53 Best Ways For Teens To Make Money

If you are a teen looking for how to make money without a job, you’ve come to the right place.

Whether you are looking for some gas money or need more money to hang out with your friends, we have you covered.

And in the event you are looking for side hustles that will provide a good income, there are ideas here for that too.

In all, you will find easy things and odd jobs you can do to earn anywhere from $25 up to thousands of dollars.

You pick which ideas sound best to you and start earning an income.

With that said, let’s get to the best ways for teens to make money.

53 Ways For Teens To Make Money

ways-for-teens-to-make-money

#1. Mow Lawn

A classic way to earn extra cash as a teenager is to mow lawns.

If you live in a neighborhood with small yards, a push mower is all that is required.

And with small lawns, you can knock out a lot in a short amount of time.

For larger yards, you will need to use a riding mower.

Ideally, the people you mow for will have a lawn mower you can use.

If you are old enough to drive, you could get a trailer and take your mower to the house you mow for.

If you find you have a lot of demand, you could consider turning this side hustle into a business.

Hire your friends to mow and pay them a portion of what you earn.

Overall, you can make anywhere from $20 up to $100 per lawn depending on the size.

In the spring and early summer, you will be mowing weekly, so the money will add up fast.

#2. Rake Leaves

In the fall, you have a steady income if you live somewhere that has the trees lose their leaves.

And depending on how many trees your clients have, this could be a big job or a small job.

For small jobs, just a rake is needed.

But for large jobs, using a riding mower will make things easier.

If the mower has a bagger attachment, you can mulch and catch the leaves before putting them in bags.

Otherwise, you can use the mower to blow them into a large pile and then use a leaf shredder to pulverize them.

As with mowing lawns, you can make anywhere from $20 to $100 per client depending on how many leaves they need picked up.

#3. Yard Work

yard-work

There is a lot of other yard work that you can provide a service for.

This includes mulching flower beds, pulling weeds, planting shrubs or flowers, tending to a vegetable garden, even planting grass seed or fertilizer.

Virtually anything outdoors that homeowners do to keep their properties looking good is a service you can offer.

The money you earn depends on the size of the job, but it will be decent money whatever it is you do.

#4. Pool Maintenance

In the summertime, a great side gig is pool maintenance.

This can involve skimming bugs off the surface of the pool, manually vacuuming the pool, or adding chemicals.

You can even offer to replace worn out parts.

If you don’t know how to do any of this, there are plenty of excellent videos online that will teach you.

We bought a house with a pool and learned everything by watching a handful of videos.

You can make around $50 a week for providing basic pool services to homeowners.

#5. Shovel Driveways And Sidewalks

In the winter, a great way to bring in some cash is to shovel snow.

It can be hard work, but it pays well.

You can get $20 for shoveling out a single driveway.

And depending on its size, it might take you up to an hour to do.

If you can borrow a snowblower, you will drastically reduce the time you need.

You can even turn this into a business.

Get some friends together and you all go out shoveling.

You will get a driveway done fast and can split the money you make.

If you like near a college, you might even have steady work.

Where I went, the college hired kids to shovel the sidewalks because the college maintenance department couldn’t keep up.

#6. House Sit

One of the easiest ways to earn money without working much at all is to house sit.

When your neighbors go on vacation, you can keep an eye on their house.

This can include watering plants, bringing in their mail, feeding pets, or turning on random lights to make it look like someone is home.

If you are really lucky some people will even ask you to stay at their house!

Doing this job can earn you $100 a week for not really doing anything.

#7. Pet Sit

Maybe your neighbors don’t need to you to house sit but they do have pets.

Offer pet sitting services.

You can feed their pets, clean out litter boxes, walk dogs, play with cats, etc. while your neighbors are away.

While you won’t earn as much as you would house sitting, you can still earn $50 or more a week.

And you will only be working a few minutes a day.

#8. Dog Walker

Another idea is to offer dog walking services.

More and more people have dogs and these pets need to get out and walk every day.

You can offer to take the dogs on a 15 minute walk once or twice a day.

You can make $15-$20 and hour with this side gig, which comes close to $100 a week.

And you only work around an hour a day, assuming you have one client.

#9. Wash Cars

car-wash

Washing cars is a quick way to make money.

You can charge different amounts based on what the person wants.

If they just want the outside of their car washed, you charge a low price.

If they want the inside vacuumed, its more.

And if they want it detailed inside and out, you charge a premium.

You will need supplies, but it won’t break your bank account.

