Extra Cash For Teens: Four Great Ways for Teens to Make Money Online

By: Dannie Phan | December 27, 2019

It’s tough for teens to earn money. Catching the bus to cross town and flip burgers for a few hours a day is hardly enticing.


Here’s the good news: there are tons of ways to find an online job to make extra money by doing a variety of things you likely do anyway, sometimes even from your home.



Freelance Writing

First, teens can earn extra cash through freelance writing jobs. High school students often practice writing all the time, like when they're writing essays and assignments. If you’ve been paying attention in grammar lessons, set up a profile on a site like ClearVoice, Upwork or Fiverr and get hired for English blogging. You’ll learn a lot through freelancing, and earn some cash with a part-time job in the process. Plus, practice makes perfect. By writing in your free time, you might actually bolster your grades!


Tutoring Jobs

Teens can also work from home by tutoring. Now that we live in the digital age, tutoring can be done online, via video chat on a site like SameSpeak.com, or even through your own social media channels. Help another struggling student, make friends, and earn the cash all at the same time.


Freelance Writing Companies

  • ClearVoice

  • Fiverr

  • Upwork

  • Freelancer

  • Media Bistro

  • Crowdsource


Sell Handmade Items

Crafty young teens can sell their own arts and creations, on sites like Etsy, Kijiji, or through social media. Of course, you have to have crafts to sell before you embark on this path, which might set you back some seed money in the beginning, but if you’re successful it can be one of the most lucrative ways to make some money doing work at home. If you sew, buying one pattern and a cute bolt of fabric can yield skirts that can sell on Etsy for good money. Crafty folks can also upcycle thrift store items with little financial output and many opportunities for sales.


Get Paid For Photography

Depending on your talent, you can earn taking photos, too, through apps like Foap, which match photographers with companies that need the media. Once you upload the photos, companies can purchase them and you share the profit with Foap. Photos can be sold more than once, becoming a steady income for you while you move on to other things.


Sell Your Wares and Photos

  • Kijiji

  • Craigslist

  • Etsy

  • eBay

  • Amazon

  • Walmart

  • Cafepress

  • Shutterstock

  • iStockPhoto

  • Foap


Paid Online Surveys and Market Research

But far and away the easiest way to earn online is to through market research companies, who will pay you to give your opinion, mystery shop, or watch videos online from their affiliate brands. You can answer questions and complete surveys, even play video games, and earn well doing it straight from your smartphone!



Here’s how they work: you sign up and answer some general questions about your age, what you do, who you live with, and what you like. Then, you’ll get set up with surveys, promos, coupons, and affiliated retailers, depending on the site you sign up with, and you can start earning with your side hustle. Think "humanic data entry"! Generally, you’ll earn rewards or points, that translate to dollars.


These sites will usually offer surveys and polls that you can answer in your spare time, earning points for each one completed. Opinion Outpost will email opportunities to you, depending on the interests you’ve expressed, so you don’t have to go hunting for a survey that fits.


Paid Surveys

  • Swagbucks

  • MyPoints

  • Zap

  • InboxDollars

  • Google Opinion Rewards


Money Generating Mobile Apps

Turning on your phone’s GPS will let companies like Zap send you location-specific surveys, depending on what you’re doing at any given moment. Survey sites only offer a few points for each questionnaire completed, but you can make that extra money while waiting for the bus, watching TV, or on your lunch break. It all adds up - you can cash out your rewards for cash (usually through your Paypal account) or through gift cards.


Other sites or mobile apps offer even more things you can do for points. Some, like Swagbucks, have affiliate retailers, so you can shop online or sign up for advertiser emails and get cash or rewards for your efforts. Swagbucks even offers points for adjusting your default browser on your computer or mobile device. It can’t get much easier earning money than that!


Sites like InboxDollars let you play games or watch movies in exchange for points or coupons. Signing in through the site and selecting your media will do the trick, then you can start earning money while you pass the time.


Mobile Apps that Pay

  • Swagbucks

  • Shoply

  • InboxDollars

  • Foap

  • The Money App

  • Acorn

  • Rakuten

  • iPoll

  • iBotta

  • Jingit


Finding sites to earn shouldn’t be difficult. Just read the fine print so you know the ins and outs of each program before you start to avoid scams and get the legit jobs. That said, here are some of the best places to earn money online as a young person:


Hungry for more? Here's 20 More Ways to Make Money Online from our friends at eMoney





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