How to Make Money Over the Summer: 12 Summer Quick Cash Ideas

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Do you need some extra money to take your dream vacation, buy the latest gadget, or just simply want to treat yourself? Whatever your reason may be, there are many legit ways to make money over the summer that you probably haven’t thought about.

Summer comes with beautiful weather, spending time at the pool, and having fun with friends. If this is your first summer after graduating high school or college, then you might be looking for ways to make money.

I know you’re probably asking yourself “How can I make money over the summer?”. Well, you’ve come to the right place.

In this post, I will show you the easiest ways to make some cash over the summer without resorting to things like writing essays for pay. In fact, you can use these ideas year-round.

SEE: Smart Ways to Make Money as a College Student

1. House and Pet Sitter

People usually travel throughout the summer, and they need someone that will look after their pets or homes. This work is fun and easy, especially if you don’t mind working with animals.

Rover is a website that you can use to find people that need pets or house sitting. You can also use Care.com to find pet owners. Unlike Rover, Care.com does not specialize in pet services.

To have an idea of the amount you can earn via Rover, check out the website and search for sitters in your location.

2. Host

Apart from pet and house sitters, summertime travelers also need a place to stay at their holiday destination.

Not everyone loves booking the standard hotel. Lots of travelers prefer vacation rentals since they are more comfortable and also offer an authentic travel experience at an affordable rate.

Travelers usually use the vacation rental websites below to book such lodging:

If you don’t mind opening your doors and renting your home to travelers, then you can sign up on some websites as a host and make money over the summer. These websites will connect you with travelers that want to book a vacation rental in your location.

According to a survey by Credit Loan, people that rent out their property usually earn a median income of $81 per hour.

An analysis by Homes.com discovered that hosting travelers for four or five hours every month can earn you enough extra money to pay your mortgage, depending on your location.

3. House Painter

Summer’s great weather makes it the ideal period to paint a house. To make money over the summer through this idea, you can volunteer with a nonprofit organization, such as Habitat for Humanity.

You can also learn the trade on the job. Painters earn about $18.72 per hour. That’s not a bad job if you can find one.

SEE: Best Ways to Make Money As a Digital Artist

4. Lawn and Yard Care Service Provider

People don’t usually bother about their yards apart from the shoveling occasionally in the dead of winter. However, during summer, weeds, lawns, and bushes grow every day.

Some people are too busy to trim the plants while others are either ill or too old. Irrespective of their reason, you can make some extra money by helping out with these tasks.

According to the Department of Labor, workers that help with these services earn a median income of $14.13 per hour. Apart from the income, it is also a form of free workout.

SEE: How to Make Money With Yard Work Services

5. Transcriptionist

You can also make money over the summer by just listening and typing. If you are great at taking notes and can pay attention to detail, an online gig that involves transcription might be what you need.

You can earn up to $25 per hour by offering transcription services. TranscribeAnywhere contains information on how you can become a transcriptionist.

6. Online Teacher

Another idea that you can implement to make money over the summer is to become an online teacher. Most online teaching jobs require a bachelor’s degree. One of the platforms that you can use to teach online is Magic Ears.

On Magic Ears, you can teach online through the summer. You can also continue teaching after summer and can also work from anywhere you want since you will be teaching through the platform’s online teaching portal.

If you have any teaching experience, you can get your TEFL certificate and inform them that you are working towards obtaining your degree so that you can increase your chance of being hired (you need this if you don’t have a degree).

Also, If you are in a school where you’re learning to become a teacher, this is a great experience for you in addition to the $26 that you will be earning per hour.

You may check out VIP KID for a side hustle that will put a tangible amount in your pockets if you are a graduate student with a bachelor’s degree. On this platform, you would be teaching English and earn about $22 per hour. The advantage of this platform is that you don’t need to bother about lesson plans or grading.

Also, you can work from home and from anywhere you want. You also have the freedom to choose the hours you prefer to work.

SEE: How to Make Money as a Stay-at-Home Mom

7. Complete Online Surveys

Surveys are a great way to answer those looking for ways to make extra money in their spare time. Since you can complete online surveys and also take part in online research studies wherever you are, then this method is a quick way for you to make money over the summer.

Some popular online survey sites include InboxDollars and Swagbucks. These sites pay you for each survey you take. What is more, you can choose to withdraw your money via PayPal, Gift Card, or have it deposited directly into your local bank account.

