How to Make Money in Your 20s?

Ankita Kamat

“How to make money in your 20s?” –Are you thinking about making money? Well, in 20s almost everyone faces this question. In the 20s we all want to get financial independence.

I understand the value of money. As I’m not someone who born with a silver spoon in mouth! We all say the basic needs of a man are food, clothing and shelter. But even to get these basic needs human being needs money.

Sometimes I feel the barter system was really good! I’m assuming, during barter system phase nobody would be thinking about how to make money in 20s! Well, now the time has changed. Now every 20-year-old dream about 6 figure income.

How to make money in your 20s?

Is making money very difficult? Well, some people try really hard to earn money and for some people earning money is very easy. If you ask my opinion regarding earning money, I Say- It all depends on the right mindset and awareness.

If someone is making $100 per day and if I’m making just $1 per day then surely the other person is more aware of money matters. I really feel that the right kind of money mindset, strategy and awareness play a very important role in making money.

Basic ways of making money in your 20s

If I ask anyone how to make money in 20s, the first answer will be “by doing a job”. Yes, a job is a basic way to earn your bread. If you work under someone or under some organization you will get money in the form of salary.

But other than a job there are other 3 basic options to make money. They are- self-employment, business and investment. Ultimately there are 4 options for anyone to make money in 20s.

If you are making money then it falls in any one of these 4 categories. I’m assuming these are 4 basic categories to make money. But if you know any new category or option then drop it in the comment box below.

How to make money in your 20s

My journey of making money in my 20s

In my life, I’ve explored all the 4 options. I’ve done a small ebook business. I’ve also done a 9-5 job which was providing me with a regular monthly income. As I was getting monthly salary, I started to invest money in a mutual fund. This is called making money with money.

Finally, now after quitting my job I’m focusing on self-employment. For me, my 20s are full of experiments, learning and exploring new things. So now in my current blog, I would like simple ways to make money in your 20s. Which will help you to build wealth.

11 practical ways for you if you are thinking about making money

When one implements various practical ways to earn money, one will grow financially. There are so many streams to make money. But you must figure out where you will fit.

1. Make money through internships in your 20s
2. Provide services and earn money
3. Become an agent or broker to make money
4. Figure out passive income streams to make money in 20s
5. Know how to make money in your 20s by starting a small business at home
6. Start a retail business to make money in 20s
7. Figure out a part-time job if you are a student
8. Work from  home to make money in 20s
9. Make money through a regular job
10. Make money through rental services
11. Sell out old unwanted products to make money

1. Make money through internships in your 20s

I really feel that internships are the best option in the early 20s. Even if you are a still a college-going student, you can join an internship during your vacation. This will help you to make money.

I’ve some friends who are engineer students. For them internships during vacation are compulsory. Some internships are paid and some are free. I suggest you to look for a paid internships so that you can make money.

Different internships not only help you to make money but also you will get a lot of experience. This experience will help you in your career to grow even more financially. 

How to find out internships to make money in 20s?

You can approach any companies for paid internships. And there are also some online platforms where you can sign up and register yourself. You will get notified about all the internships.

I’ve come across some genuine online platforms where you can register yourself to get internships. They are- Internshala, AngelList. There are also many other online platforms. But I suggest you not to go with any random online platform, do your research before signing up.

2. Provide services and earn money

I’ve a friend who makes money by providing tuition classes to kids in her area. So, this can be considered as earning money by providing services. So you can also think something like this to make money in 20s.

Service ideas which will help you to make money

How to make money in your 20s by providing services? Well, there are so many ideas where you can make money. Such as if you are good at art and craft you can teach it to kids by charging some reasonable fees. And if you have other skills like singing, drawing, dancing then also you can guide others and make money through your talents.

You don’t need any investment or huge money to start these type of services. So give it a try. Start with a small, take simple steps. Strat to kame money and also start to save money for the future.

3. Become an agent or broker to make money

Sometimes I wonder how the agents and brokers are earning so well. Yes, the potential is more here to make money. But one must have a good communication skill and must know some hacks to crack the deals here.

I’ve met an LIC agent, she is really doing great and earning well. And I also found her photo on the banner at LIC office as “Top 5 LIC agents”. So it all depends on you how well you can convince people and earn a commission.

