MISS MONEYSAVER: How to help your little ones become budding entrepreneurs

Thanks to the popularity of car boot sales and resale sites on the Internet, buying and selling is a great way for kids to earn some money of their own.

My eight-year-old neighbor, Lily, is getting really good at buying up toys and games for cheap at parties and car boot sales and then reselling them for a profit – sometimes in the same location!

And kids can make good money (and have a lot of fun) doing the same.

It’s a good idea to include your aspiring entrepreneur in a clean-up session as well, where you collect toys, clothes and accessories they no longer need and let them keep the money they make by selling this ‘stuff’ on a car boot sales or online.

Show the children how to price items, how to give people change, and how to negotiate the price of something with a potential buyer. Not only will they earn handy money, but they will gain valuable business skills at the same time.

Making things to sell is also very popular with children, just as it is now with adults. Kids can bake and sell pies from their parent’s trunk or in the front yard using a fold-out table. Candies are also a popular item for kids to make and sell at school, to neighbors, or at a car boot sale.

And you never know where even a simple idea like making and selling candy can lead.

Luke Scotney, 11, from Peterborough, turned his interest in sweets into a real business. He made at least £1,000 before February this year from his pick-and-mix sweets selection, sweets4mysweet.com, which contains no traces of nuts or other allergens.

He does not make the sweets himself, but buys them from wholesalers.

Smart kids can make jewelry or friendship bracelets to sell on Etsy, or use their artistic talent to create attractive picture frames or “pimp” Starbucks cups to sell online, as a friend of one of my MoneyMagpies does.

Luke Scotney, 11, (pictured) from Peterborough, turned his interest in sweets into a real business

He made at least £1,000 before February this year from his pick-and-mix sweets selection, sweets4mysweet.com, which contains no traces of nuts or other allergens

Kids with a little spark and an interest in acting can earn money by appearing in TV shows, movies, and commercials, either as part of a crowd or with an actual speaking part.

There are several agencies that offer this type of work, particularly those associated with art schools such as Italia Conti and Ravenscourt Theater School Agency, both in London.

Judy McPhee, of JAM2000 agency in Ruislip, Middlesex, has 3,500 children on her books and says it’s a great way for kids to gain work experience, be part of a team and build their confidence.

Her agency is licensed for chaperones to accompany the children to care for them as they do their film and TV work.

Depending on what the work is, children can earn between £40 and £500 a day while having lots of fun. If they’ve had a speaking role or starred in a popular commercial, they may even get future pay for reruns.

“We’re a busy agency and never have enough kids for the jobs that come in, so we’re always looking for more to fill vacancies,” says Judy.

Other agencies specializing in child actors and extras include Twin Agency in London and Bizzykids in Kent.

There is also an extras agency called Robinson Harris Hill which has a special section for children and young people (rhh-agency.co.uk/child-and-teen-performers).

There are ‘perks’ desks all over the country, but be careful as some are just there to take your money and won’t get you to work. Check online for agency reviews before enrolling your child.

Many children are particularly good at fixing broken technology. If yours is a natural “repairer,” they can make money fixing phones and laptops for people in the area.

It’s hard to find reliable tech gurus so they can charge a decent fee for the work: from £50, depending on the problem to be fixed.

Bite back against those sky-high vet bills

The cost of living makes it expensive for pet owners. Research from Tesco has found that it now costs £600 a year to care for dogs and £330 for cats.

Research from Agria Pet Insurance found that eight in 10 of us have noticed pet bills rising over the past 12 months, to the point where six in 10 say they have to go without to make sure they look after their pets can care.

So how can we cut the cost of caring for our furry friends? First, cut down on vet bills by looking for cheaper prices on the flea and worming treatments recommended by your vet. You can almost always find cheaper deals online.

Go for the best quality food you can afford, as cheaper food often contains useless ‘stuffers’ that can cause physical problems for the animals later on.

Dry food goes further, but is boring for animals on its own, so alternate it with some wet food, including raw meat (you can use any cheaper cuts of meat, including offal) and sometimes even leftovers from your own dinner.

The cost of living makes it expensive for pet owners. Tesco research has found that it now costs £600 a year to care for dogs and £330 for cats (File image)

There’s no such thing as a free lunch, even for pets, but most vets, pet stores, and online stores have free or cheap samples you can try before diving headfirst into a 15 lb. bag.

For samples of healthy dog ​​and cat food, try Natural Choice Pets Food (naturalchoicepetfoods.co.uk/) with £1 samples.

For treats, buy bones from your local butcher. If you’re really struggling to feed your pet, there are now pet food banks all over the country offering help. Several supermarkets carry them, as do Pets at Home stores, the RSPCA (which has a list of pet food banks on its website) and Cats Protection centers and Scotland’s Pet Food Bank.

Fancy a cheap cruise? You can create your own trip around the Caribbean or the Med or just the Medway by booking a yacht through Click&Boat (clickandboat.com). It’s like Airbnb on the water. They have all kinds of ships, from houseboats on the Thames to catamarans in the Caribbean.

One-day rentals can cost less than £100, but you can also find holidays. I saw a ten night full skippered Caribbean adventure sailing from Martinique and sailing around the nearby Grenadines in a chic three berth small yacht, from £1,500 pp

There is a new payment card that gives you money back as you spend more. SuitsMe (suitsmecard.com) describes itself as an alternative banking solution, combining its e-money accounts with an app and a debit card. But, unlike most other debit cards, it offers cashback when you spend at various member retailers (online or in the High Street) such as Argos, Asda, B&Q, Sainsbury’s, Lebara, Bella Italia, Café Rouge and Halfords.

Ooh, I love a good sponge cake with a good dollop of buttercream! So I’m delighted to be able to offer you a 15 per cent discount on all cakes in the sponge.co.uk range delivered to your doorstep. Choose your favorite and enter JASMINE15 at checkout. Offer runs until Saturday 22 April.