SEE: Sites for Making Money from Online Surveys

8. Waiter, Waitress, or Bartender

This method of making money over the summer is for the social of heart. You can either work for some hours per night or as long as you want. Waitresses easily earn at least $100 to $300 per shift and bartenders can also earn up to $500 per night in tips.

If there’s a neighborhood pool with a café, you can turn it into a summer money-making idea since there will be no expectation for a commitment at the end of the summer.

9. Mobile Car Detailing Service Provider

People cherish convenience, and having your car cleaned while it is already at your home or office is better than taking it somewhere or having to wait for it.

Luxury car owners may not be willing to use machine washes, especially those that own high-top vans and pickup trucks.

If you’re interested in offering this service, you need to have a means of transportation, business cards that you will leave on windshields, a bucket, portable vacuum, chamois, sponges, and cleaning supplies.

The startup cost is below $100 and this will help you offer basic car wash services. If you want to offer specialized services, you will need about $1,000. You can earn up to $20 to $30 per car for basic car wash services. Complete car detailing can earn you about $100 per car.

However, you need to know the Environmental Protection Agency regulations on the chemicals that you use for washing cars as well as the local water usage rules.

MobileWorks has a lot of articles, discussion forums, and marketing tips to guide you on offering a mobile car detailing service.

10. Deliver Food

Another great way to make money over the summer is to deliver food. You can use a car or bike for this. All you need to do is to pick up and deliver the food; you don’t need to have anyone in your car.

If you don’t have a car or bike, you can also use a scooter. Door Dash and Instacart are two apps that you can use for food delivery. These apps will allow you to deliver food on your terms.

Once you accept an order, you will get the food, get it delivered, and get paid. It is an interesting way to get paid on your terms.

SEE: How to Make Money with Food Delivery Services

11. Drive for Lyft or Uber

If you have a car, you can easily make money during the summer by driving people around. All you need for this to work is a car and some spare time. You can earn hundreds of dollars every week if you live in an area that has a huge demand for such service.

To get started, simply sign up on Uber and start driving people around while you get paid. Your earnings depend on how committed you are to it. Lyft also runs a series of incentives to attract drivers to sign up on their platform.

12. Summer Moving Service Provider

You can also use this idea to make additional money during the summer. This task is better if you have one or two friends that can join you.

The best way to find jobs is to post ads on Craigslist as a moving service. People will get in touch with you, and you can negotiate your rate. Don’t forget that you need to rent a U-Haul truck, pay for fuel, and also spend lots of time for each of the clients.

So consider these while stating your price.

SEE: Proven Ways to Make Money Online Without Investment

How to Increase Your Income Over The Summer

Irrespective of the tasks that you do, your commitment to the task will determine how much you earn. Also, ensure you reinvest a portion of your income into the service you offer. For instance, if you offer a mobile car detailing service, you can buy equipment that will help you offer more advanced services so that you can charge higher rates.

FAQs

How much can a teenager earn in the summer?

Teen summer jobs usually pay around or a little bit higher than the minimum age. So, you can earn between $2,000 and $5,000 (pretax) depending on the nature of the job and whether it is part-time or full-time.

How can a 14-year old make money over the summer?

A 14-year old can make money over the summer by working as a babysitter, offering snow shoveling or doing yard work, working for a restaurant, caring for pets, or working as a junior camp counselor.

What is the best summer job for a teenager?

The best summer jobs for teenagers include summer intern, dog walker, babysitter, house sitter, lifeguard, golf caddy, camp counselor, and housekeeper.

Conclusion

You can start all the above ideas with a little budget and can expand your service by reinvesting your profits. Although some of the tasks are seasonal, they also have the potential of growing into a full-time, year-round job if you want.

If you have spare time and can identify a need that needs to be met, there are lots of ways through which you can make money over the summer and throughout the year.

If you are finding it hard to identify job ideas for the summer, you can choose any of the ideas that you feel suits your interest and capability.

I recommend starting as an online tutor if you are passionate about teaching and you have a degree. There’s a huge demand for this service, so you can easily make money doing this.

You can also offer food delivery if you have a car, bike, or scooter. This is a simple task that will fetch you some money over the summer. Simply pick up the food and deliver it to the customer.

Here’s an article on Tosinajy that shows how you can make money with your car.

Since you’re reading this post, I figured you may also be interested in exploring smart ways to make money in Winter. So, here is the post I have made on the best ways to make money in winter.

I hope you found this post helpful. Thanks for reading.

Ready to start making money from delivering food? Click the button below to sign up for Door Dash. Once you sign up, you can start accepting and delivering food orders.