Teens tend to become more interested in earning their own money when they want to buy something or save up for a future goal. For this reason, most people experience their first job as teenagers.
Earning your first $500 as a teen can be exciting and it also doesn’t have to require getting a part-time job with a strict schedule.
A lot of teens are looking for the flexibility to make money around their school schedule and other activities.
If you want to know how to make $500 fast as a teenager, there are a lot of options to choose from.
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6 Ways to Make $500 Fast as a Teenager Online
Of course, we’re going to start the list with online opportunities since the internet has become one of the best tools to help people earn a legitimate income.
If you want to know how to make money fast as a teenager online, you can start with short-task and survey starts or consider offering a digital service where you can still control your schedule.
Here are the best ways to make $500 fast as a teenager online.
1. Swagbucks
Swagbucks is a free rewards site that pays you to perform short online tasks. Some of these tasks include watching videos, taking surveys, trying out offers, playing games online, and surfing the web.
Each time you complete an activity, you’ll earn points that can be redeemed for gift cards or cash via PayPal. You have to be at least 13 year old to join.
The easiest way to earn points on Swagbucks is by taking surveys and searching online. You can download the Swagbucks browser extension so that each time you perform a search, you’ll use their search engine. This helps you earn points automatically by simply browsing the internet.
Another way to earn on Swagbucks is by shopping online. If you shop through the Swagbucks portal, you could earn cash back by making purchases at partner retailers.
To earn $500 fast on Swagbucks, commit to spending some time on the website each day completing the short tasks. This could be 30 minutes per day or less.
You can earn as much or as little as you want on Swagbucks but it probably won’t be thousands of dollars. Still, this is decent money that you could make during your spare time.
Try Swagbucks Today!Related: Swagbucks Review 2021: Is It Legit or a Scam?
2. MyPoints
MyPoints is a site that is very similar to Swagbucks, but places more emphasis on paying you to shop online.
With MyPoints, you can earn points by shopping at your favorite stores online. Just create a free account and shop online through the MyPoints link for the retailers. You’ll earn points per dollar you spend.
Another way to earn points is to answer surveys and share your opinion. Once you’ve accumulated enough points in your account, you can redeem them for gift cards or a transfer to your PayPal account.
MyPoints offers gift cards to popular restaurants as well as places like Best Buy, eBay, and Expedia.
Try MyPoints Today!Related: 35 of the Best Trusted Online Money Making Sites
3. Survey Junkie
Another way to make money quickly online if you’re at least 16 years old is by signing up for Survey Junkie. Survey Junkie pays you to share your opinion on different products and services.
You’ll earn points for completing each survey as well as for completing your profile.
Survey Junkie also has focus group opportunities where you can share your opinions via phone or video interview. Focus groups usually pay more than surveys so this could help you reach $500 faster.
You can also download the Survey Junkie app and take surveys on the go. Pull out your phone and take a survey when you’re bored, in the car, or waiting for something.
Try Survey Junkie Today!4. Springboard America
Springboard America is a leading market research company that partners with companies including household brands, government bodies, non-profit organizations, and media outlets.
Users can make an impact on the companies and policymakers that make decisions to impact everyone’s future by sharing your thoughts and opinions.
After taking each survey, you’ll be rewarded with points that can be redeemed for prizes and entries to the monthly sweepstakes draws. You can take surveys on your phone with the mobile app.
Survey opportunities are sent to users once they sign up and fill out their profile. Surveys are between 50 and 500 points if you qualify and complete them.
Once you reach 5,000 points in your member account, you can redeem $50 in gift cards to your favorite retailer.
Try Springboard America Today!Note: Springboard America is now perfect for 18-year-olds and above.
Related: 12 Best Apps For Odd Jobs That Pay Up to $60 in 2021
5. Fiverr
Fiverr is an online marketplace where people can buy different services whether it’s writing, editing videos, drawing pictures, etc.
Teens can become a Fiverr seller as young as the age of 13. It might be best to have an adult help manage the account since you’ll need a bank account or PayPal account to transfer your payments to.
Signing up for Fiverr is easy and you can create your seller’s profile by adding details about what your service includes. Fiverr also allows you to set your own pricing and service packages.
Originally, most sellers on the site charged $5 for a service. Now, Fiverr users can make a lot more. If you decide to design logos, draw pictures, or do voiceover work, you can easily earn $500 or more on Fiverr in no time.
Positive reviews will help grow your profile and build your credibility so you can attract more customers.
Make sure you get 5-star reviews from each customer and deliver work to satisfaction to keep getting new orders.
Try Fiverr Today!6. MySurvey
MySurvey is a legitimate and long-time survey site that teens can use to earn extra money. As long as you’re 14 years old, you can sign up to take surveys.
