Don't Break the Bank: A Student's Guide to Managing Money (8 page)

      
Tip:
If you keep an eye out on deal-hunting sites like
FatWallet.com
, you can sometimes find coupon/promo codes that you can use to buy gift cards at a discounted price.

For a game like World of Warcraft (an online multiplayer game), you buy cards that allow you access to play the game for a certain period of time—say, three months.

You can buy these “game currency” cards at major retail stores like Wal-Mart and Target. You can also usually just buy the points online directly from the company site or through the game›s control panel. (However, by buying the prepaid cards at a retail store, you may be able to avoid having to enter your credit card information in your game account, which eliminates the security risk of having your information stolen or hacked.)

iTunes Cards

iTunes cards are gift cards that give you a certain amount of credit that you can use in the iTunes store for things like music and movie downloads. For people who like to download a lot of music or other content from iTunes, these cards can be worth their weight in gold.

Gift Cards

      
Tip:
Be sure to read the fine print on the back of your gift card. Some cards charge an “inactivity fee” if you don’t use the card for a certain period of time.

You can find gift cards for just about every major store (including online-only stores or sites like eBay). This can be a good way to help stick to a budget. For example, if you want to make sure you don’t spend more than $50 at Target this month, just buy a gift card for that amount and limit all your purchases to things you buy with that card. Once it doesn’t have a balance, you’ve reached your limit.

Even fast food places like Burger King and McDonald’s have gift cards.

If you’ve received gift cards that you won’t use, you can go on a site like PlasticJungle.com, where you can sell your gift card or swap it for another gift card you want.

Part II:

Ways to Earn Your Own Cash

Let’s face it: Once you reach a certain age, getting an allowance can be embarrassing, and having to ask Mom and Dad for every dollar can be a real pain. Even worse, your parents may give you the third degree about what you’re spending money on, and most likely, they’ll feel you can do without the things you consider necessities. The bottom line: You need to start making your own money. Besides, it won’t be long until you’re supposed to be a self-sufficient adult buying your own food, clothes, and assorted other items, so this would be a good time to do a “practice run” of what it’s like to support yourself—even though you’re really only earning spending money. As bonus, this experience can help you get a glimpse into the working world and what type of job you might like—or one you might want to avoid.

Chapter 2

Earning Money at Home

What’s better than earning your own money? Earning your own money without even having to leave the house! Some adults work full-time jobs that let them work from home—this is called telecommuting or working virtually. As a teen, you probably can’t find a full-time telecommuting job (and you wouldn’t have time for one anyway, since you’re probably still in school). But there are lots of ways you can earn extra spending money from home on a part-time basis.

Pros and Cons of Working from Home

Pros:

- You set your own schedule. The more you work, the more you earn.

- No transportation issues or expenses.

- No worries about wardrobe or dress code.

Cons:

- You don’t get acclimated to a typical work environment.

- You don’t learn interpersonal/office sills.

- May not have an opportunity to earn references for future employment.

- It can be lonely!

Focus Groups

When a company is getting ready to launch a new product or make other types of business decisions, its marketing department sometimes decides to test the waters by gathering up a group of people who represent the general public (or the company’s consumers). This is called a focus group or a test panel. Teens are especially in demand with lots of companies (such as clothing and electronics) because they spend money on these products. So, basically, these companies want to know what appeals to students like you—and how to get you to buy their stuff.

“I have made quite a bit of cash doing focus groups. I went to one where all I had to do was talk about chewing gum to an anthropologist for 2 hours, and I made $200 in cash. I also got to watch a World Cup Game on a 3D TV for $25. While the big-paying surveys only come around every few months, it’s nice to have a little extra cash for just sharing my thoughts. “

~
Lindsay Long, Austin, Texas

Online Surveys

You’ve got lots of opinions, and you love sharing them. That makes you a perfect candidate to do online surveys. There are often opportunities for teens to take surveys related to electronics, online games, entertainment, and other youth-focused topics. Some survey sites will pay you in gift cards instead of cash, so make sure you know how you will be rewarded for your opinions.

Here are the Web addresses of some cash-paying survey sites:

http://www.pineconeresearch.com/

https://www.mysurvey.com

https://www.opinionoutpost.com/

You can also look for product-testing offers, because then you get things like shampoo, paper towels, and pasta sauce for free—all things that you would normally spend money on.

A note of precaution:
You should check with your parents first before you provide any contact information on any of these sites.

Have a Yard Sale

This is an oldie but goodie. It’s the classic way to make some extra bucks quickly. Most likely, you’ve got lots of stuff in your closet or attic you don’t use anymore. You can make this a family project—your parents will probably be happy to clear out some junk from the house as well. You may even want to get some of your friends involved—the more cool stuff you have, the better.

