Teens have plenty of earning opportunities
It’s not too late for teens to make some money this summer, or to line up great year-round part-time jobs. Here’s a list of money-making ideas, adapted from “The Motley Fool Investment Guide for Teens: 8 Steps to Having More Money Than Your Parents Ever Dreamed Of” by David and Tom Gardner with Selena Maranjian (Fireside, $14).
“When some folks in your neighborhood go on vacation, you can care for their pets, turn lights on and off, collect the mail, and water plants.
“You might serve older people in your neighborhood by buying and delivering groceries, running errands or doing odd jobs around their homes. (While you’re at it, pick their brains on what really matters in life.)
“Sign up customers whose properties you can tend year-round by mowing lawns, raking leaves, shoveling snow or gardening.
“If you enjoy arts and crafts, make beautiful things (jewelry, photographs, etc.) and sell them.
“With just an intermediate familiarity with computers, you might offer your services as a computer guru to befuddled computer owners in your neighborhood. You can install software and hardware, solve problems, answer questions, and show people how to use their machines.
“You can teach skills you have, such as piano playing, horseback riding or juggling, to others. You can also play music at functions, publish a newsletter or draw portraits.
More ideas: If you’re good at a school subject, you can become a tutor, helping others to understand it. Factory work, although often dreary, can pay well. Working at department stores, you often get employee discounts and you might earn sales commissions, too. If you inquire early enough, you can line up a job at a summer camp, movie theater, amusement park, golf course or parks department. If you enjoy working with young children, see if any nearby day-care centers could use some help.
Get more money tips for teens at www.fool.com/teens.
Ask the Fool
Q: What does it mean if a company’s annual dividend is more than its earnings per share? — K.F., Bay City, Mich.
A: It’s a red flag. Imagine that Alphabet Supply Co. (ticker: ABCDE) has paid out $2 per share in dividends in the past year, but it reported earnings (aka net income) of just $1.50 per share over that period. A glance at the company’s balance sheet might reveal sufficient cash to cover the payments. Still, no company would want to keep generating less cash than it’s paying out in dividends — that’s an unsustainable situation, and there are other uses for the cash, such as fueling growth and paying down debt.
With any luck, Alphabet Supply is simply experiencing temporary underperformance. If its troubles are deeper, then it’s likely to consider reducing or eliminating its dividend.
My dumbest investment
In 1999, I bought $12,000 worth of Online Resources and Gilat Satellite with money from an inheritance. I watched rampant speculation drive the worth of my stakes to over $35,000 and then watched each one start to plummet in 2000. I sold, losing nearly $15,000. It gets worse. I bought shares of Intel at $49, and I sold at $30. My initial $24,000 had turned into $6,000. I moved the remaining money into Annaly Mortgage where, even after that company’s recent shares crash, I am back up near $9,000. There. Top THAT! I’m Warren Buffett in reverse! — Adam McKane, Corning, N.Y.
The Fool Responds: Lots of people lost money when the recent stock market bubble burst. One secret of many successful investors, such as Warren Buffett, is patience. As long as you bought into a company for good reasons and it’s healthy and growing, it’s often best to hang on. Online Resources, for example, is up some 70 percent in the past two years.