Put up flyers and tell everyone you know about your business to get clients.

#10. Bike Repair

If you know how to fix bikes, this can be a lucrative way to make money.

There aren’t a lot of bike shops around any longer and many people have no idea how to repair a broken chain or flat tire.

And if you don’t know how to do these things, take some initiative and watch a few videos on YouTube.

#11. Resell Golf Balls

Do you live near a golf course?

Or maybe you like to golf and have a great ability to find golf balls in the woods.

You can turn this into a side income easily.

Collect the balls you find and clean them up.

All you need is a big bucket, soap and water, and you are set.

If any balls have knicks or cracks in the cover, you can toss these.

To make the most money, try to group them by brand.

Many golfers like to play a certain brand of ball, so they would be more willing to buy this way versus a bag of random balls.

Then post your golf balls for sale on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace.

Seeing as how a dozen golf balls sell for $30 or more, you can easily sell a dozen used balls for $10 or $15.

#12. Recycle

When you recycle items, you not only make money, but you help the environment too.

The question is, what do you want to recycle?

There are all sorts of options for you.

For example, you could collect copper wires and cables and sell these to scrap yards.

You earn by the pound, so a 100 pounds as of this writing will earn you $300.

Or you can collect aluminum cans or soda pop can tabs.

Aluminum pays less than copper, but there are all sorts of tricks to get the most aluminum cans possible.

If you have a pick up truck or cargo van, you could collect larger appliances like refrigerators, ovens, water heaters, etc. and scrap them for money.

Your earnings will vary based on current prices for items, but earning a few hundred dollars recycling is possible.

#13. Tutor

Are you good in certain subjects?

If so, you could offer to tutor other students.

A one hour tutoring session will earn you $50-$100 easily.

And if you tutor twice a week, you are looking at $400-$800 a month.

The trick is getting the parents to know of your services as many students won’t be proactive in getting help.

But parents want their child to succeed, so if they know of a good tutor, they will seek them out.

#14. Test Prep

Maybe your skills lie in taking tests.

You can help other students with this.

For regular school tests, you can teach classmates how to best study for the test and how to control their emotions going into the test.

Maybe you even offer some tips during the test to help them calm their nerves too.

For standardized tests and exams, again, you can offer tips to help them best study for the exam and how to best use their time while taking the test.

If you have success with this and can show results, you can make a couple hundred dollars per student you help prepare for exams.

#15. Swim Lessons

If you are good swimmer and love working with kids, then giving swim lessons is a great option.

Bonus points if you can give the lessons at the parent’s house, assuming they have a pool, so they don’t have to travel.

If you are lucky, you might be able to book lessons for a few people on the same street, making your job that much easier.

How much money can you make?

It’s not uncommon to make $15 per 30 minute lesson.

That equates to making $30 an hour!

One note if you decide to go this route, it would benefit you to get certified in CPR.

You probably will never have to use this skill, but most parents will ask if you have it.

#16. Become A Camp Counselor

A great job in the summer months is to become a camp counselor.

Depending on the camp, you might just work normal working hours or into the night if it is an overnight camp.

The good news is if it is an overnight camp, you get free room and meals as part of your pay.

How much money can you make as a camp counselor?

Most average around $15 an hour, but depending on where you live in the United States, this could be higher or lower.

#17. Baby Sit

how-to-become-a-nanny

Here is another option if you enjoy working with kids but don’t want to be a camp counselor.

You can babysit.

Come summer time, many parents needs help watching their kids during the day.

And even during the school year, they may need help after school or on nights or weekends.

You can make $15-$20 an hour and the work isn’t difficult.

The only catch is most parents want someone with experience, so try to babysit for some friends or family members so you have references.

And it doesn’t hurt to get your CPR certification either.

#18. Help Seniors

The elderly need all kinds of help, from cleaning their house, to taking out the trash and more.

They may even need someone to drive them to appointments.

If you are comfortable working with seniors, this could be a great way to earn money on the side.

#19. Music Lessons

Do you know how to play musical instruments?

You can charge for music lessons and teach other kids how to play.

More and more parents want their children to know how to play an instrument, but many school and private lessons cost a lot.

You can charge half of what others do and make out like a bandit.

#20. String Quartet

Maybe you play an instrument but don’t want to teach lessons.

If you play a string instrument and have a few other friends that do too, you can form a string quartet.

Then you can book gigs at night and on the weekends.

People throwing parties, art museum galas, and other fancy parties all have live music playing.

And you can make a few hundred dollars an hour doing it.

