Earning money but can't work?

[Symphony.]

Hello,
So I posted a thread about this maybe last month and I feel bad about posting again, because I did appreciate all of your advice, but I felt I left details out and I wanted to see if I could get some more answers as well.
Warning: this is likely to be a very long post.
So, basically, I'm attending a concert for my favorite artist in September, near the end. And all the merchandise at this artist's shows are always really cool, and as I'm a big fan I want as much money as possible to spend. The money I currently have is going towards what I'm planning on wearing to the show, so I basically have nothing. My parents said theyd give me some money but I still wanna buy more, because it'd be rude of me to ask for anything more than about $40 bucks or so, and since money's tight they might not give me that.
I'm too young to legally have a job and have no items currently that I could sell. As far as what I can and can't do goes, I can play the flute and sing a little bit, but I'm not amazing at singing. I wouldn't be allowed to go out and play my flute on the street like someone suggested last time, and I also live in a very suburban area anyway, so there isn't any busy place close by. I can't drive. I can make jewelry but it would be very difficult for me to sell it as I don't really have any way to, and I can't sign up for a craft fair because that has to be done months in advance and would be much too stressful for me, even if I were to take orders at the fair itself and make the orders there, if that makes sense. I'm not good at math or science, nor am I athletic. I'm decent at English and could help someone out with a little bit of musical theory. Tutoring is a no because there aren't really kids in my neighborhood to tutor. Babysitting bugs the hell out of my anxiety so I'd really rather not, and dog-walking is kinda out of the question because it's been really hot where I am. I can't post stuff about asking my friends to buy my jewelry on Facebook or anything because, to be honest, most people I have added on Facebook don't like me enough that they would even consider it.
So, basically I'm stuck. Any suggestions?

[PSY]

How about a bake sale? You could make cupcakes and cookies and sell them for $0.50 - $1.00 each.

On another note, you could prioritize the way you spend your money differently. Is it really that important to have a special outfit for this concert? What's wrong with the wardrobe you already have? Would you be able to wear this outfit any other time after the concert? Maybe you could just go in clothing you already own (or borrow an outfit from someone else) and use that money to buy merchandise instead.

[Always *]

I agree with Robin, why do you need to spend all your money on an outfit? Why don't you just go to a thrift shop or something, you can always get really good stuff there, you'd be surprised OR you could always wear what you have already and borrow clothes (I lend clothes to my friends sometimes).
That being said all I hear is you making excuses about how there is literally no way for you to make money. Example, just cause it is hot doesn't mean dogs don't want to be walked. Do you know how beserk some dogs would go if you kept themout how there is literally no way for you to make money. There are A LOT of really easy kids to babysit. You could just insist on only children and/or toddlers or babies. Having only one child to contend with AND if the child is 18 months old or 2 years old tend to be easiest.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

I think you're shooting yourself in the foot with focusing on your appearance for the concert. I understand you want to look nice but you have to ask yourself, which do you value more: your clothing for the concert or the cool merchandise you can buy? I've been to several concerts and I wore regular street clothes even though I liked the band because I wanted to save my money for the cool swag. Nobody cared I didn't wear something fancier or any band clothing. Everyone will be focused on the concert, you won't stand out.

As for how to make money, again you're shooting yourself in the foot because you seem to want to only do something that's nice and easy. I cant blame you for that, however, when that doesn't work, then it's time to consider your other options. As unpleasant as it sounds, dog-walking during hot weather is a plus for you because older dogs and dogs with thicker fur coats aren't going to be as energetic, so it's easier on you. I can tell you this certainly is true because I've been around dogs for most of my life, helped train many (which you can also try if you have the experience) and have 2 husky mixes. It's an added bonus if there's a closed-in dog park within walking distance (i.e. up to a good 30 or so minute walk) because the dogs are going to tire themselves out there and you can get a brief rest for the walk back.

When I was too young to get an actual job, each summer I made $1,000-2,000 sometimes more simply through lawn-cutting, pool-cleaning and basic yard work. It wasn't nice, it was brutal at times because at first I didn't have a ride. To me it easier on myself and help me make more money, I hitched a large buggy or mini version of a trailer that professionals use for transporting their equipment (bought it at a garage sale for somewhere around $15) to the back of my bicycle and rode to each house. I took the lawnmower, gas canisters, garden gloves, rake, trowel, lawn dethatcher, lots of bottled water and rope to secure it all so nothing would fall out.

[Symphony.]

Well, my reason for the outfit is that everyone who goes to these show gets dressed up for fun :P it's not that I'm worried about what people will think of me, rather that it'll be fun. And, although it's besides the point, I would stand out, because when I say dressed up, I mean almost every person gets VERY dressed up. I'm not going quite that far, although I wanna get dressed up just to have fun, like I said.
And I've recently gotten an outfit that I can wear on sale, so I'm not as worried about how much I'm spending on it anymore anyway.