How to make money in your 20s as a broker or agent?

I suggest, don’t be an irritating agent or broker. My relative is also an LIC agent. And he irritates all the time so that he can earn some commission by cracking deals. But trust me, by doing this you will lose clients. You can’t grow well in this field and make money.

Don’t force your clients to buy your services or products just to earn a commission. Learn the art of selling your products or services. Be honest with your clients to grow in this field and make money.

4. Figure out passive income streams to make money in 20s

Well, I assume making passive income is everyone’s favorite! As it needs less effort to makes money. But surely it needs initial hard work to earn well in the long run.

In simple words, passive income means one-time effort and multiple times earning. I personally feel one should add some few passive income streams to one’s portfolio to make more money in 20s. I’ve added a few passive income streams to my portfolio also to make money in my 20s.

I’m making passive income from mutual funds. And even I’ve tried other streams like making money from ebooks, affiliate marketing etc. I’ve shared all the details about making passive income in 20s, you can check this post.

5. Know how to make money in your 20s by starting a small business at home

Another method to make money is, start your small business at home. My friends have some small business like baking cake and selling. Making art and craft and earning money by selling them. So, if you have any skills then you can also start your small business at home.

And I’ve heard a real-life story of a 19-year-old girl. She was interested in making chocolates. So she started to sell her home-made chocolates and now she earning very well.

So try to turn your simple hobbies into the profession in which you are really good. Give it a try. Take simple steps to make money.

6. Start a retail business to make money in 20s

My relative has his groceries retail business. So, I think this can also be a good option to make money. I personally feel, in any business earning potential is more than in a job.

So you can think about which type of business you can start which help you to make money. There are many options like groceries business, vegetables, mobile retail shop etc. But initially, you should invest some money to start this type of business.

7. Figure out a part-time job if you are a student

My friends were doing part-time jobs during college days. One of my friends was doing a data entry job. And another friend was working at the medical shop after college hours. Part-time job means you can work just for 4-5 hours a day and get paid.

If you are a student or you can’t opt for a full-time job then you can look for a part-time job to make money.

8. Work from home to make money in 20s

Some companies provide work from home opportunities. Some works are like tying, data entry, translation work, content writing all these comes under this option. You can analyse your skills and strength and start to make money by working from home itself.

There are also online some online websites like UpWork, Freelancer etc where you can register yourself. In this way, you will get work from home job opportunities.

9. Make money through a regular job

All most all the people opt for a job. This is the common way to make money in 20s. But in some countries like India, there is more unemployment and underemployment issues. In simple words, you will earn less even you have a good education. So here one must make smart moves while choosing a job.

Now everyone is switching from offline to online. There are some online platforms like LinkedIn, naukari.com, Indeed and many other platforms are also there. So you can get more job opportunities there. Check where you can apply and which type of jobs are suitable for you. 

Choose a job where you can grow financially as well as professionally.

10. Make money through rental services

Rental service is semi-passive business idea where you can earn passive income. You can opt for various rental services here. Let me share some real-life examples regarding how to make passive income in your 20s.

I’ve a neighbour who earns passive income by renting out a room for a student. And one of my relatives rent out his car. From this, he has earned a huge amount of passive income. Now he has bought one more new car. This is the power of passive income.

You can also opt for any rental services like this. I have seen that people are renting out their computers, furniture etc. With this, they are making money.

11. Sell out old unwanted products to make money

Most of the time we all underestimate this option. We feel we can’t get a good price on old items. But there are people who look for second-hand products. So you can crack a good deal and make some money by selling old items which you don’t use anymore.

Well, I feel one can sell any type of products for second-hand other than personal things like toothbrush!! And nowadays one can sell second-hand products online easily. There are some online platforms which you can use to sell old items.

So sell old items like books, clothes, guitar, table anything which you are not using anymore. This may look so simple but instead of wasting old things at least you can make some pennies by selling them out.

So making money in 20s is depends on how well you are aware of different opportunities to earn. Know you’ve got the ideas about how to make money in your 20s.  Implement these ideas in your life to make money.

Ankita Kamat

I'm Ankita Kamat, the creator of Frugal Beat, a blog dedicated to frugal living. Join me in exploring practical ways to save money, reduce waste and live a purposeful life. Let's embrace frugality as a lifestyle together.