How to Make Money in School

Co-authored by Andrew Lokenauth

Last Updated: February 28, 2024 References

Being in school, whether high school or college, doesn’t mean you don’t need money. If you are looking for ways to make money while attending school full time, you may not be able to commit to a job with regular hours that are likely to interfere with school. There are other ways to make money though, like selling things you don’t need anymore, offering up your services to neighbors, and even finding a job that fits your schedule. You’ll soon be able to save up or spend cash, all while staying on track to graduate.

Things You Should Know

Online or in local stores, sell items you don't need, like old books, clothes, toys, and knick-knacks
Make money doing services like Fiverr, babysitting, pet care, yard work, and cleaning.
Find a formal job through online sites, friends, or your school and try to save what you make.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Selling Your Stuff

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1
Go through your stuff to find things you won’t need. Look through all of your clothes, books, toys, and other random objects and decide what to keep and what to sell. If you haven’t worn an item of clothing for a year, or if you’ve read a book and don’t think you’ll ever read it again, you can probably sell it and do more with the money than with the object.
- Don’t sell things you are still attached to, or know that your parents are attached to. You might regret it later, and it most likely won’t be worth the money.
If you have a fortune in Legos tucked away in a closet, try selling them, or any other miscellaneous things you no longer need. You can use Facebook Marketplace or eBay to pawn off the junk you don’t need by posting a listing and shipping the goods or having the buyer stop by to pick them up.^{[1]
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What may seem like a trashy t-shirt to you may be a fashion statement for someone else. While websites like Craigslist or eBay will work, too, many young people have found a more niche audience on clothes-selling apps like Poshmark, Tradesy, thredUP, and Depop.^{[2]
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Tip: Buyers on clothes selling apps may offer you a higher price than someone on Craigslist, who expects a cheap purchase.
4
Take your books to a used bookstore. Many bookstores will purchase your old books for a fraction of the cover price. While giving them 1 or 2 books may only get you a bit of change, bringing in a full box can mean getting $20, $60, or even $100 in cash.^{[3]
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- The bookstore will most likely off you store credit at a much higher percentage, but you would only be able to spend it at that bookstore.
- You should always take cash, unless you have a list of books you already need to buy, with a similar price tag.
- Powell’s Books, a bookstore headquartered in Portland, Oregon, allows you to mail your books from anywhere in the world for a PayPal deposit.
5
Take glass bottles and aluminum cans into convenience stores. If you live in a place that collects bottle and can deposits, you can collect your soda bottles and cans and return them to a collection spot and receive cash. While you will only get 5 to 10 cents per bottle or can, this amount can add up to give you some good pocket change.^{[4]
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- You can also ask your friends, family, and neighbors for theirs as well, to up your return.
- Ten US states and Guam collect bottle deposits. The 10 states are California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, and Vermont.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Performing Services to Make Money

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In the digital age, there are many ways to make money online. One way to advertise your skills, like writing or drawing, and make money doing them online is to sign up for freelancing sites to put up an ad for your service and establish a low rate so you can make a little bit of money each time you do it.^{[5]
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Note: Tasks on freelancing sites aren’t limited to writing or drawing. If you know how to edit videos, sing, use photoshop, or have any number of other skills, you can advertise those skills and make money doing them.
2
Find adults in your neighborhood who need babysitters for their kids. Ask your neighbors with children if they are looking for a babysitter and post flyers at coffee shops, and any other local hubs. You can emphasize your experience with younger siblings or cousins if you have any.^{[6]
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- Be sure to set an hourly rate ahead of time.
3
Advertise your pet care services if you enjoy being around animals. Dog walkers and pet sitters are often in demand. If you have experience with pets, you can find many neighbors who will be willing to let you take their dog for a walk a few times a week, or check in on their cat a few times a day over a long weekend.^{[7]
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- There are also apps like Wag! and Rover where you can accept dog walk requests and make a few dollars. You’ll need to be 18 years or older to use these apps, however.
4
Offer your yard work services. There is a long tradition of students getting paid to do yard work, because almost no one enjoys mowing the lawn or raking leaves. Try a site like Nextdoor, or post ads on a local bulletin board. You can also offer plant watering and weeding services if you have helped out in the garden before.^{[8]
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- If you don’t have the right lawn tools, ask if you can use theirs. This will also keep you from having to lug around a lawnmower or leaf blower everywhere.
- Ask your neighbors if they want someone to shovel snow for them if you live in a snowy place. Request a small per-session fee and set it up so you can go out early before school all winter.
5
Put up flyers offering a cleaning service. Whether it’s car washes or house cleaning, your neighbors might be thrilled to pay for a thorough cleaning at prices lower than most car washes or house-keeping services. Make sure you do a good job so that they will ask for you to come back again.^{[9]
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- Some people may be wary of your ability to clean, so let them know exactly what you will do and show that you know how to get the job done with pictures and recommendations.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Getting a Job

