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Only £447 to go.
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 10:22 am
by Magelord648
As some of you may know I'm getting a new computer. I've worked out that it should cost around £500/$800. At the moment I have £3 and I only make around £7 a week. Anyone got any ideas on how to make another £500 by christmas? I'm only 13 so I don't have a wide selection of things to do.

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 10:24 am
by dragon wench
I don't know what it is like in the UK, but here kids your age sometimes have paper routes, delivering ad flyers and the like.
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 10:25 am
by Denethorn
Wash cars. Find old people that need help

(i.e. ask grandparents and relatives about gardening jobs etc.).
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 10:28 am
by Magelord648
OK. Now you've got the jobs I do at the moment out of the way we can continue. :laugh:
I make £7 pounds a week from the paper round and an occasional £3 from doing my grandparents lawn.
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 10:33 am
by Denethorn
Wash cars? Cars can need washing ever couple of weeks

And alot of people have cars.
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 10:36 am
by dragon wench
If you have a snowy winter you could also shovel driveways for older people.
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 10:38 am
by Fiona
Without wishing to be negative, it is impossible to earn this kind of money at your age. You need to use whatever strategy gets the money out of your parents/ relatives etc.

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 10:41 am
by Darzog
If you do a reasonable job you should be able to get more lawns to mow... hm... do you have the free time for an actual job? Something like fast food, retail at a mall, driving range / caddy, making webpages for neighbors, mafia hitman (no one would ever suspect you!).
It all depends how much time you have on your hands, any particular skills/training you have, what is close to you (or if you have access to transportation) and of course the child labor laws in your country.
When I was a little younger than you I worked in a tire shop; pulling tires on/of cars, filling them up with air, checking for leaks in flat tires, cleaning new tires before installation, that kind of thing. Then a couple years later I worked at a driving range... that was very easy work.
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 10:44 am
by Damuna_Nova
Darzog wrote:If you do a reasonable job you should be able to get more lawns to mow... hm... do you have the free time for an actual job? Something like fast food, retail at a mall, driving range / caddy, making webpages for neighbors, mafia hitman (no one would ever suspect you!)
:laugh:
Fast food places are terrible pay anyway, and the pay you get goes up with age, so even if he could get work at one, it wouldn't be very much I'm sure.
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 10:45 am
by Luis Antonio
Try, first, saving. It is hard to keep money when you earn it. Working makes you spend money (yes, you'll need to invest on food, clothing, telephone). Therefore you need to:
a) find a part time job or an occupation
b) see how much will you earn with it and program how much can you actually spend without disrupting your plan
c) find out if you can handle school and work at the same time
d) control your savings and debts with precision.
It is easy. You need a cash flow, and a "battleplan".
Incomes less fixed costs (what you'll spend no matter what, like your lunch or bus ticket) less variable costs (if you have to buy a shirt to work, or something different altogether that wasnt in the original plans). The result, your lucrativity, shall be then saved. The thing is: you have to stabilize the outgoing cash flow to adapt to your incomming cash, on a rate that will allow you to earn 100 bucks a month, for six months. No! Four months, hell! that' up to 120, 130.
Otherwise, you can work and loan the cash with your parents and pay for it, if they're able to loan that for you.
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 10:45 am
by Juniper
Is there the chance that you could borrow the money from your parents..and you could pay them back with the money you are able to earn?
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 10:54 am
by Fiona
You cannot take a job in the UK under 14 except in strictly limited circumstances: you cannot work more than two hours a day and 5 on Saturdays. The pay sucks.
I say again, you cannot earn that kind of money here at that age. Sorry Magelord
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 11:41 am
by Fiberfar
Rob a bank

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 11:43 am
by Gunofgod
13 is a bit too young for crime...
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 12:00 pm
by TonyMontana1638
... But not to young to sell drugs.
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 12:02 pm
by Magelord648
Somehow I knew this would happen. Thanks for the suggestions though.
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 12:43 pm
by shana
ML, have you considered babysitting?? If you are good with/enjoy children, you can make a lot of money. The kids in my neighborhood earn an average of $10 an hour. Some of the good ones earn as much as $20. The best part is that most of the time the children you are keeping will be asleep, so you are basically getting paid to read, watch TV, do homework, etc. Kids start babysitting here around the age of 11 or 12, and the Red Cross offers training classes.
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 12:56 pm
by TonyMontana1638
shana wrote:ML, have you considered babysitting?? If you are good with/enjoy children, you can make a lot of money. The kids in my neighborhood earn an average of $10 an hour. Some of the good ones earn as much as $20. The best part is that most of the time the children you are keeping will be asleep, so you are basically getting paid to read, watch TV, do homework, etc. Kids start babysitting here around the age of 11 or 12, and the Red Cross offers training classes.
Dear God it's not as easy as that... Most of those kids are underpaid, believe you me. :speech:
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 12:57 pm
by Darzog
But I thought the UK was brim-full of nannies (hasn't anyone seen Mary Poppins?). So how would a simple Magelord find work?
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 12:58 pm
by shana
TonyMontana1638 wrote:Dear God it's not as easy as that... Most of those kids are underpaid, believe you me. :speech:
What's so difficult?? Read a few books, make sure the kids brush their teeth, and call 911 if there's a fire????