Top 5 Ways for Teens to Invest Their Money

As you begin to make money as a teen, you will hopefully start to save some. As you begin to save some money, then you'll hopefully start to look into the possibility of investing your money in hopes to make a larger return. Let me start off by saying that investments can be very risky. Even the mo
st seasoned wall-street investors can lose millions of dollars at the drop of the hat, which is why it is so important you only invest with funds you can afford to lose and to make sure that you are a smart investor. The number #1 piece of advice that almost all financial services tell you is to make sure that you pay off your debt, such as student loans, before you begin investing. Sure, it may sound cool to have the possibility to turn your $5,000 into $7,000 after a year, but that initial $5,000 can also turn into $0. Then you will be stuck with $0 as well as debt that will continue to grow due to interest. Now that you have that in mind, here are some great ways that you can begin to invest, granted you have all of your debt paid off, with a small amount of money while being a teen, college student, or young adult.

1.) Make a Fantasy Account
The best way to learn about the world of investing is to make a fantasy account. Imagine having $100,000 and allocate that money to various investments. Track your progress over the course of a year and along the way you are sure to learn about the world of business or finance. A great way to do this is to perform this with a couple of close friends or your parents. That way you will have someone to talk about these investments with and learn from. Also, many brokerage accounts offer services where you can trade pretend money for free, which will help you gain knowledge on various investments and what not to do when it comes time to investing real money.

2.) Put Your Money Into a Savings Account
Probably the best advice I can give you when looking to invest your money as a teen is to put it into a savings account. When investing with small amounts of money the potential returns are very small. For example, say you invest $1,000 into a particular company. Don't expect at the end of that year to have doubled your money and have $2,000. A 100% return on a given year is incredibly rare and only happens to the luckiest of investors. A great strategy to have is to take the money that you are planning on investing with, putting it into a savings account for a year, and then making a fantasy investing account so you can learn which investments work and don't work. At the end of that year, you will have more money to invest with and a better understanding of potential investments.

3.) Invest in the Stock Market
Investing in the stock market can be fairly risky, however with the right plan you can minimize your potential loses. It is important to use a fantasy account first so that you understand the ups and downs of the market before you put any real money at risk. It is nearly impossible to predict the direction of a stock and many people invest in a company solely based on speculation of how they will perform in the future. In order to open your own brokerage account you need to be 18 years old, however with your parents permission, they can open up a custodial account for you if you aren't yet of age. When investing, keep in mind that you should be investing for long-term gain. Over long periods of time, returns in the stock market have averaged about 10% per year. Some great low-no minimum brokerage accounts that you can check out are Etrade, TD Ameritrade and Trade Monster.

4.) Invest in a Website
With $1,000 you can build a pretty amazing website with a lot of great content on it. You can pay others to design your website, perform SEO for it, write articles for it, get a custom logo and many others all with virtually no work on your end. Fact of the matter is that the only money I put into this website is for the URL and hosting which is only about $10/year and I make easily $1,000 a year with it. With a $1,000 you could build a website on a niche that you are knowledgable on and possibly make some huge returns. Or you could buy 40-50 micro niche sites and make a profit $10-$20 a month on EACH one. I have been investing for roughly 5 years now, in both the stock market and with mutual funds, and I have found that internet marketing blows them all out of the water. It is a lot less risky and a lot easier to predict how much money you expect to make in a given month.

5.) Invest in a Mutual Fund
Investing in individual stocks can be risky because you can lose a ton of money if the company you are investing with comes out with a bad earnings report, or worse, goes bankrupt. Mutual funds are  investment pools run by individuals. Even if you only have a couple thousand dollars to invest, a mutual funds spreads your money out over several different stocks representing different companies. Check out Yahoo Finance or Morningstar to research various mutual funds that you can invest in. Some high earning mutual funds can make you upwards of a 20% return each year.

