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People Share Their ‘Young and Needed The Money’ Stories

Trista Smith October 21, 2024

Everyone goes through a rough patch in life where they need money. Whether you’re a college student, teenager, or adult, there are plenty of options out there to help you make a little bit of extra money without doing anything illegal or dangerous. You could go through your home and sell items you haven’t used in years.

Doing something is better than doing nothing in these types of situations. As long as what you’re doing is safe and legal, everything should begin to work out as it should. Try to remain stress-free while doing your project and use the money responsibly. Reddit users were asked to share their ‘Young and Needed the Money’ stories, and some of them are geniuses. Read on to learn more about their ideas and the outcomes of their choices. You won’t believe what some of them decided to do.

10. A Kid With A Plan

Reddit user SuicydKing revealed, “Reminds me of an elementary school trip to Montreal with our French class. My friend noticed that the soda machine in the hall of our hotel was $1.00 per can, but the market across the street sold a case of 24 for like $5.00. So he spent all of the money he had brought for the trip on cheap soda and filled his hotel room bathtub with loose cans. Like, hundreds of them. Sold them for .50 cents each for a week. That wasn’t the end of it, though. Then he had another idea, and he asked me to rent my bathtub.

“He rented my bathtub (adjoining hotel room) for a one-time payment of $10.00 for hygiene use every day and wound up making a couple of hundred bucks on soda sales. He’s a small business owner nowadays. He was the only kid on the trip to come home with more money than he left with. He still bought a crap-ton of souvenirs.”

It sounds like this kid had a solid plan in place to make some extra money. And it makes you wonder what he decided to do with it. It was mentioned that he’s now a business owner, so I’m sure he remembers his early sales fondly.

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9. Small Business Is Always a Good Idea, Right?

Danger_Possum said, “I founded a small baking empire in my first year of university, catering to lazy and stoned students. I’d buy a bag of flour, some sachets of yeast, and some cling film cheap from the supermarket and bake a dozen loaves at a time in a conveyor belt system. I’d be kneading dough, and a few loaves would be rising whilst I waited for a few loaves to bake. I sold them to the other first years on prime hangover days since university social nights were Wednesdays and Fridays. I got so many requests for other kinds (Seeded, rye bread, wholemeal, that sort of thing) that it became a project in and of itself.”

This sounds like a fun way to make some extra money during college. The ingredients are cheap and this college student had a legitimate business with options to grow if people kept buying the bread. I’m sure the extra money helped this student pay for everything necessary to live a comfortable life during their years at college. A baking business can be very successful, and this story is proof of that. This college student could have chosen many other ways to make money but went for something they knew would work.

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8. A Chance Encounter

Reddit user reyrey1492 tells the story of a recent car accident and how it helped him. “I once got rear-ended with no visible damage. The girl who hit me was 16 or 17 and didn’t want insurance involved because explaining to parents why you hit someone is awkward. Well, I was broke and trying to get back on my feet, so I called her up and said I took it to a buddy’s shop to get inspected. I told her they found some frame damage they could repair for cheap, but it would be a couple of hundred bucks to get it done.

“She dropped off $200 in an envelope, and I got to eat for the next two months. I feel bad I lied about it. I don’t feel bad about teaching her a $200 lesson in staying off your phone while driving.” This situation could have been handled differently. Instead of teaching the girl a lesson, he should have been honest. There are a million ways to make money when necessary. As an example, he could have donated plasma or found a part-time job. Granted, we don’t know all of the circumstances behind his reason for being broke.

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7. Play A Strange Game For Money

A Reddit user by the name of Pumpkin_pasties tells a funny story about a game show. “In college, I once found an ad for “game show contestants” on Craigslist. It paid $50 to appear on a low-budget digital ‘game show’ for 30 minutes. They required you to have an out-there personality, so I portrayed myself as a “bikini skier” and showed up in a bikini and ski goggles. I decided to portray myself as a goofy girl with a quirky personality.” She continued on about this strange opportunity. “I was pretty naive, and the host made lots of dirty jokes that flew over my head. I had no idea what the host was talking about.

“The ‘game’ itself was pretty easy, and the premise of the show was that people could play against you on their iPads through an app. I don’t think it ever ended up being published, but I have no regrets except a potentially embarrassing video of me answering trivia in a bikini being out there. If it ever pops up, I’ll gladly own what I did. It was actually kind of fun to be someone else for 30 minutes. All of my friends have heard the story and keep scouring the internet to try and find the game show. I really don’t think anything ever became of it.”

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6. Chance Interview Turned Into A Career

Reddit user Ps0fakt0 says, “So mine is not bad at all. I almost worked at Sears. I graduated during the .com bust with an IT degree. After overstaying my welcome a bit on friend’s couches looking for an IT job in a bigger city, I figured I’d just get anything in retail so I could get my own place. But even in that market, nobody was really hiring. I got through the interview, drug test, etc., and had a date for orientation. Between accepting the Sears offer and getting an orientation date, I had a phone interview with an ISP. They called back and wanted a face-to-face on the date of my orientation.