Granted when you divvy up the money between each person you are making $25-$50 an hour, but that is good money.

And you will be around successful people that you can learn from and possibly use that to springboard you into other streams of income.

#21. YouTube

Of all the online jobs, working with YouTube is by far the easiest.

If you are comfortable in front of the camera, starting a YouTube channel could be your ticket to wealth.

You can create videos on just about anything and if one of your videos goes viral, you are set.

Once you get enough views, you can monetize your videos with Adsense and start earning revenue from ads.

If you become popular enough, you could make thousands a month in passive income.

#22. Bake Sale

Love to bake?

Bake your favorite items and hold a bake sale or attend local sporting events around your town.

You can sell your items to people attending the games.

Another idea is to sell your goods at yard sales or flea markets.

The possibilities are endless.

You could even go to your local park in the summertime and sell your food there.

And here is a bonus idea.

Bring cold bottles of water and sell those too.

If people love your food enough, you might have repeat customers.

#23. Digitize Photos

Everyone has old print photos laying around that fade over time.

You can scan and digitize these photos for them so they will be preserved forever.

All you need is a scanner and you can get to work.

The downside to this gig is scanning each photo is going to take some time.

But if you enjoy it, it won’t feel like work.

#24. Organize Digital Photos

For as many people have old print photos, even more people have thousands of pictures on their phones taking up space.

You can organize these photos on their PC or Mac.

Not only will they be able to more easily find pics because they are organized, but they will enjoy more free space on their phone.

#25. Create Photo Books

This idea can be a stand alone gig or an add on to the points above.

People forget about pics they have, so you can create photo books for them to enjoy.

You can have a theme where a photo book is all about a holiday, like one for Christmas every year.

Another could be an annual photo book for a year in review.

Or if they travel a lot, you could create an album for each trip they take.

The more creative you can be, the better.

#26. Set Up Social Media Accounts

Are you a wizard when it comes to all things social media?

If so, you can help others create and set up their online profiles.

This could be for other teenagers or even for elderly people who are looking to stay in touch with their loved ones.

And here is a bonus tip.

As you do this, create a simple to follow user guide with the common questions you get asked once the account is set up.

You can then sell this to your customers so they don’t have to reach out to you every time they have an issue.

Most times, the answer will be in your guide.

#27. Social Media Management

social media manager

If you want to take setting up social media accounts one step further and open the door to making a serious amount of money, consider social media management.

Small business owners and blog owners are looking to get their content on social media so it can reach a larger audience.

But many don’t have the time or skills to get this done.

This is where you come into play.

You can manage their social media for them, posting updates, blog posts, and sharing pictures to help them grow their reach.

And here is the best part, you can make thousands of dollars a year doing this for a single client.

#28. Virtual Assistant

Sticking with the theme of small business owners, they have a lot on their plate.

And many times they don’t do the little things that need to be done because they need to focus on the things that will drive revenue.

You can help them get the little things done by being a virtual assistant.

The job duties will vary by job but usually includes replying to and sending out emails, typing documents and editing them, creating graphics, etc.

You can start out making $10-$15 an hour but as you gain experience, can make $25 an hour or more.

#29. Learn How To Code

Learning out to code is a great way to make a lot of money.

In the beginning you won’t earn much as you are learning, but once you have some skills, you have a lot of options.

For example, you could do any of the following:

  • Build your own website
  • Build websites for small businesses
  • Teach others how to code
  • Provide tech support for online businesses

Knowing computer language is a great skill to have and is in demand, making it very likely that you will find work.

#30. Phone Screen Repair

Dropping and cracking the screen on your smartphone is all too common.

Either you walk around with a shattered screen or you make time to drive to a repair shop and wait hours to get the screen replaced.

Instead of having people follow this process, you learn how to repair the screen yourself.

You can read this post for great information on getting started and them watch a few YouTube videos.

You might want to buy a few broken phones to practice on as well.

One you have some experience, start offering your services.

You can make $50 per phone you work one, making this an option for fast money.

#31. Resell Items

An easy side hustle is to resell items for profit.

There are a number of ways you can do this.

For beginners, most people start out going to yard sales, finding something of value that is selling for a low price, buying it and reselling it.

For example, an old bike might be selling for $5.

You buy it, clean it up, perform some basic maintenance on it, and resell it for $25.

Another option is to go to the thrift store to see if anyone donated something of value that you can resell for a profit.

As you get more skilled with this, you can graduate to reselling on Amazon.