For some great sites that offer some more free advice on investing for teens check out the list below. Make sure you are smart when you start investing and don't rush into it. When I was 18 I invested $1,000 I had made waiting tables into a tech company without doing any research. The company tanked and I eventually lost $500. So be smart and let me know if you have any questions below!

• The Mint: Investing Tips for Teens
• Investment Education for Teens
• Teens and Stock Trading

How To Buy and Sell Websites to Make $10,000

Within the past year I have discovered a surefire way to make yourself a great income online as a young adult. That method? Selling websites. Everyday new people are joining the internet and have a URL that they would like to purchase. If you head over to Flippa you will find websites being listed for between $20-$25,000 and up. Some of those websites are well-established domains that bring in thousands of dollars a month in ad revenue for users. However, some of the cheaper websites are fairly new, they just have a great domain that the user was able to snatch up and is now selling. The concept of buying and selling websites, otherwise known as website flipping is not new, but it has become a very popular trend for internet marketers over the past year. Want to learn how you can make some money in this industry of buying and selling websites? Find out now!


What to Look For When Buying a Website

Traffic- If no one is visiting the website, then why would I buy it? Sites like Google and Wikipedia are worth so much money, because millions of people visit them each day. The same goes for you when your buying or selling a smaller website. More traffic = More $$$ 

Revenue- While a site may be getting a lot of traffic, if it is not making any money then why would people want to buy it? Make sure when looking at how much a website makes you look at screenshots for as far back as possible. Sites fluctuate with how much they make each month, so while Site A may have made $4000 last May, that does not mean that Site A is making $4000 each month.

Age of the Domain Name- Google LOVES older, more established websites. When looking at ad postings on Flippa, you will notice that one of the first things they display under every listing is "Established:". People want to buy older websites that have been around for awhile and people know about, not websites that were created 1 month ago with 6 indexed pages. You will notice that older websites always go for more money. College students looking to make money online can take advantage of this by creating a handful of websites at the beginning of the year and continuously adding content throughout the year. Then at the end of the school year you have several established websites that you can make an awesome chunk of change off of, provided you have been offering great content and have been doing effective SEO on the sites.

Social Media Accounts- When pricing websites, social media accounts almost always come into play. Your websites should have active accounts with a decent following. Number of Facebook shares, Tweets, Google +1's and other values can help predict how popular a domain is.

What Should I Do With My Websites?

Once you have your websites there are some tricks that you can do to help your website become established which will make you much more money down the road.

Publish a lot of Content- Google loves content. Not just any content, but unique content. If you are coming up with weekly content that readers love, you will rank better on search engines and ultimately get more traffic and more money. This will fetch you a much higher price as you look to sell the website in the future. You cannot just purchase a site and forget about it, there is some work actually involved.

Have a Good Topic- If you have a website that no one wants to read, then you have the wrong topic. Make sure you pick something that you at least have some knowledge in. You do not want to purchase a website about quantum physics and then have no idea what to write about once you have it. Popular niches that have been know to create a lot of money on Flippa are fitness/health related, technology, food and gaming. As a teen or college student this is your chance to shine as you know more about what's popular in pop culture compared with older adults.

Get Natural Backlinks- The more traffic coming into your blog means the better chances that people will link to your website. The more authority websites linking to yours looks better to Google and search engines. Don't be fooled by BlackHat methods of collecting links. Solid DoFollow backlinks take time to build and there is NO method that will get you on the first page of Google in a week. Don't get discouraged, if you continue to produce quality content people WILL link to it and you will get natural links.

Dont be Afraid to Sell- If after 10 months of having a website you purchased for $100 you get an offer for $5000, don't be afraid to sell the website! Unless you are surely confident that you can fetch more at a later date, take the money when it is there. I had a friend who was offered $12,500 for a Fitness-Niche blog he created, however he did not accept it. A few months later he sold the site for $8000...a $4500 loss!


How Much Should I Buy/Sell My Website For?