“This was for an entry-level tech support job. Basically the most entry-level job you could get in IT at the time. I also had 2.5 years of experience as a paid intern (full-time summer/part-time during school) and a few industry certifications. So I had a couple of pluses over others that only had a degree. About six months later, I found a job that I felt fit my experience more. I figured if I did not get that job, I was just going to pack it up, move back home (a small boring town), and continue my job search from there.” But that’s not how it worked out, as they eventually revealed. “I got the ISP job and I still work in IT 15+ years later.”

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5. Online Dating for Money

Anna_Draconis said, “Oh my gosh. This is embarrassing, but it happened. In college, I decided to sign up for online dating, and somehow this much older guy found my profile and started chatting with me. I was in my early 20’s. He was 60+. He wasn’t flirting or anything, thank goodness. The Redditor continued on about her new senior citizen ‘friend.’ “He just thought I was a cool person and wanted to talk. He explained at one point in our conversations that he was having a very hard time finding anyone, and at his age, it was unlikely that he ever would. It was a sad situation. I felt like I should do something to help.

“So, since he was an accountant/some financial guru of some type, and I had mentioned I was pretty broke in college, he offered to pay me $60 to help him with his online dating profile to get more exposure. After a confused “Are you actually serious,” I reluctantly agreed. Being only twenty-something myself and looking for my own relationship, I had no idea what value or expertise I could offer someone three times my age. He turned out to be a really nice guy, and I actually helped him find a few dates! He was so happy, and I’m glad I was able to help.”

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4. No Solicitors Please

Reddit user Shaidyn told the story that helped them earn a little extra cash. “I worked as a door-to-door solicitor for three days. Every morning they gave you a box of crap, and you had to sell it. I saw a lot of books, toys, and even cosmetics. It seemed like they sold a little bit of everything. It was an odd company. Then the Reddit user dove into some more sordid details. “It was very cultish. I learned a lot, though. The guy training me had no shame. He’d walk down the docks trying doors. If they were unlocked, he would just walk in. It was crazy!

“Who in their right mind would just walk into someone’s house unannounced? We’d be selling crap to guys using heavy machinery. He’d walk into a McDonald’s and start selling until he got kicked out. I did this for only three days because I was uncomfortable with the selling tactics. It did help a little, though. It broke down some of my walls. I’m not as shy now and feel a little more comfortable talking to strangers.” These types of businesses can be invasive and make you feel like you have to buy something. We can see why this person decided to quit after only three days.

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3. Living On A Farm

A Reddit user by the name of Grn_blt_primo said, “I grew up on a small hobby farm. One year, my dad decided that we were going to raise a few heads of sheep. To do so, I would need to fence off many acres of pasture for them. I spent two whole weeks pounding in posts and digging holes for corner posts. We ended up with five lambs. After they were butchered, a few months later, my dad decided we didn’t need sheep anymore. We never used that pasture for animals again. I was so angry after all the work I did to make that pasture a perfect place for animals.

“I guess my dad thought the animals were too much work. They then continued, “I enjoyed having the sheep, and at that age, I couldn’t understand why they were butchered. I would have enjoyed having more animals, but my dad wouldn’t let me even bring it up. It wasn’t until years later that he told me it was because it cost more money to buy and feed them than he thought it would and didn’t get a very good return on them when they were butchered.” Being around animals and working on a farm are good life lessons. This Reddit user never mentions how much he made, but it was a memory he will hold forever.

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2. Slimy Business

Mmmmaplesyrup420 says, “When I was in grade 4 or 5, I found the schoolyard had a lot of snails in it. So, I started collecting the snails. Other kids also wanted snails, so I started selling my snails for 10 cents for the smaller ones and 25 cents for the big ones. My business was booming, and it got to the point I was selling hundreds of these snails a day. I also purchased snails from other students to sell for profit. When I came home with about $300 in change, my parents wondered what was up, and the school said we couldn’t sell snails anymore.

“Being the little rebel I was, I still sold them without any adults finding out.” This Reddit User and the students at their school were obsessed with the snails in the schoolyard. It was a genius idea on their part to collect and sell these snails. It makes you wonder why children would be so excited about buying and selling snails? I wonder what these student’s parent’s thought when they saw all of that change coming out of their 4th grader’s pockets. It was probably a shock to see in person.

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1. Going To Extremes For Money

Reddit user Timhortons67 told an interesting story. “It’s a pretty simple and uneventful story. I was in A LOT of debt and needed some money. I couldn’t pay my credit cards off and was terrified of someone showing up at my door.” The story went on, “I hid in a family well with my possessions for days until I heard my creditors knock on my door. Thankfully, things eventually changed. “I eventually got out of this hole, but I don’t know what would have happened if I had met them that day. I’m not sure what would have happened, and I’m glad I never found out. Everything worked out a few months later, and I was able to start paying my bills again.”

This is a sad story. How much debt do you have to have to go to such extremes? Hiding in a family well with everything you own seems pretty extreme. We’re sure the creditors would have worked something out with this Reddit user, but again, we don’t know the circumstances. They start by saying it’s an uneventful story, but it seems pretty eventful to me. It’s nice to hear that everything worked out in the end, and this Reddit user was able to start paying off their debts and stop hiding in the well.

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