up after doing their business.

And you can expand beyond dog walking. You can also offer to take care of pets while people are out of town for work or on vacation.

8. Dog Poop Cleanup

Not a glamourous job, but somebody has to do it. And a lot of homeowners are willing to pay others to take care of it.

A lot of people let their dogs do their business in their yards. And some dogs like to go in their own yards even if they go on walks.

This could be combined with other services on the list like dog walking or lawn mowing.

When you’re looking for how to make money as a kid, it is good to have many options no matter how undesirable it may be.

9. Organize a Garage Sale

When thinking of ways on how to make money as a kid, just look around you. You probably have a lot of toys and clothes that you have outgrown, and your parents probably have a lot of things they’d like to get rid of too.

You can organize a garage sale to make some money off of those old items.

You could even ask your neighbors if they have any items they’d like you to sell for them. If they have items available, you could offer to sell it for them if you can keep 10-20% of the profit.

10. Collect Scrap Metal for Recycling

While cleaning up for a garage sale, you may be able to find some metal to take to the scrap yard. And some of the items left behind after a garage sale could be scrapped for money as well.

You could also ask neighbors if they have any metal trash available for you to dispose of for them as well. Maybe they’d pay you to remove it, and you’d make money for that and for the scrap!

11. Sell Old Stuff

Yes, this is similar to a garage sale, but you may have already had a garage sale and have things leftover. Or you may just have a few things to sell, and it doesn’t make sense to have a garage sale.

If you have a bunch of old CDs, DVDs, games, Legos, phones, and more, you can use a site like decluttr to sell them. Selling things you have that you no longer use is an excellent way to make money fast as a kid.

12. Wash Cars

The thing about cars is they always get dirty, especially in the spring when pollen is everywhere.

Car washes usually cost around $10 and up. And it takes time for people to drive to the car wash and wait in line.

To save them the hassle, and make some money for yourself, you can offer to wash cars for people.

You could walk around your neighborhood looking for dirty cars, or set up one in your driveway or in front of your house. Put up some signs with a reasonable price, and you’ll have customers in no time!

13. Repairing Chipped Windshields

You could combine this with your car washing, or it could be something you offer all on its own.

When you’re washing cars, keep a lookout for small cracks or rock chips in the windshield. If those aren’t taken care of, they can create larger cracks in the windshield.

If you find one, you could offer to fix it for an additional fee. You can buy a windshield repair kit that you can use for multiple repairs. You can easily make a profit while being cheaper than what a repair shop would charge.

Additionally, if there are construction sites or road work sites near you, there may be a higher number of these chips occurring, increasing your potential customers.

14. Wash Windows

Like cars, everyone’s windows get dirty. And many people hate cleaning their windows.

And just like cars, after the pollen stops in spring is a great time to offer your window washing services.

15. Mow Lawns

Cutting grass is an excellent way to make some money and get some exercise as well.

It helps if you have a lawnmower you have access to, but most of your potential customers are people who have their own lawnmower and are tired of doing it themselves.

Mowing lawns could be a weekly service you provide or to help people maintain their yard when they travel for work or are on vacation.

You can also create other services around this, like…

16. Pulling Weeds

People hate the way weeds look in their yards and gardens, but it can be hard on older people’s backs to pull weeds.

It isn’t a fun job, but finding something others don’t like to do, and doing it for them is how many businesses are formed.

You can get a hand weeding tool or a stand-up weeder (if you’ll be doing a lot) to help you do a good job.

17. Trimming Shrubs

The problem with shrubs is they seem to never stop growing, which provides an opportunity for you!

You can offer this service as an add-on to your lawn mowing, or you could just do this. It is easy to identify homes with overgrown shrubs for potential work.

18. Spreading Mulch

Like shrubs that never stops growing, mulch always needs replenishing. Spring is the most popular time for spreading mulch, but some people do it in the fall as well.

You could put out flyers advertising your services around these times in your neighborhood. Or just watch for piles of mulch to show up in people’s driveways and offer to help for a fee.

Often people order a large amount of mulch and either underestimate the work involved to spread it or just get tired of it quickly.

19. Power Washing

If you have access to a power washer, you can probably find opportunities in your neighborhood to make some extra cash.

There are so many things around the house that can be power washed. Driveways, sidewalks, decks, siding, patio furniture, and more require occasional deep cleaning to remove grime, mold, and pollen that a regular hose won’t cut through.

20. Rake Leaves

While fall can be a refreshing break from the summer heat, many homeowners dread cleaning up all of the leaves.

If you live in a neighborhood with a lot of trees, chances are you’ll be able to find a lot of neighbors willing to pay for your help.

And if you have access to a leaf blower, you can make this job go even faster.

21. Shovel Snow

Are you sensing a pattern here? Things that homeowners have to do but don’t like doing.

Most people get excited at the first sight of snow. It is fun to go out and build a snowman or have a snowball fight.

However, that excitement doesn’t last when it’s time to clear the driveway and sidewalk.

Like spreading mulch, raking leaves, and pulling weeds, shoveling snow can be harder for older people to do. And a lot of younger adults don’t like doing those things either.

Additionally, you can create year-round customers and keep the money coming in all year by offering these seasonal services to the same people. Power washing in the spring, cutting grass in the summer, raking leaves in the fall, and shoveling snow in the winter.

22. Cleaning Pools

If there are homes in your neighborhood with pools, you can offer to clean them to make some money. It is an easy job that many pool owners would be happy to have someone take care of for them.

Additionally, if you know how to do it, you could offer to perform weekly chemistry tests to help keep their pool in a ready-to-swim condition.