About the babysitting thing, all the kids in my neighborhood are either my age/older and don't need a babysitter, or they are babies with older siblings that would probably end up babysitting them for free. Besides, the only family in this neighborhood with a toddler that we know really well is actually severely diabetic. And I wouldn't trust anyone but his relatives to give him insulin, etc.

My parents don't want me doing any law mowing. I'd be up for it, but my parents aren't.

I'll try dogwalking. The only problem I see with that is that practically everyone in my neighborhood with a dog has kids my age that would likely end up walking them unless they all went on vacation.

[Always *]

Well, if you're just going to keep making excuses then you're going to have to accept that there is no way in hell that you're going to get the money you want. If you want to change that, then find out from your parents if any colleagues need a babysitter or if anyone wants someone to clean their house for cheap etc. BTW cleaning someone house for cheap would be good, cause lots of people get busy and are like "urgh now I have to go clean" and would love an affordable cleaner for the record. Otherwise, we can't help you if your just going to shut down every suggestion we give you as to why it's supposedly not possible. Not everything is easy. I have pretty bad ADHD and have had problems with depression and anxiety in the past, yet I still accept high stress jobs, and still do school stuff just like everyone else, so I don't accept that as an excuse. If you anxiety is so bad you can't function in certain situations than quite frankly you probably need to be medicated. Literally, I don't mean that in an offensive way, you seriously need medications or at the very least counselling if your issues are THAT bad, and if they aren't then, again, you really can't use that as an excuse in my opinion.

[Symphony.]

I am medicated and I am in therapy, there's just some stuff that hasn't been worked on yet and therapy's been limited lately.
Besides, are you referring to the kid with diabetes? If so, I'm young, under 16. It has NOTHING to do with my anxiety, I just don't think it's appropriate for someone my age to have to watch over a severely diabetic child. And I can't help the fact tht my parents won't let me mow lawns, I'm not trying to shoot it down because I genuinely would accept that job if it were possible. The only two options I shot down were babysitting and law mowing- yeah I shot down dog walking at some point but I accepted it as an option and am seriously considering it.
Robin, for the bake sale, where would you recommend I sell the stuff? Because I may do that too

Oh, and I just noticed the cleaning thin you wrote, I guess you edited? Anyway, I like that idea too.
So to start stuff like this should I just put signs around te neighborhood?

[Always *]

And no I never meant a kid with diabetes, I work with disabled kids and even I would hesitate to babysit a small very diabetic child. If you're anxiety is that bad then I definitely understand your reservations to want to deal with the challenge of watching kids, I just mean if you have like an easy to manage case you should try to overcome it on your own, cause I have a lot of friends who have issues with stuff and they let it rule their lives when it shouldn't have to be like that, which is unfortunate in my opinion. I wasn't intending it as a direct insult or anything, just that you should do what you can to learn how to manage it instead of letting it rule your life, which, if you are in therapy and taking meds then you are doing what you need to do. And btw, I am medicated for my ADHD, so when I said "you should be medicated" that's just how it comes out haha...

But yeah, word of mouth, signs, what ever floats the boat. Just have your parents talk to colleagues even

[PSY]

Originally Posted by Sarah7

Robin, for the bake sale, where would you recommend I sell the stuff? Because I may do that too

A few ideas that come to mind:

- By a playground
- On a busy residential street
- At a church/etc. (if you are religious)
- At the place where your parents work (if it is allowed)
- Near your school (if the concert takes place after school starts)

For some of these (church, business, school), you may need to talk to someone in advance to make sure it's okay to hold a bake sale on or near their premises. You may also want to have a parent with you, to ensure no one steals your baked goods and/or money.

Another idea is that you can go door-to-door with baked goods (just a few at a time) and ask neighbors if they would be interested. Don't bake too much at once, in case the demand isn't very high. You can always bake a dozen cupcakes, hit 10 houses, then go home and bake a dozen more before going to the next group of houses.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

For cleaning, baking, dog-walking and whatever else, the best way would be advertising, which in this case involves lots of signs, spreading the word around your community and getting your parents to see if they know anyone who would be interested. At first, stay near your house so you can get some practice from people who know you and are going to be more receptive. If you find it isn't going well, then time to cut your losses, otherwise continue forward. Phoning people isn't always a great option simply because they're often pestered with enough similar phone calls as it is.

If you use public facilities with lots of people, such as churches, then you'd want to ask the person in charge if they will allow you access. Unfortunately, people are greedy so you need to protect the money you make, which would be best achieved by getting at least 1 other person to help you out. The best option would be an adult from your family because they're probably not going to want a share in the profit, so it'll be all yours.

Alternatively, you can go door-to-door or have signs out that people can call, and make a schedule of the houses you'll visit to sell baked goods, clean their house, etc... . The only issues with this are you need suitable transportation and be on time. We're in the process of getting estimates for part of our roof to be re-shingled and it's frustrating when the person is late, especially if they don't call to warn us.