Sizzling summer sun and fun to make money

Have you noticed that the air is getting warmer, the trees are sprouting and your wallet is empty? Your hot summer is just around the corner. You know you will have extra time on your hands and an empty wallet in your pocket. I bet you’re thinking you’d like to earn a few extra bucks this summer. But you’re too young for the jobs available to teens 16 and older. And you’re bored and too old for the standard lemonade stand idea. What else can you do to earn real money?

Let’s start by first putting your brain into money-making idea mode, you’ll have to ask yourself: What do I really love doing? What am I good at? What skills do I have? Here are some brilliant ideas to get you started and I know you will come up with many more:

Dog daycare: Do you have experience taking care of your own pampered dog? I’m sure you know people in your neighborhood who work all day and leave their beloved dog alone. You could offer a Daycare Service for Dogs: walk, bathe, feed, play, clean the playpen, etc. Doggie Daycares is really hot this summer and it’s a great way to earn a lot of money and also have a fantastic time. You can expect to earn between $30 and $50 per eight-hour day; hey that’s a nice chunk of change.

Certified Nanny – Nannies are in constant high demand and during the summer the demand skyrockets. You can expect to earn between $4 and $10 per hour as a certified nanny. Be sure to get specialized childcare training through a certified course. Your local YWCA, Red Cross, local community league, or even your school will have these certified courses available. It will really increase your hiring demand and salary if you become a certified nanny.

Birthday Party Planner: Start a birthday party planning service. You personally send or deliver invitations, set up decorations, lead during party games, supervise party guests, help serve food, etc. If you have a special talent as a magician or clown, you could even earn extra money by providing entertainment. You could earn up to $100 for a two-hour party.

Tutor Service: Do you get amazing grades in school? Start your own tutoring service to help younger kids improve their grades. Many children need extra help with math, science and reading, Spanish and French. You could expect to earn between $10 and $15 per hour.

Do you love the outdoors? Consider jobs that take place outdoors: mowing lawns, washing cars, weeding gardens, etc. Or you can also grow your own vegetables, fruits, herbs, flowers, etc. to sell at a Farmers Market. You could expect to earn $10 to $20 for each odd job outside, and much more selling your homegrown produce at a Farmers Market.

Are arts and crafts your thing? Maybe the original things you love to do are items that other people would really love to buy. Ideas can be hemp jewelry, stuffed animals, greeting cards, t-shirts, pet rocks, the list is endless, and a hot item for this summer is funky hip tie dye t-shirts. The amount of money you can earn varies greatly. Funky Tie Dye T-shirts can be sold for up to $30 each.

House Sitter: Are you reliable, trustworthy and mature? So people would certainly hire you to take care of all kinds of tasks for them while they are away from their homes. You can take care of the house while they’re away, pick up their mail, water the house plants, inspect the house, make sure the trash gets to the curb, check on the pets, mow the lawn, and much more. The more tasks you are responsible for, the more money you will earn. You can expect to earn between $20 and $50 per day as a house sitter.

That’s just a very short list of job ideas to make money. Of course, the secret to a hot buck summer is getting the word out about your services or products. Write an attention-grabbing flyer that creates a compelling initial impression on people who don’t know you. Post it on the bulletin boards of your local supermarket, restaurants and convenience stores. A surefire way to impress potential customers is to hand-deliver your flyers. Ring their bells, introduce yourself and hand them one of your hot flyers, how can anyone not be impressed?

A great idea while you are away and working would be to carry a cell phone with you to keep in touch with your parents. Always remember safety first before anything else. Enjoy a fun, safe and profitable summer.