Last updated Mar. 7, 2023 by Charles Zemub
As a teenager, you want to make money and keep it. You don’t want your parents to control how you spend your hard-earned cash or worry about the state of your credit score.
While there are some steps you can take (like getting a job), there are also many ways to invest if you’re under 18 years old. Here are ten ideas for financing as a teenager
Get a job.
Another great way to invest is by getting a part-time job.
If you want extra income, and it’s legal where you live, get a job. If not, there are many ways that young people can make money online. I’ve written an extensive guide on how to make money as a teen, but here are the basics.
Get paid for doing chores around the house (if your parents let you) or ask them if they need help with errands or other tasks that only take an hour or so per day. You can also try babysitting in your neighborhood if kids need watching while their parents work long hours at their respective jobs.
Optimize Google AdSense revenue by creating ad units that align with keywords people would search for when looking for products related to yours (for example, “best travel apps”).
Start saving early.
Saving is essential, so start early. It’s never too soon to start saving money for the future.
Set up a savings account and get into the habit of making regular deposits into it. Even if it’s only $5 at first, this will help you build up a good habit of saving and give you something to show off when people ask what your first investment was!
If you’re saving for a specific goal, like buying a car or starting college (or both!), make sure that you keep track of how much money has accumulated so far and how much more is needed for your goal. You can even set up an account on Mint or another website that does automated tracking for financial purposes like this.
Help pay for your college education.
College is one of the most important investments you can make, and it’s also an opportunity to develop skills, build a network and learn more about yourself. If you are considering attending college, are already in college, or have just graduated from college, there are plenty of ways to use your education as a springboard into investing.
If you’re still in high school, learn about personal finance through internships and jobs at local banks or credit unions.
Get involved with extracurricular activities that teach leadership skills. These could include student government positions or serving on committees for non-profit organizations such as Relay for Life (cancer research) or Clean Up Day (environmental protection).
If you’ve just finished high school:
Take classes related to entrepreneurship so that when the time comes to start your own business, you’ll be ready with an established skill set under your belt!
Look for work as a freelancer.
You’re probably aware of the concept of working as a freelancer, but if you’re like me and not sure where to start, here are some tips to help you get started.
Find jobs: Look for work on sites like Upwork (formerly Odesk) or Freelancer.
Get paid: Be sure you understand how much the client has agreed to pay for your services before starting any work! It’s not uncommon for them to ask for more than what they offered initially and then tell you that if you don’t accept it, they will find someone else who will do it for less than what was originally agreed upon.
If this happens, politely decline their offer and walk away from the project until they can agree on terms with which both parties are comfortable.
Find clients: There are many blogs where people post jobs looking for freelance writers or other experts. These are good places to start looking out for potential employers because many businesses use this marketplace site before hiring someone directly.
Invest in the stock market.
Investing in the stock market is a great way to invest your money. When you invest, you’re putting your money into something that can grow and make more money for you.
For example, investing $100 into stocks might rise to $110 in three years. This means that if you were able to reinvest those returns (i.e., buy more stocks), then after three years of investing and reinvesting, you’ll have about $1,400
Investing in the stock market can be risky because there’s always an element of chance involved when buying companies’ stocks; however, investing has many benefits.
Buy Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency is still a bit of a mystery to many people, but it’s also a way for you to invest in the future.
Cryptocurrency is a type of digital currency that uses cryptography (the process of converting legible information into an almost uncrackable code).
To secure transactions and control the creation of new coins. It can be used as tender (exchanged for goods or services).
There are hundreds of cryptocurrencies, but most people use bitcoin and Ethereum (which we’ll discuss below). You can find out more about cryptocurrency at CoinMarketCap.
Become a blogger or an influencer.
Your blog is one of the most tried-and-true methods for making money from your passions. Sure, you’re not going to get rich overnight, but if you can build up an audience of readers interested in what you have to say about your area of interest, it can be a great way to make some extra cash.
Blogging also offers plenty of opportunities for learning about business and marketing skills that will help you down the line and some good practice when it comes time to apply for college.
The first step toward becoming a successful blogger is finding something that interests you—from video games to fashion or sports—and then figuring out how best to communicate with people who share these interests (for example: setting up social media accounts).
