We’re so glad that school is out and summer is here!

Hey GEMS! There’s all kinds of fun things we want to do this summer, and we just realized we’re going to need some money! We figured you probably do too, so we came up with six ideas for how to earn $$ this summer. Make sure you ask your parents for permission before you try any of these. You might want to do these jobs with a friend and split the money. That’s even more fun!

1.Lemonade Stand

Set up a table and chair in your yard by the street. Make a sign that says lemonade $1.00 (or whatever price you choose). Make some lemonade. You could also make iced tea. You’ll need some disposable cups and a cooler of ice. Sit by your lemonade stand.

Tip from Evangeline:

As cars in your neighborhood drive by, hold up your sign. Jump up and down and wave at them to get their attention. If you can get them to stop, they won’t be able to say no to an iced cold drink!

2. Dog Walking

Offer to walk their dog for neighbors, friends, or family.  This is a pretty easy job, and fun, except for one thing.

Tip from Mercedes:

Make sure and take two or three doggie bags with you because if the dog does it’s business, you have to pick it up. Ewww!

3. Report Card

Show your report card to your parents, grandparents, and aunts and uncles. You never know, they might pay for good grades.

Tip from Giselle:

Don’t forget your grandparents. Our grandparents pay way better than our mom and dad!

4. Car Wash

Offer to wash the car for your parents, other family or neighbors. This usually pays really well if you a do a good job. You’ll need some old rags, a bucket, hose, and special liquid soap for cars. After you wash it be sure and rinse it really well to get all of the soap off. Then dry it off with old towels or rags. To make the windows look real sparkly, use window cleaner and a dry rag on the windows as your last step.

5. Garage sale

You can sell old clothes that are too small, and toys you don’t play with anymore. Ask your family if they have other things they don’t need any more that you can sell. Put up signs with arrows pointing to your garage sale. You’ll get the most people if you do it on the same day as other houses in your neighborhood are having garage sales. Or if your parents are having a garage sale anyway, you can have a table of your things to sell.

6. Chores

Ask your parents if there are any chores or housework you could do for money. If you do a good job, they’ll probably be happy to pay you to do it instead of doing it themselves.

And don’t forget Giselle’s tip:

Grandparents pay way more than mom and dad for chores! Sometimes they don’t even have you do a chore, they just give you money!

GEMS: We hope that these ideas help you earn some money this summer. Tell us in the comments if you have any other ideas! Of course there are lots of fun things you can do that are free. But sometimes, you just need a little money, like when the ice cream truck comes to your neighborhood!