Money is an important aspect of our lives, even at a young age. It is never too early to teach children the value of money. It is also never too early to teach our children the value of a hard day’s work.
But how do you earn money as a child? Our little ones can’t really go out and get a 9 to 5 full time job, 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 make some money (probably yours) on your own.
Below are some of the ways our younger kids can start making some extra money for themselves.
When do children learn about money?
As mentioned in the introduction, it’s never too early to start teaching kids about money. They may not be able to pick up on all the ins and outs of finance, but they will certainly understand that you need money to buy things.
Then you can move on to the concept of trading services or chores for money. They should see it like any other reward system. Keep it simple for them. Do a job, get some money, make enough money, they get what they want, Simple.
As your kids get older, you can start with the idea of planning and saving your money for bigger items. Clothes, video games, or anything else they may want will take more time, effort, and planning.
Benefits of Teaching Kids About Money
Besides earning some extra money for themselves, there are of course plenty of other benefits of teaching our kids about money at an early age.
Value of money
As mentioned before, money is an essential aspect of our lives. Learning how it all works earlier 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 children about money. Most children only think of short-term ideas. For example, what happens to them in the present or immediately after an action.
You can introduce the idea of the long term with money. When your kids ask for a toy, game or other purchase, you can start the process. Learning how to think further ahead and achieve a goal is another lifelong skill that will help your child.
Budgeting and disposable income
Once your kids are a little older, they can learn about budgeting and have a disposable income. Once you’ve found different ways for your kids to make money, they can start saving that money. They can even start with a monthly budget.
They won’t actually have to pay rent or bills, but there are certainly things they would like to have that cost money each. A subscription to a streaming service, in-app purchases for their favorite game, or maybe just a particular food item they like. These can all be part of a monthly budget for kids.
Once they have a certain budget, they can begin to understand the idea of disposable income. Depending on how much money they earn and spend each month, hopefully your child will have some left over. That is their disposable income. They can learn to save that money for a future purpose or spend it on purchases that aren’t part of their monthly budget.
Financial independence
Adding to all the previous benefits, you teach your child about financial independence. No, they won’t retire early by doing chores, but they can learn not to depend on you for all their money needs. That’s a win\win!
The hardest part is not to tell them what to buy and not to buy with their money. You might think that a purchase is a waste of your child’s money, and it might be, but you should let him/her decide. Making some bad purchases or making money mistakes will also teach your child to be more careful with their money, another essential life skill.
How to make money as a child
Okay, time for the good stuff, how to make money as a kid of almost any age.
Chores at home
More than likely, if your child is under the legal age to have a job, their “income” will come 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 clean the dishes, clean up their room and others, vacuum the floor, give them anything you don’t want to do.
Neighbors chores
Hey, look, everyone has things they don’t want to do. If you’re nice enough to neighbors, ask them if they want something done for them. Keep it simple, such as watering plants, bathing a dog, helping with groceries or running errands, etc.
dog walker
The size of the dog will change how young your child may be to do this. Little kid, little dog. Big boy, big dog. Walking dogs can be helpful during the summer months. Kids can train the K9s during the day when their owners are at work or can’t step away from their computers when working from home. Walking dogs is an easy and low pressure way for your child to earn some extra money.
Watch out for animals
Pet-Sitting combines our last two options. When neighbors are away, putting your dog or cat in a professional kennel can be costly. All they need is a little food and water for a few days and your child can be 100% the person to do it. Pet stiing is one of the best ways to earn extra money for your child.
Help with garden work
More chores, but this time with the bonus of being outside. Not many of us like yard work, but having a helper always makes it a little easier. There are many ways children can help you, a neighbor or a relative with their yard work.
Sell stuff online
There is no doubt that most of our children have too much stuff. If they want to make some extra money, have them find toys and games in good condition and put them online to sell.
Contribute to a garage sale
Don’t want to put the toys online? Don’t worry, the next time you have a garage sale, give your kid his table and anything that sells goes straight into their pocket.
lemonade stand
A lemonade stand is a classic business venture for young children. With just a little seed money from mom and dad, kids can be on their way to running their businesses. Hopefully your street has a little traffic so you can get enough customers to bring in some cash.
Sell crafts
While you bring in a customer with the cheap lemonade, have your kid make some crafts worth buying as well. If you want to go the online route, sites like Etsy will have lots of kids selling their crafts, so join us!
car wash
Another classic fundraiser event for many kids. This will probably require a few children, either your own or from the city. All you need is a hose, a bucket, some soap and have a nice day. Kids can get paid to scrub all of your neighbors’ cars properly.
Rental toys
This one might be a little hard to run past other parents, but if your child has toys that others might want to use, let them rent it out. There’s nothing wrong with charging someone a few bucks to try out a toy before actually buying it.
teach others
Probably for a child who is a little older, but for any child with a learnable skill. This could be education related, such as tutoring or teaching other children to make a craft. Regardless of the skill, get a few other kids together and show them how to do it.
Complete Online Surveys
With parental consent, some online sites will make surveys available to children over the age of 13. At demographic companies or any survey that requires a younger point of view, your child could be their go-to and earn money online too.
Play video games
I know, I know, we always try to limit screen time, but they’re going to get it anyway, they might as well make money doing it. Apps like MistPlay pay kids (or adults) to download and play new games. Believe it or not, it can actually be quite lucrative for kids.
App tester
App research is not limited to just video games. Sites like TesterWork and UberTesters are looking for younger teens to try out their apps to get valuable insights and feedback.
Collect and sell golf balls
With the permission of the golf course, children 18 can walk and collect as many golf balls as possible. Golfers will pay a lot of money for new balls, and your child can make good money selling the balls they find for a fraction of the price. Best of all, it costs you and of course nothing, you just need something to carry all those balls in!
Recycle aluminum cans
Yes, this is still a thing. Collecting aluminum cans and taking them to a recycling center near you is another way to earn a few bucks for your child. The return is relatively low, so you won’t make a lot of money, but you also help the environment and that is paying in itself.
Organize Peoples Stuff
There are plenty of kids who are much more organized than any adult. If your child is one of those children, you can offer his organizational skills to someone you know.
Sell t-shirts
There are plenty of websites where you can design your t-shirt online. Whenever someone orders one of your designs, you get a cut of that sale.
Start a YouTube channel
There are a surprising amount of things kids can do with their YouTube channel. Of course, toy reviews are probably the most popular. Still, video game walkthroughs, crafts, or even movie reviews are all things kids can do that would be helpful to other kids.
How To Make Money As A Child – Final Thoughts
It’s hard to make money at a young age, but there are plenty of options in today’s world. It’s never too early to start teaching your kids how to make money and, most importantly, how to budget and spend their money wisely.
Jeff is a fan of all things finance. When he’s not changing the world with his blog, you can find him on a run, playing a Mets game, playing video games, or just playing with his kids.
This post How to make money as a child in 2022
was original published at “https://haveyourdollarsmakesense.com/how-to-make-money-as-a-kid-in-2022/”