Once that part is done, all that remains is putting yourself out there by creating content (writing articles) and letting people know where to find this information through marketing efforts such as social media posts and email lists.
Start an e-commerce business.
If you want to invest in the stock market and make money, e-commerce is an excellent way. You can sell about anything online, including your product or services.
You’ll need a website and an e-commerce platform like Shopify or BigCommerce (we recommend the latter because it’s free), but once you get started with those two things—and find products that sell—you can start making money from home!
This may be one of the easiest ways for teenagers to invest because there’s no stock market involved; instead, you’re selling items straight from your website.
It helps if you have a passion for something, whether it’s makeup brushes or action figures (or both).
Invest in real estate.
Investing in real estate is a great way to grow your wealth. If you know where to look and grasp the market well, you can make a lot of money by investing in this asset.
The first step is finding a property or properties expected to appreciate over time. That doesn’t mean the price will increase monthly, but it should increase overall.
You also want to ensure that the property will provide good returns on your investment after considering repairs and maintenance costs and taxes over time (if applicable).
Next, carefully research the neighborhood where you want to buy, so there are no surprises when it comes time for purchase—and no significant issues are affecting its value down the line! Finally: remember that location matters!
The closer something is located within an area filled with potential customers/users/tenants, the better chance they’ll choose yours instead of someone else’s place nearby.”
Run paid ads on social media.
Running paid ads on social media can be a great way to drive traffic to your website. However, it’s important to note that these ads are only effective if they’re targeted toward the right audiences—so make sure that you consider this when creating your ad campaigns.
It’s also important to note that you can’t just run an ad and expect it to perform well. You need to ensure that your ad is optimized for the platform you’re using (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, etc.) and the audience it’s targeting—otherwise, there’s a chance that it won’t perform very well at all.
How to invest in stocks as a teenager
Invest in quality companies that have strong growth potential. If you’re looking for stocks to buy, focus on companies with solid fundamentals and are likely to grow over time — especially if they pay dividends or stock regularly splits to keep shareholders happy when profits aren’t going up as fast as expected.
How to invest under 18
If you’re under 18, you can’t invest in stocks or ETFs directly. But there are ways to get around this rule.
Investing in stocks, bonds, and other securities is often considered a grown-up activity. And while there are many good reasons why you shouldn’t jump into the stock market as a teenager, there are also some ways to get started early legally.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I invest at 14?
Open a custodial account with your parents or grandparents. This particular type of investment account lets you bypass the age restriction on opening a brokerage account.
You still can’t buy stocks or mutual funds yourself, but you can buy them on behalf of another person — like your parents or grandparents (and they may be able to invest in stocks and mutual funds as well).
What can a 17-year-old invest in?
You can do a lot with your money that doesn’t require jumping through all the hoops necessary for investing in non-exempted securities. You’ll have to be a little more creative and willing to explore your options if you want to get involved in the financial markets early.
How do teens trade?
Although there are many ways for teens to begin trading online via their phones or computers, the most common way that trading started was through an app called Kik Messenger.
It’s available for both iPhones and Android devices and lets users chat with each other directly from their handhelds. There is also an online version of Kik available at Kik.com.
How could a 13-year-old make money?
Begin earning money. An excellent place to start is with an old-fashioned paper route. To this day, parents pay their kids to deliver the newspaper each morning before school. If you don’t like getting up early and providing papers, the next best thing would be babysitting jobs.
How can a teen build wealth?
Another smart move for teens would be to develop an investment portfolio with a mix of stocks and bonds—but since these investments won’t grow quickly enough for teens who aren’t interested in waiting for the long term, it might be best if they go with manual jobs.
Summary
It’s never too early to start investing in yourself
The earlier you start, the better! Investing in yourself, your education, and the future is never too early!
Investing is essential if you want to be successful and wealthy later in life. The more money you can save up now, the better off your future will be.
Investing doesn’t mean just putting money into stocks or mutual funds; investing also involves saving up for important things, like college tuition or buying a house.
Investing is an excellent way for teens to start building their future. It’s never too early to invest in yourself, your education, and your future.