When selling your website on Flippa, you should figure out the current value of the site. A simple way to determine this is to do a simple Google search for "how much is my website worth." There are numerous sites that can predict the value of your website based on different data analytics. However, be careful because many of these services often give you a range of values so it's best to read some reviews before you stick with a number. A great website that offers you an estimate is www.siteworthit.com. Another great way to determine how much the site should be worth is to compare it to other sites in a similar niche. That way you can get an idea of what past similar sites have gone for and how much you can expect to be making in the upcoming transaction or how much you should be prepared to spend when buying in.

I hope that I have provided you with enough information to help you as you begin the process of buying and selling websites. As always, comment below if you have any questions and thanks for reading!

How To Make Money Online Without Paypal

Making money online as a teenager or college student can be a fairly daunting task at times. Combine this with being too young to own a Paypal account and it can seem impossible. In today's internet age, Paypal is the main form of payment for most internet transactions. Whether you are buying something, or receiving money from someone, Paypal is always the preferred choice for any sort of online transaction. However, the minimum age you have to be to open up a Paypal account is 18, and in some countries like Pakistan, Paypal does not exist. In this article I am going to share with you 7 legitimate ways to make money online without a Paypal account.

1.) Google Adsense
The good news for Google Adsense users is that they pay via check or by means of direct deposit into your bank account when you reach the minimum threshold for payment. Adsense works by inserting a code that Google gives you into your blog/website which transforms into an ad based on your websites topic, and when people click on that ad, you receive compensation. Check out one of my past posts that describes Google Adsense in more detail and explains why it is by far one of the best ways to make money online. Combine that with not having to use Paypal to cash out and it is a win-win.

2.) Sell Physical Products Online
Being able to produce a product that others are willing to purchase is an awesome way to make a ton of money online. Check out this Youtube video of a 14 year old boy that became a millionaire after he began producing and selling his grandmothers jam. The jam became very popular in his British town and he began selling it internationally via his internet store. This shows how a simple concept like some fruit preserve spread can grow into a multi-million dollar deal. Don't be afraid to make an online store and if you know that you have a product that people enjoy, then take the initiative to go out there and market it. When opening your own online store you can accept payments by whatever means you want,  and that does not have to include Paypal.

3.) Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is one of the most popular ways to make money online and it is for a good reason. Websites like Amazon affiliates pay you 4-8.5% of each buyer you refer to Amazon. This may not seem like a ton, but imagine opening up a website where you offer testimonial reviews on different gaming platforms or the newest and greatest televisions. Every visitor that you refer to Amazon that makes a purchase you will get up to 8.5% of that purchase. Televisions can cost several thousands of dollars, thats a couple hundred bucks in your pocket every time someone makes a purchase. Amazon pays you via direct bank deposit as well so you will not have to worry about being unable to get your money if you don't have a Paypal account.

4.) Paid Online Surveys
In my personal opinion, paid online surveys are still an awesome way for teens to make money online. Websites like CashCrate only require their users to be 13 years old to join and they pay you via check or direct deposit every month. You won't get super rich with these websites, but they are really effective in making you a couple hundred bucks each month as long as you put in the work.

5.) Sell Ad Space on Your Website
Have a website that has a lot of traffic? Renting out ad space on your website is a fantastic way to make money online for yourself. A great article that helps you determine how you should expect to charge for an advertiser can be found here. The great thing about this method is that you can receive your payment however you like since you are the one charging the fee. You can request a check from the advertiser or have them pay you by means of other online digital wallets, like Payoneer.

6.) Write Reviews
A really effective way to make money online as a teenager is by writing paid reviews. Websites like epinions.com pay you for writing reviews on products available for purchase all over the internet. From the reviews, you earn Eroyalties which can be redeemed for US dollars or other currencies. You can get paid by Epinions.com via a monthly check to your door as long as you reach the minimum, which is $10 for US residents.