Using their FBA program, you can easily make $500 a week or more.

Below is more information on how to get started with this side hustle.

Amazon FBA

#32. Sell Unused Items

Take a look around your room and where you live.

Are there things of yours that you no longer use or want?

Instead of letting them sit there taking up space, sell them for quick cash.

You can list your items on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace and reach a big audience.

Another option is to ask your parents if they have things to sell and hold a garage sale in addition to selling online.

In one weekend you could get rid of a lot of stuff and end up with hundreds of dollars.

#33. Sell For Others

If you like the previous idea, here is a way to take it one step further.

Your friends, relatives, and neighbors probably have a lot of unused stuff as well and would love to have some extra money from selling these things.

But they don’t have the time or are simply too lazy.

This is where you come in.

You offer to sell their stuff for them.

In return for doing the work, you take 10% of the sale price.

It’s a win-win.

You make some easy money and they make money and clear out their clutter.

If you collect a lot of things to sell, you can hold garage sales on a regular basis to clean out your inventory.

#34. Sell At School

Here is a great way to bring in some income.

Buy things and sell them to kids at school.

There are all sorts of items you can sell, from stationary items like pens, paper, notebooks and folders, to food.

For example, you could buy the smaller single serve bags of potato chips and sell them at school.

With a built in customer base, this could be the easiest way you make money.

#35. Take Surveys

make money paid surveys

A good way to earn extra cash is through taking online surveys.

There are a lot of survey sites out there to choose from, but many have a minimum age requirement of 18.

If you are an older teen, this could be something to do in your spare time for money.

Just spending 30 minutes a day could bring in around $100 a week for you.

To make the process easiest for you, here are my favorite survey sites.

I recommend you join more than one so you have more survey opportunities and thus, a better chance at making money.

Many pay you cash to your PayPal account, as well as the option of free gift cards too.

#36. Clean Houses

If you are good at straightening up, house cleaning could be a food way to earn money.

You can start out by cleaning for neighbors and family members and getting recommendations to build your trust.

Then you can grow the business through referrals.

You can charge an hourly rate of $20 an hour and walk away with $120 a day if you spend two hours each cleaning 2 houses.

#37. Invest

One of the best ways to earn passive income is to invest in the stock market.

You invest your money and let the market and compound interest work for you.

And if you keeping putting money in and don’t sell out of fear, you are going to build wealth.

The easiest way to start is with Acorns.

This is because Acorns lets you invest as little as $5 at a time.

If you have a debit card linked to your checking account, you can have Acorns round up your purchases and invest your spare change.

Over the course of the year, this will add up.

You can click the link below to get started and get a $5 bonus!

Acorns Button

#38. Sell T-Shirts

Are you into graphic design?

Do you have some funny sayings you think others would enjoy?

You can try your hand at making t-shirts.

The process is easy thanks to print on demand companies.

Just upload your design and create your shirt.

You can then start promoting it and when you sell one, the t-shirt company will print the shirt and mail it to the buyer.

You can even create a website to showcase your shirts or post the shirts on Facebook with a link for where to buy.

Each shirt you sell could net you $10 in profit.

Sell 100 shirts and you just made $1,000 dollars.

#39. Dry Cleaning Service

A lot of people live busy lives and some errands become a nuisance to complete.

Take dry cleaning as an example.

You can offer to drop off or pick up dry cleaning for a small fee.

If you decide to do this, talk with the owner of the dry cleaner.

Many places offer a discount on certain days of the week.

If you can help save your clients some money, you might be able to charge a little higher fee.

#40. Grocery Shop

Same idea above applies here.

Grocery shopping is a chore for many people.

You can offer to shop for groceries for them and charge them for the service.

Just make sure you have a detailed list of the items so you don’t buy the wrong things.

And pay attention to sales here too.

If you save your clients money, make sure you point out how much money you saved them.

And here is a bonus tip to make a little extra money.

Use grocery receipt apps.

Sites like Fetch Rewards, Coinout, and Receipt Hog allow you to scan grocery receipts and earn points or cash.

If you earn points, you can redeem them for cash to your PayPal account or for Visa gift cards or Amazon gift cards.

This idea won’t make you rich, but can bring in a few extra hundred dollars a year.

#41. Paint

Teens can easily help with painting for people who want to improve their homes.

You can offer to prep the walls for painting, do the painting, and clean up for a small fee.

If you have a couple of friends, you could join forces and be a painting team and get more done faster, allowing you to earn more money.

