Thread: Money for Nothing - making cash as a kid

Used to go up to the rifle range to dig out lead slugs. Melt them all down and sell it to the scrapies. Forget what I used to get out of that but I'd speculate you were doing far better than me.

I was a paperboy, quite ubiquitous in the day, for the princely sum of $2.00 for six afternoons a week.

I mowed lawns around town on the weekends. Made a decent quid. Also bred rabbits, although Dad used to put the odd one in the pot for tea...

paper boy, 5am starts, six days a week. The real money was made saturaday nights with weekrnd papers and good tips (had to find a party house, even if not on your own route and be first there). Finished that job on Friday I left school and start work Monday. 4 years all up
Shooting possums and rabbits for skins. Picking blackberries in season.
Even had a go at making and selling reubarb wine, was doing ok too but a couple of old dears got drunk. We thought it was non alcoholic, got in a mite of trouble with the coppers for that, was a 13 or so at the time.
Collected and sold bags of rags, my first boss was a good customer. He reckoned by given me a job he might get a bag of rags without a couple pound of rocks

Had more cash back then than now I reckon but I worked for it
cheers

blaze

I worked at the local Cut Price store,usually only Sat mornings.

I used to pack the groceries in large paper bags and take them to the customers cars.

Also did a bit of stocking the shelves.

I remember once we left a pallet load of ice cream on the loading dock for the weekend

Strange how some mistakes stay in the mind...

I think pay was around $10.00 for 4 hours,and a free can of drink.

Then once i started my apprenticeship,i used to work at nights for a guy who fixed only domestic fridges,under his house.
Geez he taught me a lot,and only paid in cash.
Those were the days.

Originally Posted by scarry

I worked at the local Cut Price store,usually only Sat mornings.

I used to pack the groceries in large paper bags and take them to the customers cars.

Also did a bit of stocking the shelves.

I remember once we left a pallet load of ice cream on the loading dock for the weekend

Strange how some mistakes stay in the mind...

I think pay was around $10.00 for 4 hours,and a free can of drink.

Then once i started my apprenticeship,i used to work at nights for a guy who fixed only domestic fridges,under his house.
Geez he taught me a lot,and only paid in cash.
Those were the days.

Oh the irony, considering your ultimate career.

Use to buy week old chickens - raise them to cooking size, slaughter them and sell them as roasting chooks. Luckily dad provided the feed.
Free time during summer was picking bottles - 10cents a bottle I got. Use to hit the jack pot around some free way signs as it was common practice of trying to hit the sign by throwing a bottle out your window as you drove past.
Did a lot of odd jobs - cleaning yards, raking leaves etc.
First "real" job was washing dishes in a restaurant at $5.25 / hr

I delivered milk (pints in glass bottles) to houses via a hand cart. Can't remember the pay, but as shoes were too slippery on frost covered roads, I wore none. Bare feet gave better traction and feel, and going fast enough to get to school on time meant my feet didn't get cold but my fingers wouldn't work. I also mowed old peoples lawns on weekends.
Don.