23. Become a Lifeguard

If you are 15 years-old, or soon to be, you can take lifeguard training and become a lifeguard at a neighborhood pool, a local beach, or a water park.

24. Clean Boats

If you live near the water, cleaning boats is a way to make money as a kid. You could either offer your services to boat owners in your neighborhood or if you live near a marina, you could seek out opportunities there.

25. Painting Fences

To keep up the appearances of their properties, people with fences like to keep them looking good. However, wooden fences can start to show their wear after years of exposure to the weather. And most people don’t like painting fences.

Discolored or gray wood fences are good indicators a fence needs a new paint job.

26. Painting Mailbox Posts

Similar to fences, mailbox posts start to look worn out after several years.

If you live in a neighborhood with a homeowner’s association, chances are all of the mailbox posts need to be the same color. So you can buy a gallon of that paint and paint a bunch of posts.

After several years, many of them are going to need to be painted or replaced. Painting mailbox posts can help extend their lifetime. So you can market your services that way.

27. Painting Houses

It seems like there is always something that can be painted in and around the house. Walls, ceilings, siding, porch railings, window frames, and more require occasional painting to keep homes adequately maintained.

You could spend a whole summer painting if you found a house in need of it.

28. Garbage/Recycling Bin Service

Homeowners sometimes have a challenging time remembering which day is trash day and which day is recycling.

You could help them out with this. You could create a service where you place everyone’s trash cans out for pickup the night before, and return them to their storage location after being emptied.

29. Fix Bikes

If you are handy and like working on bikes, you can fix people’s bikes in the neighborhood.

A perfect time to advertise this service (along with many of these) would be during a garage sale. Make a sign advertising your bike cleaning, tune-up, and repair services.

30. Babysitting

Babysitting is an excellent way to make money as a kid. Parents of little ones especially like to have babysitters who live nearby, so their parents are available if there is a problem.

Additionally, if you’re a bit older and can drive, there are always opportunities with parents looking for someone to get their kids to after-school activities and back home.

31. Make Jewelry

If you are artistic and like jewelry, why not make some and sell it?

You can buy kits, repurpose old jewelry, or find creative ways to make your own jewelry. You can sell it to people you know or even on Etsy.

32. Make and Sell Crafts

Like jewelry, crafts are perfect for making and selling either in person or online.

If you love making crafts and make a lot of them, you can sell them at craft shows as well. Holiday-themed crafts sell exceptionally well.

33. Design T-Shirts

Do you see awesome t-shirts and think you could have come up with that idea?

Well, there isn’t any reason you can’t. And the great thing is that you can create and sell your designs with print-on-demand services. Using those services means you don’t have to have anything created until after you sell something, so you don’t have to worry about keeping an inventory.

You can use a site like Printful to sell items from your own website if you have one. Or you can sell your designs on a site like Teespring or Merch by Amazon.

34. Party Planner

Do you like organizing parties? Then why not use those skills. It is a perfect example of how to make money as a kid.

You can help parents in your neighborhood plan and hold birthday parties for their little children.

35. Become a Twitch Streamer

If you love playing video games and are at least 13, why not get paid to do it.

You need to meet several requirements to reach Affiliate status on Twitch. Once you reach that level, there are several different ways you can make money.

36. Tutor Younger Kids

Older kids make the best tutors for younger kids. If you are especially strong in a particular subject, you can focus on that. Otherwise, you can be open to tutoring in any discipline.

Tutoring is especially helpful if you want to be a teacher one day. It gives you exposure to help decide if you really like it, and it can look good to potential employers after you finish school.

37. Technology Tutor

While you may just think of tutoring kids to help them with school, there is a lot of potential to help older people with technology.

Whether it is setting up a new phone or computer, creating a social media profile, or just about anything techy, younger people are the perfect resource for older people to help them with these tasks.

38. Photographer

Do you like taking pictures? Are you good at it?

There’s always work for good photographers. As a kid, if you want to photograph events, you’ll want to create some examples of your work to show prospective customers. You’ll likely cost much less than a professional photographer, and you may have a unique way of capturing the perfect shot.

And while you may not be able to get your own gigs, maybe you can become a professional photographer’s assistant. It will give you experience and a great learning opportunity.

Just like tutoring can help you in the future if you become a teacher, if you want to become a professional photographer, starting when you’re a kid will give you an advantage.

And you don’t have to photograph events to make money as a photographer. You can also sell your photos to stock photography sites like Shutterstock or iStock. You could even set up your own website to sell your photos.

39. Deliver Newspapers

While there are fewer and fewer local newspapers nowadays, if you have a local newspaper, you could deliver newspapers.

Most kids don’t even know what a real newspaper is, but there may be some places where this is still an option.

40. Run Errands

You could also run errands for neighbors who don’t have the time or are confined to their homes due to age or physical limitations.

If you are old enough to drive, it opens up a lot more opportunities. But if you have a bike, you can run smaller errands for them.

41. Holiday Decorations

Do you love the holidays? Were you always excited when the holidays were near, and you could decorate your house?

Well, what about having other people pay you to decorate their houses? Many items on this list aren’t fun, but if you enjoy putting up holiday decorations, you may be in luck.

Finding something that you enjoy makes learning how to make money as a kid much easier.

Frequently Asked Questions About How to Make Money as a Kid

Final Thoughts on How to Make Money as a Kid

There are ways to make money as a kid everywhere you look. You just have to have the right mindset.

I hope this list was helped give you ideas for how to make money as a kid for yourself or a kid you know.