7.) Become a Freelance Writer
A freelance writer is someone who performs tasks for a specific employer without being employed under any sort of long term contract. Working as an independent contractor you can perform tasks such as writing articles for people who need them or simply performing data entry. Check out freelancer.com for various jobs that are available to Freelance workers. The awesome thing about  Freelancer is that they pay you via direct deposit if you are unable to open a Paypal account.

There you have it, here are 7 incredibly effective ways to make money online if you do not have a Paypal account. Even if you find a method that requires you to use Paypal online, do not be discouraged because for every one method that requires Paypal, there is one more that does not. Keep up the good work and let me know if you know of any other additional methods!

Teens Make Money Online With Pinterest

About a week ago I made this website a Teens Make Money OnlinePinterest page. After pinning some of this websites articles, I kind of forgotten that I had joined the website. Earlier today I logged on to find that I had over 100 followers. Not too bad for literally making a page, pinning some articles and forgetting about it. Now my goal by joining Pinterest was not to make money for myself, but instead to get Teens With Money some more exposure through social media marketing. But the fact that I was able to get so many followers by doing literally nothing made me wonder if it was possible to monetize a Pinterest board. I went to Google and discovered that yes it is possible, and it’s actually quite easy. Let me share with you a few ways.

Promotion of Affiliate Links

Clickbank is an amazing way to make money online through affiliate marketing. For those of you who don’t know what Clickbank is, it is a website that pays its users to promote others products. For every sale that you make through your referral link, you are paid a commission, and usually a pretty hefty one at that. The secret to making money through affiliate marketing is to find a specific niche of products and promote those products on a website that you have created. For example, you could promote health related products and create a fitness website where you promote these products, given that you know information on fitness related topics. After you have your niche of products and website created, make a board on Pinterest and pin articles back to your website where visitors can see and click on your affiliate products. I was able to get over 100 followers without following anyone back, which speaks volumes to how easily your content is seen on Pinterest. If you take the time to strategize a plan and follow people who will follow back, you could probably get thousands of followers a week. The secret is just to create a lot of content and pin all of the content that you create. These followers will translate to more doors to your Pinterest boards and ultimately more affiliate sales. It really is very easy to manage this method and is perfect for teens making money online.  If you haven't already check out my post, How to Make $100 a Day With Clickbank for Noobs for a very easy way to make a ton of money through Clickbank as a teenager or college student.

Offer a Service

If you have a talent that others are willing to pay you for, then Pinterest is the perfect way to make money for yourself. For example, say you are really good at editing videos or designing websites. Create a portfolio board on Pinterest where you can show-off your video editing or website design skills. Another idea could be to create a testimonials board where you showcase positive testimonials from prior buyers. This is a great way to get your name out there and show others how legit your service really is. You could also create a board where you promote a tip each week on your prospective talents so others are drawn in to follow you and maybe even pay you for your work. The more traffic that you have to your boards means the better chances that people will pay you for your service.

Make Money With Adsense

By pinning articles from your website to Pinterest you will ultimately be increasing the traffic to your website. This is very similar to making money with affiliate marketing, but visitors will click on your Adsense ads instead of buying an affiliate product. You could even be promoting affiliate products on top of your website’s ads so you have multiple ways to earn money through your website. When I first created my Pinterest account for this website I had no idea how useful it would be in my online money making journey. But since I have, the traffic to this website has gone up and I have a lot more money in my pocket as a result.

TIP: Use the website Piktochart to make custom infographics for your Pinterest boards. Infographics are informative pictures that are easy on the eyes and contain a lot of information. These attractive infographics are more likely to be re-pinned, which will increase your followers and website traffic, resulting in more conversions.

All in all, Pinterest is an amazing way to increase your websites traffic and gain exposure. By launching an effective Pinterest campaign you could see your websites traffic exponentially increase and hopefully make yourself more money. While you cannot directly make money through Pinterest, if you have a good strategy you can make yourself a lot of money online by utilizing it successfully. However, it is important to realize that Pinterest is all about the image you are pinning. If you don't have an effective image then no one will read your content and you won't make any money. As always, best of luck to you all!