Jasmine Birtles
Your money-making expert. Financial journalist, TV and radio personality.
For the majority of us these days, money has become tight, which is why so many of us are looking for ways to make a bit of extra cash. The good news is that even if you have a full time job, there are many ways of utilising your spare time to make a few pounds and boost your bank account. Here we take a look at just some of them.
Selling unwanted items has almost become a national pastime and is a great way to make a few quid. If you’ve just had a clear out, then try a car boot sale. Car boot sales are not only a great way of making money in return for just a few hours work, they’ve also become popular as a way of living more sustainably, making them a win-win way of boosting the coffers!
You could also sell unused jewellery and precious metals. Whether it’s costume jewellery, old watches, antiques, or in any other form, you could turn your gold and old valuables into cash! Whatever the condition or age, make extra money with dontsitonit.co.uk. Request a FREE postage pack, send off your valuables and receive a cash offer within 48 hours. If you accept the offer, get the cash sent to your bank account within just 30 minutes – if you decline the offer, you’ll get your valuables delivered back to you for free – no fuss. Try it out today and make money now.
Alternatively, use online marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace or through websites like eBay and Gumtree.
With unwanted clothes, you could try selling online through organisations like Vinted or ASOS Marketplace.
Try Music Magpie for unwanted tech and entertainment systems, including DVDs and CDs.
We’ve all got an opinion and love it when people want to know what we think. In which case, getting paid to do surveys online could be your ideal pastime! Complete market surveys or watch videos online in return for money, gift cards or rewards. It may take you a while to build up enough credit for a significant reward, but you’ll have fun along the way. Sign up for survey sites such as Swagbucks, Toluna, or OpinionPanel.
Online competitions are very popular and lots of people consider themselves ‘compers’. But because there are so many ‘compers’ out there, it doesn’t mean to say you’re not going to win anything – and you’ll never win if you don’t even enter anything! There are lots of free to enter competitions online, just check competition listings by joining sites such as Loquax or CompersNews. One daily draw that’s gaining in popularity is Pick my Postcode (formerly Free Postcode Lottery) because it’s totally free to enter, and there are winners every day!
If you have a driveway and live near a station or in a city centre, you could make good money by renting out a parking space. Depending on where you live (and how intense the competition for parking spaces is), you could make hundreds or possibly thousands every year! Click here to find out more.
If you’re employed and have been paying income tax for the past four years, you may be entitled to a tax rebate. The accountants at Zest have been getting people an average £1,846 tax rebate. It’s free to apply and you only pay Zest a portion of your rebate – money you’d probably never have recovered without help anyway.
Even if you work full time it’s always good to have a hobby. And if you’ve got something you’re passionate about as well as being good at, what’s stopping you turning it into a way of making yourself a bit more money?
Love shopping? Apply to be a mystery shopper. You’ll get paid for every task you’re asked to do, get expenses, as well as getting reimbursed for anything you’re asked to buy as part of your assignment. To find out more, click here to download our ‘How To Make Money Mystery Shopping’ guide.
Love animals but can’t have any pets of your own? There are ways to make money that also give you the opportunity to get close to our furry friends, such as pet sitting or house sitting. When they’re away, many people would prefer their pets to stay at home rather than be placed in kennels. There are therefore plenty of paid opportunities in your local area to look after pets in their own homes – sign up to a pet sitting agency, or post notices on local messaging boards if you want to find your own clients. Housesitting is also a great way to make extra money at the same time as looking after people’s pets, and maybe also getting the opportunity to stay in different parts of the country. If you have a job that allows you to work from home, you won’t even need to take time off work!
How crafty are you? If you’re particularly talented when it comes to crafting, candlemaking, jewellery making, knitting, sewing, woodwork or art and love doing it in your free time anyway, have you thought about selling your creations? Renting a stall at a craft market can be quite expensive, so if you’re just starting out, set up an Etsy shop and link it to your PayPal account, then make sure you shout about it on your social media accounts so everyone knows about you! Getting paid for doing something you love is something many of us aspire to, and you never know where it might lead… Dragon’s Den perhaps?!
If you’re an expert at something that fits in with the National Curriculum, especially an academic subject or a foreign language, you could earn money by online tutoring. Check out agencies such as MyTutor to find out more.
Did somebody say JustEat? Or Deliveroo or UberEats, or your local takeaway. Delivering food is a great way to earn extra money in the evenings and at weekends and these services are always in need of delivery drivers. Plus, if you’re good at it, you could also earn cash in tips.
A word about side hustles and tax
If you’re earning additional income, then you will need to think about the tax implications. The good news is that you can earn up to an additional £1,000 a year before you need to submit a self-assessment tax return, although if you earn more than a thousand pounds in a year, you will have to report your earnings to HMRC and will have to pay tax.