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Side hustles for teens

Don’t let your age hold you back! There are many ways you can get some extra money in your pocket as a young person, and we’ve listed some of the best ones.

Having a part time job is a great way to get some independence and to prepare for adulthood. But if you want to save and have fun, minimum wage work can often leave you having to choose between the two.

And then there’s your education. You might want to be out earning money, but if you’ve got an already packed schedule of exams and assignments, how can you fit earning money into your busy week?

Luckily, there are many ways for teenagers and students to make some extra money without working every hour of the day, by simply thinking outside the box.

Here’s a few ideas to get your started.

Pick up odd jobs in your area

This might sound like an old-school solution in the digital age, but the neighbourhood gig economy is still a great market to tap into when you’re looking to make some extra money on short notice.

If you have neighbours who know and trust you, you can spread the word that you’re available for one-off odd jobs.

This could include things like lawn mowing, babysitting, pet sitting or dog walking, or just running errands for people like picking up their food shop or dry-cleaning.

Let your family and friends know to spread the word as well. You can also put yourself out there on social media, as many neighbourhoods will have their own dedicated Facebook Groups.

Put your creativity to work

If you have a creative skill of any kind, there are people out there who need you. There are many ways to make money through all kinds of creative skills, from drawing and graphic design to video editing and photography.

Freelancing full-time isn’t easy, but it’s a good way to make some money doing something you love and boosting your skills and CV.

But first, you need to find clients!

You can use websites like Fiverr to advertise your services, or even your own social media accounts to get commission requests, which is where clients come to you.

Make sure to let friends and family know you’re taking orders for creative work, as they’ll likely jump at the chance to be your very first clients!

You can also make a portfolio website to show off your work - platforms like Wix and Squarespace make this easy and relatively cheap to set up.

Sell art

If you have a talent for drawing, painting, designing, taking photos or have any other visual creation skills that can translate well into printing, you can probably start making a little bit of money right now.

You can open an online store on a marketplace, such as Etsy, and pair it with a print-on-demand service to sell and ship products with your art on them. If you have the ability to make your own products at home, you might be able to cut on costs, but it will take up more of your free time.

If you don’t want the pressure of managing your own shop, you can put your art up on websites like Redbubble and Society6.

Once you’ve landed on a design for your product, these websites take all the work off your hands, but you might not make as many sales as you would through a more widely used marketplace like Etsy.

Sell what you already have

A quick way to make some extra cash in the short term is to look around you for things you don’t need anymore.

You can sell old toys from your childhood, clothes you’ve grown out of and even videogames you’ve finished on websites such as:

Selling online can take time, but if you want to make money quicker, you could try your luck at a car boot sale or a local market.

You’ll have to get there early and set your prices low, but it’s a great way to get rid of items you don’t need anymore and make some money while you’re at it.

Create online content

With around 1.3 million 18 to 26 year olds in the UK making, or aiming to make, content creation their main source of income, what used to be seen as a pipe dream is now a viable career choice.

When it comes to actually making money off content creation, there are a few ways to make it happen, but you’ll always be dependent on having an audience.

Affiliate links. These are links to companies that you present to your audience and if they go ahead and make a purchase, the company gives you part of the profit, known as commission.
Ad revenue. This is where you consent to adverts being shown alongside your content in exchange for money from the company doing the advertising.
Sponsorship. When companies and brands pay you to promote their products or services.
Subscriptions. This is when your audience pays you monthly to get perks in exchange, such as exclusive content.

Although it takes time and effort to produce content and build an audience, it can be really rewarding to see the fruits of your labour pay off. This is especially true if you’re making content about a topic you really care about.

Just bear in mind it might be more time consuming than you think, so you might not be able to work on your content as much as you’d like to while you’re studying.

Saving and investing for the future: what to do with your extra income

If your side hustle is a way for you to build up some savings, it’s important to consider where to put that money to get the most out of it.

If you choose to save your money in a cash savings account or cash ISA, you’ll earn interest on it. Whatever happens to interest rates, your money can’t go down, but as the cost-of-living goes up you might find that you can buy less with your money in the future. This happens when inflation (how much things cost) goes up by more than the amount of interest you make (the account’s interest rate).

If you’re 18 or over, you could open a stocks and shares product instead, such as a stocks and shares ISA. This type of account invests your money in the stock market for you, which means it has greater potential to grow over the long term compared to cash savings, but the share value can go down so there is a risk you could get back less than you put in.

Stocks and Shares ISA

With one, simple annual management charge of 1.1%, our Stocks and Shares ISA could be a good option if you're looking to invest over the long-term.

Lifetime ISA

If you want to save for your first home or for life after 60, our Lifetime ISA could help as you'll gain a 25% boost from the government on top of your savings, as well as any potential stocks and shares returns.

Our Lifetime ISA and Stocks and Shares ISA both invest in stocks and shares. This means they have good long-term growth potential, but the value of your investments can down as well as up and you could get back less money than you’ve put in.