Users get at least 2 to 3 survey invites per week and you’ll earn as much as 1,000 points per survey you complete. Surveys usually only take 5 minutes each to complete. You only need a $10 balance to cash out your survey rewards.
6 Ways to Make $500 Fast as a Teenager In Person
There are quite a few in-person jobs and opportunities that are perfect for younger people if you’re wondering how to make $500 fast as a kid.
Some jobs will hire teens but you can also create your own opportunities by offering a helpful service to friends and neighbors. Here are the best ways to make $500 fast as a teen in person.
7. Flip Second Hand Finds
Do you enjoy shopping? Or, do you like to fix items up and flip them? Flipping secondhand items is nothing new but it’s also a great flexible income idea for teens.
You may need a little money to take to the thrift store so you can find items with potential. Then, clean them up, fix broken parts, or repaint the item so you can sell it at a higher price.
Another way to get started is to search for unused items in your home that you can flip or sell. Or, pull items off the side of the road for free if people are throwing it away.
You’d be surprised what some people would throw away whether it’s furniture, old tools, toys, etc. Consider selling your items on apps like Facebook marketplace and OfferUp.
You can use an adult to help you list your item for Facebook Marketplace. But you can sell under your own account name on OfferUp if you’re 16 or older.
Related: 20 Crafts to Make and Sell For Profit in 2021
8. Mow Lawns
Mowing lawns is a job that easily pays $20 per hour or more. As a teen, all you need is a lawnmower and the ability to use it properly. Plenty of teens have been able to earn $500 or more during the summer by mowing their friend’s and neighbor’s lawns.
You can go door-to-door to ask others if they need their service. Or, make flyers and ask an adult to help create a Facebook page to market your services.
Offer discounts to people who refer you to more customers. During the off season, you can continue offering landscaping services by raking leaves. Then, if you have snow in the winter, see if you can revisit those same customers to shovel their driveway for extra cash.
9. Detail Cars
Another way to make $500 fast as a teenager is to detail cars. Detailing cars just means deep cleaning them.
It’s no secret that the interior of a vehicle can get pretty dirty so you clean up crumbs in the car, wipe things down, and do a full vacuum to make it look almost new again.
Sometimes, car detailing even includes shampooing the car’s rugs and carpeting inside.
If you’re going to detail cars, you will need to buy a few materials to help you get started so you can work at home. The good news is that people will generally pay anywhere from $50 to $150 for car detailing.
So, while you may have to make an upfront investment to get started, you can earn that money back after taking on just a few clients.
Be sure to gather reviews and testimonials to take pictures of your work. This will help you market your car detailing service to more people.
10. Scoop Ice-Cream
Ice-cream shops are usually very popular and receive a lot of business especially during the warmer months.
These places will usually hire teens to work part-time and all you really need to do is take orders and scoop ice cream.
Depending on the store, you’ll need to be at least 16 years old but you may be able to work with a permit if you’re 14 or 15.
Simply fill out an application at your local ice cream shop and include your availability and any relevant skills. You may be thinking what skills do I need to have to scoop ice-cream?
Generally, you just need good customer service skills and be able to follow directions and communicate with both team members and customers clearly.
Even if you’ve never had a job before, you can share references from volunteer work or experiences you’ve had at school (working with a team, showing leadership, etc.) that are relevant to the job.
11. Babysit
Babysitting is a classic job for teens who like kids. Babysitting is also a higher-paying job with most teen sitters being able to earn $10 per hour or more.
You can set your own schedule and babysit after school, in the evenings, or on weekends. This is also an easy way to earn a consistent income with repeat clients who pay you to watch their kids regularly.
Start asking around in your area to see if any parents need a sitter. You can check with neighbors or use websites like SitterCity and Care.com to find new clients.
Care.com requires you to be 18 years old to start an account. However, a parent can set up an account and give permission to a teen (aged 13 to 17) permission to create a profile to promote their services.
12. Tutor Other Students
Do you excel in certain academic subjects? Tutoring is another popular job for teens looking to earn $500 fast.
You can help younger students with math, English, history, and other subjects. Teen tutors can make $10 to $20 per hour on average.
Most sites that help tutors find students to work with require you to be 18 years old to sign up. This still doesn’t mean that there aren’t still students in your area that you can work with in person.
Contact past teachers and neighborhood groups to let people know you’re tutoring along with which subjects you specialize in.
Related: 12 Best Online Tutoring Jobs
It Doesn’t Need to Be Difficult to Make $500 Fast as a Kid
If you typed in ‘how to make $500 dollars fast as a teenager’ into your search bar, our hope is that this article helped and gave you some direction.
Whether you’re a teen looking for work or a parent looking for options to share with their teen, consider both online and offline options.
Think about what your skills and interests are along with what’s realistic for your schedule. Teens can certainly make $500 or more each month by trying out some of these opportunities.