#42. Holiday Helper

People love to decorate for the holidays, but always complain they have to spend a Saturday or Sunday to do it.

You can offer to help set up and take down decorations.

This would be a big hit around Christmas when people decorate both the inside and outside of their houses.

#43. Sell Crafts

Do you enjoy making crafts?

Maybe bead jewelry or other unique crafts?

Create a business out of it and make money!

You can go door to door selling to your neighbors, set up a table at a yard sale, get a table at a flea market or craft show.

The options for where to sell crafts are endless and many people love to have unique pieces to show off.

#44. Golf Caddy

Being a golf caddy is a lot of work, but it pays well.

If you can find a country club that offers caddy jobs, you will need to show up around 5am to get ready.

Then you wait until you are called upon to caddy.

If you get called, you carry a golfer’s golf clubs around the course and get paid.

Most golfers will tip you in addition to your wage.

I had a friend do this and averaged $200 a day all summer long.

And he was only working 4 hours a day.

#45. Help People Move

If you are an older teen and don’t mind manual labor, you can help people move.

The cost to move is expensive, so people are always looking for a cheaper option.

If you have a couple of friends, you can spend a day helping someone move and make a couple hundred dollars in the process.

Bonus points if you have a truck as you can haul more stuff to get the job done faster.

#46. Lifeguard

Being a lifeguard is a classic summer job for teens.

What’s better than sitting poolside for a few hours a day?

The money is good too.

In order to land this job, you will need to prove you can swim and most likely need to pass a test.

And don’t forget about having CPR certification here too.

#47. Get Paid To Be A Friend

For the older teens, you can be virtual friends to people.

Maybe they are new in town or just want someone to go to a concert with.

You can use an online site to post your profile and then make $25 an hour to hang out.

There are a lot of sites that cater to this and a lot of people looking for friends.

You can even just chat with people online too!

It’s a great option if you are friendly and outgoing.

#48. Play Video Games

How To Make Money On Steam

Did you know you can make money playing video games?

You can stream yourself playing games on Twitch and had advertisements play in the corner.

The more people you have watching you play games, the more money you can make.

Another option is Steam.

While you don’t get paid to play here, you can sell items to other gamers to make an income.

#49. Make Money With Your Hobbies

What do you enjoy doing for fun?

Think if there is a way to turn that into a revenue stream.

For example, if you play a sport, can you teach others exercises, drills, or stretches to help them get better?

Maybe you enjoy taking pictures and can teach others camera settings to take the perfect photo.

Take some time and think about what you enjoy and how you can turn it into income.

Chances are there is more than one way you can make money from it.

#50. Clean Out Houses

Do you know people who have a basement or garage that is cluttered?

Offer to clean it out for them.

Create a few piles, one for trash, one for recycling and one for things to keep.

Once the room is cleared out, sweep it out and put back the things they are keeping in an organized fashion.

And here is a way to think outside the box and earn more.

If they have things they are throwing out that you could clean up and resell for a profit, take it.

Or you could offer to sell some of the items for them at a yard sale or online and take a cut as your payment.

#51. Dumpster Dive

Related to the point above, many retail stores throw out perfectly good items in the trash.

If you know when they do this, you can take the items from the trash and resell them.

You could end up reselling beauty products, video games, toys and more.

Here is a great post that walks you through this idea in detail.

#52. Get A Real Job

At the very least, you can always get a regular job like most other people too.

Many places hire teens, so don’t think you have to be 18 to get a job.

Here are some examples of places to look:

  • Movie theater
  • Amusement parks
  • Fast food restaurants (McDonald’s, Chick-Fil-A, etc.)
  • Retail store
  • Grocery store
  • Flower shops

Of course, you can always skip the list of common places and just go to local businesses and ask if they are hiring.

#53. Get An Early Start On Your Career

Have you thought about what you want to do for a career?

If you are in high school, now could be a great time to get started and get some experience.

This idea won’t work for every profession, but it will work for many.

For example, let’s say you want to work in finance.

Visit some accountant offices, insurance offices, etc. and ask if they are hiring.

Explain you aren’t looking to do their work, but you think you want a career in this industry and you just want to work.

You might end up just making copies, answering the phone, and running errands.

And this is great.

The goal is to simply be around these professionals and get an idea of how the business is run.

By being there all the time, you will pick up on things and learn how the business works and how to be successful.

Wrapping Up

There are 53 great ways for teens to make money.

I’m certain there is something on this list for everyone.

Now all that is left for you to do is to take the first step and start earning some income.

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