Earn Money with Small Jobs
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What you will learn
- 1Name small jobs you can do with a grown-up’s OK
- 2Agree on the job and the price before you start
- 3Do a job well, on time, and say thank you
- 4Keep track of the money you earn
- 5Explain which jobs are not OK for a child your age
Mini Lesson
Earning your own money feels great. You worked for it, so you get to decide what to do with it. At your age, the best jobs are small ones, close to home, for people your family already knows. Every job starts with a grown-up saying OK. Then you agree on what you will do, do it well, and get paid.
🏠 The Life Skills Way (step by step)
- PICK A JOB THAT FITS: extra chores at home, washing the family car, raking leaves, or watering a neighbor’s plants with a grown-up. You could also run a lemonade or cookie stand with a grown-up there, or sell crafts you made.
- ASK YOUR GROWN-UP FIRST: they say OK to the job, the person, and the pay. Only work for people your family knows well.
- AGREE FIRST: before you start, make an agreement on exactly what the job is, when it will be done, and the price. For example, "Rake the front yard on Saturday for $5."
- DO IT WELL AND ON TIME: finish the whole job, tidy up after, and show up when you said you would. People ask again when the work is good.
- SAY THANK YOU: thank the customer when they pay you. Good manners are part of the job.
- TRACK AND SPLIT: write each job and what you earned in a notebook. Then split the money into save, spend, and give, like the jars you may already use.
A grown-up says OK to every job before you start. Never go into a stranger’s home and never knock on doors alone to ask for work. Do not babysit - a child your age is not in charge of another child. A grown-up stays at any stand you run and holds the money box. Some places have rules about selling things, so check the rules with your grown-up.
Words to know
earn
To get money in return for work you do.
e.g. I earned $5 for raking the leaves.
price
The amount of money agreed for a job or an item.
e.g. We agreed on the price before I started.
agreement
A promise both people make about the job, the time, and the pay.
e.g. Our agreement was to wash the car on Saturday for $4.
reliable
Doing what you said you would, when you said you would.
e.g. Mrs. Park asked me again because I was reliable.
customer
A person who pays you for your work or something you sell.
e.g. My first customer bought two cups of lemonade.
job log
A notebook list of each job you did and what you earned.
e.g. My job log shows I earned $20 this month.
💡 Handy Tip: before a job, take a quick look at how it is now, and after, look again. If it looks clearly better, you did a good job. If you sell food at a stand, wash your hands first and keep a list of what is in it, so people can check for allergies.
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