Youth4Saving - Kids and Teens, Saving Money!

Nice article on some creative ways to pay for college.
2005 College Guide: Special Edition - Yahoo! Finance

I'm not sure anybody likes fundraising for school or sports or church or whatever. However, it seems this is part of life. If your group is doing Happenings books here are some hints on how to increase your sales:

1) Have a demo book. (Usually this is the one your parents end up buying.) This gives people on "hands on" look at it, which is really important.

2) In your demo book put post-it notes or just pieces of paper in at least $50 (or double the price of the book, whatever that is) worth of coupons that you know almost anybody would use and that are LOCAL. (McDonalds, pizza, local grocery store, whatever.) When selling show people the bookmarked pages and mention that if they use even half of the bookmarked ones they'll make up their money for the book.

3) Have somebody you know bring your demo book to their workplace. You'd be surprised how many people will order, esp. since they'll see the bookmarked pages.

4) If your neighborhood is saturated with other Happenings sellers, find a new neighborhood. Lots of times "grown up" neighborhoods will have lots of buyers and not a lot of people to buy from. (Be careful -- be sure to have a safety plan that your parents agree with.)

5) Be sure to suggest they make nice gifts. Sometimes you'll pick up sales you never thought you would and sometimes people wll buy two or three.

Good luck!

Some stories from teens starting their own businesses. These teens all have a link to the organization Junior Achievement.

Junior Achievement: teen business ideas, student entrepreneurs

Of course read it all and get your parent's permission, but here's a chance for an easy $10. Ages 12-16.

Youth Panel Home Page

The first thing to do when starting a lemonade stand is to pick a day when the temperature is warm or hot. When the temperature is higher more customers will come to the lemonade stand because they're thirsty.

The second thing to do is ask your parents for permission. That way you will be safer and not get in trouble.


The third thing is to make a attractive eye-catching sign. That way you would attract more people to your stand.

The fourth thing is to make the lemonade. (you can buy it at a grocery store)

The fifth and one of the most important things is to set up your stand in a highly public location so people will see your stand.

The sixth thing is set a reasonable price like 25 cents, because that way people are more likely to buy a glass. It also helps if there is a volume discount (35 cents for 2) so people are encouraged to buy more. It is also good to have easy coinage so people can easily give the correct amount of money.

Buy relatively cheap materials for maximum profit.

Tired of paying shipping? Try Craig's list--where you can buy (and sell!) new and used items you do not have to ship.

craigslist: minneapolis

OR nationwide at

craigslist

American Consumer Opinion pays people to answer surveys online. These aren't those ones that claim to give you a laptop or whatever. These guys are legit. It's free. They don't send you Spam. When you do surveys they send you a check in the mail.

If you're over 14 you can sign-up, but make sure you have your parent's permission. If you're not 14 or older, a parent will have to sign-up but American Consumer Opinion might send a note to your parent asking you to fill out a survey. Be warned that only one person in a household can sign up.

American Consumer Opinion

Okay, it doesn't earn money, but it might save some :) Anyway, a site all about chess with free chess instruction and a free computer opponent.

chessKIDS academy