The key to a successful yard sale is promotion. Even if you have the greatest stuff in the world, you won’t make any money if nobody shows up. You have to do everything you can to attract customers. Put an ad in the newspaper. Hang signs with colorful balloons throughout the neighborhood. Be sure to mention any unusual or unique items that may catch people’s attention. Some neighborhoods will sponsor a community yard sale, and you’ll be more likely to have an increase in traffic to your sale during those times.

Sell Stuff on eBay
^®

eBay is the online version of a yard sale. The advantages are that you don’t have strangers wandering around your yard—and your potential customers are lots of people all over the world. The downside: There is more work involved, and it may take some time for you to conduct the auction and then wait for the payment to arrive. But you can often make out a lot better in terms of profit through eBay because you aren’t limited to the bargain hunters who tend to cruise garage sales.

You must be prepared to invest some time in your eBay endeavor. You have to take pictures of your items and then write up descriptions that make the item sound as tempting as possible. You also need to communicate with potential buyers and maybe answer questions about your item. When the auction is over, you need to package the item up and ship it off to the buyer. So it takes some time and effort to build an eBay empire, but you can pocket some pretty nice profits, especially if you have in-demand items like collectibles, designer clothes, or electronics. Tip: you can view similar items that have sold recently on eBay to get an estimate of what your stuff may sell for.

“One thing that I have done in the past is when I go shopping at place like Marshalls or TJMaxx, I’ll find a designer item for very cheap then resell it on eBay. Or if I know there is a hot item such as the Wii Fit, I’ll buy two and sell one on eBay. If I’m lucky, it’ll cover the cost of both items, and it’s like I got mine for free!”

~
Lindsay Long, Austin, Texas

Sell Crafts and Other Items Online

Have a knack for making crafts? You may be able to make money by selling your creations online. Etsy (www.etsy.com) is one of the biggest online sites to sell crafts and other homemade items. You can set up your own store with pictures of your items. If you’re under 18, you can sell stuff on Etsy as long as you have a parent’s permission. The site does take a small cut of the money you get, but on the plus side you have privacy protection because buyers never have your personal contact information.

Sell Your Photos

      
Tip:
WePay (
www.wepay.com
) is a site that allows you to set up an online store page or site easily (no HTML or code skills required) and collect payments. The site takes a small cut of the money you make.

If you have some photo equipment (or at least a pretty good camera) and an eye for getting some cool shots, you can sell your photos online. Right now, there is a high demand for good images because lots of people are starting blogs or Web sites and need photos to accompany the text. The amount you make for each photo can vary from around a quarter to several dollars or more. The good news: You can sell each image as many times as you want, so this can be an ongoing source of income. Check out sites like Shutterstock or iStockPhoto to find out how to sell your photos.

YouTube Videos

These days, just about everyone knows how to make a video, even if it’s just a basic one taken with a Flip video camera or your smartphone. But if you’re an aspiring filmmaker, you don’t need to graduate from an expensive film school to make some money with your videos. YouTube has a “partners program” that lets people earn money by putting ads on their videos or on the pages near the videos. They look for users who have a lot of fans, so you have the best chance of a good payday here if you can get lots of people to watch your videos or if you can come up with funny or unique ideas that will get attention through word-of-mouth.

Web Design

As we’ve already mentioned, lots of people are starting Web sites these days to promote their business or just share information (or opinions) on whatever topic interests them. But for people who aren’t totally comfortable with technology, the idea of making a Web site can be intimidating. They will often gladly pay someone else to do it, especially someone who can do it quickly and maybe add some cool design elements or features. If you happen to know HTML, you’ll really have an advantage, but there are many design programs out there that allow you to create Web sites even without HTML.

Start Your Own Web Site or Blog

Creating Web sites for other people is one way to make money. But another option is to just create a Web site of your own. If you have a cool concept or can gather up a following that brings your site a lot of traffic, you can then sell ads on your site. You can offer businesses the opportunity to place an ad on your site. (Obviously, you’ll want to make sure it’s a legit business and the ad doesn’t contain anything objectionable.) If you can show stats that prove how many visitors your site gets, it will be easier to get advertisers. Google has a program called Google Ads, which is an easy way for you to put ads on your site and get paid for it. (The amount you earn depends on the number of people who visit your site and click on the ad. Most people don’t make a ton of money, but it doesn’t require a lot of work on your part.)

Tutoring

If you get good grades or tend to be really smart in a certain subject, you can make some money by helping other students (or sometimes even adults) master topics in that subject. Most of the large, major tutoring services require tutors to have a college degree, so your best bet is probably to think small and local: Spread the word that you are seeking tutoring clients or post a notice on your social networks. To avoid having strangers come to your house, plan ways that allow you to do the tutoring at a local library or quiet meeting spot or even by phone or online. If you have Skype, that may also be an option.