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1
Try out a part-time job with a flexible schedule. If you feel prepared to juggle your school work and a job, there are many part-time jobs that are available to high school and college students. You can work on weekends, after classes, or between them.
- Many college students have enough time between classes to fit a quick work shift in.
- Some high schools allow students to take a period off in their junior or senior year to fit an hour or two of work experience into their day.
2
See if your school has any open positions. If you are in college, there may be quite a few open positions that won’t even force you to commute. Ask your career center about paid tutoring opportunities, note-taking positions, student resource jobs, office assistant positions, and anything else your school relies on students to help out with.^{[10]
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- You may be able to work multiple shifts throughout the day at the same on-campus job if your classes are in the middle of the day, for instance.
3
Ask friends if their workplace is hiring. Friends who have jobs off-campus may know whether the restaurant, store, office, or other place of work is hiring. Ask if there are any positions that are open. Another benefit of this is the chance of carpooling or working with a friend.^{[11]
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- Be sure to consider whether your friend seems to have a good reputation at their workplace. If they are seen as a slacker, it may not help you to mention that you are their friend when you apply.
4
Look around on bulletin boards. Stop by bulletin boards in and near your school, whether at student centers or coffee shops nearby. Employers looking for students will often post job ads on these boards, expecting students to find them and reach out.
- Check regularly to make sure you see new postings as soon as they are up.
5
Check job hunting websites. Go on a reputable job website like the Craigslist jobs section, Monster, Indeed, or SimplyHired and enter keywords for the kind of work you are looking for. You can even include “student” to see if there are job descriptions that mention students specifically.^{[12]
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- Always look for jobs a little in advance of when you want to start.
- If you are on the hunt for a summer job, check the month before school ends and local employers will have lots of jobs with “seasonal” or “summer” in the name.
- Be sure to check the minimum requirements when looking for a job online. Many places will make it clear whether they are looking for students or not by requiring certain degrees.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Saving Your Money

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1
Open a savings account and use it. Getting a savings account will not only give you a safe place to keep your money and track its growth easily, it will very slowly grow the longer you keep money in it, and the more money that it holds. You can start it off by putting money you have laying around into the account, and then put a fraction of what you make in a month into it.
- You should make sure not to get an account that has a minimum balance amount or a monthly fee, as this can actually cause you to lose money.
- If you are in high school, you’ll probably need your parents’ permission to get a savings account, and even if you’re a college student, you might consider asking what banks they suggest.
Both gas and Uber or Lyft trips are expensive. If you find yourself spending all your money on getting around, see if you can save by taking the bus, or whatever transit system your area has. Walking is even cheaper, and if you can get around easily on foot, you’ll save money with every step.

Tip: Biking is another way to save money. If you own a bike, it will get you where you’re going faster than walking without paying any more.
If you tend to spend a lot of money on clothes, you can reduce your spending looking at clearance sections at your favorite stores, or even trying out a thrift store. You might be surprised at the quality of what you can find at a used clothing store, including new items that didn’t fit someone else.
4
Sign up for a grocery store savings card. Many grocery stores offer a membership card that you can purchase for a low to moderate price that can save you hundreds or thousands on groceries over time. They work by giving members a discount on certain items that change throughout the month. You can get these items for cheaper than the listed price that someone without a membership would pay.
- You can also ask if your family already has savings cards at any grocery stores and then use your family’s membership number or phone number to get the discount.

Join the Discussion...

Best way to make some extra money?

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WikiGnuTamer434

Have you looked into donating plasma at all? If there's a clinic nearby, you can usually donate twice a week and get paid around $50 each time. N... Read More

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ok donating plasma is for sure going on my to-do list haha. just donating plasma 2x a week would pay for my groceries. would love other ideas for... Read More

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Question

What are other ways to make money when you are still in school?

Andrew Lokenauth
Finance Executive
Andrew Lokenauth is a Finance Executive who has over 15 years of experience working on Wall St. and in Tech & Start-ups. Andrew helps management teams translate their financials into actionable business decisions. He has held positions at Goldman Sachs, Citi, and JPMorgan Asset Management. He is the founder of Fluent in Finance, a firm that provides resources to help others learn to build wealth, understand the importance of investing, create a healthy budget, strategize debt pay-off, develop a retirement roadmap, and create a personalized investing plan. His insights have been quoted in Forbes, TIME, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Yahoo Finance, BankRate, and U.S. News. Andrew has a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree (BBA), Accounting and Finance from Pace University.

Andrew Lokenauth

Finance Executive

Expert Answer

I think one of the most popular and fastest-growing ways to make money when you're young is teaching English. Many countries, like India and China, hire American tutors. All that is required is to be fluent in English or have a high school diploma. You can work remotely and they set your schedule for you.

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How can I make money at my school?

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Some schools will allow you to do cleaning jobs around the school for pay. You might also be able to make a little money tutoring other students, if you excel in certain areas. If your school allows it, you could also sell candy, crafts, or other small items to your fellow students.

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How can I make money in high school without a job?

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One of the quickest and easiest ways to make money is to sell items you don’t need. You can also make a little money doing online surveys, but you’d need to spend a lot of time at it to make much. You might be able to make a side income with monetized YouTube videos, but you’ll need to bring in a lot of followers!

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Be careful! Some schools don't allow you to sell things to other students because they might have peanuts, cocoa, etc. that could give other students an allergic reaction! Selling items might be against the rules due to choking hazards, poisonous chemicals used to make it, or something that could hurt you. Ask your principal, and if he/she says yes, still ask the customers to ask for their parents permission. They might not trust you.
Buy things for cheap from the dollar store, then sell them at twice their value to make a profit. Or, offer special deals to entice other students to buy them.
If you're good at art, offer to draw people's favorite or original characters. That way, you're selling something totally unique.
You could also paint nails or offer manicures at recess or after school. Set up a table and advertise on social media!

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