Parents with an eye on their children’s financial future often want them to start working early. Then, they can earn money on their own. Work, in and of itself, is an important experience to gain. Of course, education is the most important work for any teenager. So they should only work as long as it doesn’t interfere with their education.
Unfortunately, the realities of poverty may favor earning money for the household over doing well in school. But whenever possible, parents should prioritize teens education over money. When asking how could a 13 year old make money, the answer is: plenty of ways! The key here is to rely on your skills. For example, if you have a creative streak, you can definitely use that to make some cash. Alternatively, maybe you have a way with words, meaning selling things should be pretty easy for you. Either way, there’s definitely going to be something on this list for you.
- Do surveys
Doing surveys is a really easy way to make money as a teenager. This is because it doesn’t take long to finish one, you can easily do it through your phone (or computer, if you don’t have a phone yet)…and who doesn’t love giving their opinions! It’s true that there are a lot of survey sites out there that don’t pay much, so aren’t really worth considering. This is why you should limit yourself to doing surveys through sites that you know are legit in terms of how much they pay. And better yet, they’ll even give you a completely free welcome bonus! - Sell your things
You’re almost certainly going to need a parent or guardian’s permission for this one given that they may have bought your things for you, but a great way to make some cash (especially if you need money desperately) is to sell anything you don’t need any more. This could include things like sports equipment you’ve outgrown or no longer use, video games you’re done with or even selling clothes on a site where you can make money like Poshmark. - Design t-shirts
Tons of people have made thousands of dollars designing t-shirts and there’s no reason why you can’t do the same. In particular, sites like Printify make it super simple. Literally all you have to do is create your design and upload it to the site.
- Sell food and drinks
A lemonade stand is definitely a legit way to make money as a kid although, of course, you don’t have to limit yourself to lemonade. In fact, depending on the season, almost any type of food or drink is going to sell well. You could even find a local farmers market or something similar and see if you’re able to set up a stall there. - Rent out your stuff
If you’re not keen on selling your stuff but you do have some things you don’t use all the time, why not look into renting them out to make some cash? There plenty of sites that make it incredibly easy to do this, especially for renting out things like sports equipment or items relating to other hobbies, like photography. - Play games
Playing games is one of those great ways to make money as a 13 year old, as it’s probably something that you’re doing already. Whether you already have a phone or do it on your computer, wasting time on your device of choice by using apps with games that pay you to play them is something all of us do. Specifically, Swagbucks is a free app that will pay you to play games. Better yet, you only have to be 13 years old to use it. - Start a blog
Starting a blog can easily be one of the highest paying online jobs, no matter your age. Just asked Tavi Gevinson, who started her Style Rookie blog when she was only 11. By the time she turned 15, she was making millions from it. It’s also super cheap to start your own site although you’ll need to ask a parent or guardian to borrow their credit card. I can help you get a blog today, contact. - Self-publish your own books
If you like to write, self publishing your own books is a great way for a 13 year old to make money online from this. There are even people who make $10,000 a month or more from this as a side hustle. Amazon‘s Kindle Direct Publishing is easily the best way to do this. Once you’ve written your book, it takes five minutes for it to be published, where you’ll immediately have access to Amazon’s millions of customers.
