How to make money as a teenager

I was recently talking to a friend of mine and he told me that his 16 year old son was having an extremely difficult time trying to find a job. I began thinking about his situation and came up with a few ideas that teenagers could use to bring in extra money. These ideas actually could be used by anyone, but I will focus on teenagers.

• Mow lawns. Perhaps the most consistent income a teenager can make, not counting a regular job, is to mow lawns. I live in Indiana so you can mow lawns about 25 times per year. In my area, a city lawn takes anywhere from 30-45 minutes to mow and the going rate is anywhere from $15-$40. You can look for lawn mowing jobs by looking for elderly people in your neighborhood, senior citizens at church, your grandparents and friends of your grandparents. Spread the word that you will be willing to mow lawns cheaply. It should be fairly easy to pick up 4 lawns per week. If a you can pick up 4 lawns per week at $15 per mowing (you want to start at the lower end of the pay scale to get established) for 25 mowings per year, that is $1,500 in gross earnings. That is nearly $30 per week for about 4 hours work. That pretty decent money.
• Babysit. Another consistent income job is to babysit. Parents like to leave the kids at home and have a date night on a regular basis. Look for young couples in your neighborhood, at your church, friends of your parents, or aunts and uncles. Get the word out that you are willing to babysit. I don't know what the current rate is for babysitting, but if you can get $7 per hour and babysit Friday evenings for 4 hours, that's $28 per week. Do that 50 weeks per year and you have $1,400 in gross income. That's not bad money for 1 night per week.
• Rake leaves or shovel snow. These are similar to lawn mowing except they are more inconsistent. You will only be able to rake leaves a couple of times per year. You may not get a chance to shovel snow or you may get several opportunities per year. In either case, these jobs will bring in some extra money.
• Apply for scholarships. This is not the kind of job that will pay you right away, but if you are planning on going to college, it can pay off later. Search for and apply for every possible scholarship. There may be some that require you to write essays, take time to do whatever it takes to apply for the scholarship. If you apply for enough scholarships, sooner or later you are bound to get one or more. That will help pay for your college and maybe you will have enough scholarships to pay for entire college tuition and books. You can then use the money you make from a part time job to entertain yourself in college.

Of course the government will probably want to take some of your money in taxes. You will most likely have to at least pay the Social Security and Medicare taxes. I suggest that you contact the IRS or your State Department of Revenue and they can help you.

Those are just a few ideas. The key to being successful is to be responsible. You must show up on time, do a good job and be reliable.