How do you make extra money to boost your income in the cost of living crisis? Now and again we all need to find some other ways to make money, whether it’s getting through a tricky month, saving for something special, or increasing your income in the long term.
With the UK in a cost of living crisis, the reality is that salaries and benefits just aren’t stretching as far as they used to and the government and many employers have yet to step in with meaningful help. We all need to find ways to make and save a little bit of extra cash from time to time, and there are safe and effective ways to do it.
They might only be a sticking plaster, but here are a few ways to make extra money when you need it:
Top tips on quick, easy ways to make money online and offline
Take part in online surveys
Yes, you can be paid to answer questions online. Researchers and companies are always looking for people to take part in their surveys. They tend to only pay a couple of pounds for your time, but every little helps and that could add up to hundreds of pounds a year.
Be careful about only giving data to companies you trust – some websites aren’t always clear about how exactly they use your information. Also know that giving over your email address will mean you might be subjected to all of the company’s marketing in the future! It’s a good idea to set up a dedicated email address and check it regularly so you don’t miss out on a survey opportunity.
If you spend using a cashback credit card, you receive a percentage of your money back – either in cash or with points that you can convert into vouchers for discounts at various shops.
You could potentially earn hundreds each year, but you will have to be careful or it could actually end up costing you. The main thing to keep in mind is that you should only be spending what you can afford. You will be hit with interest if you don’t pay off your bill in full every month.
Money Saving Expert advises you to set up a direct debit to repay it every month and only use the card for your normal spending, rather than using it as an excuse to overspend. Another important tip is never to withdraw cash on this card, because you’ll often be charged a fee and interest.
One option is American Express’s Platinum Cashback Everyday card. You’ll get 5% cashback for the first three months on spending up to £100. After that, you’ll get 0.5% cashback on spending up to £10,000 and 1% cashback on spending above that. There’s no fee but, if you fail to repay fully, you’ll be charged interest at 26% representative APR.
Another option is a Nectar card, where you can earn points at selected retailers such as Sainsbury’s, Argos and eBay. And Lloyds Bank Mastercard will give you £20 bonus cashback when you spend over £1,000 in the first 90 days. After that, you’ll get 0.25% cashback on all spending up to £4,000 per year and 0.5% on any spending above that.
Download a cashback app
Airtime Rewards will help you save money off your mobile bill with O2, EE, Vodafone and others. All you need to do is link your bank card and then you just shop as normal at more than 150 retailers both in-store and online.
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These include Argos, Boots, Greggs, Wilko and Boohoo. The app will automatically track your spending and reward you with 1 to 10% cashback on every purchase.
Once you’ve built up enough cashback, you can redeem it as credit against your phone bill. You can also use it alongside other cashback sites like TopCashback – so you can get even more off your bill.
Switch bank accounts and earn up to £200
Banks are offering up to £200 for you to switch your current account to them.
If you don’t have an HSBC account, you can get £200 free cash by switching to the HSBC Advance Account. You must be a new customer and pay in £1,500 within 60 days of opening the account, and you have to switch over two direct debits or standing orders to this account.
If you switch to a NatWest Rewards or RBS Rewards account, you get £200 upfront and up to £36 a year in cash. You’ll need at least two direct debits of at least £2 a month. There is an interest charged on overdrafts, and you have to pay in £1,250 to an eligible NatWest account each month.
Or you could switch to Lloyds Bank with Club Lloyds and get £150, plus a choice of a reward including a year of Disney+, six cinema tickets and a coffee club and gourmet society membership. But there’s a £3 a month fee unless you pay in more than £2,000 a month.
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Get cash for pet sitting
Did you know you can earn money by looking after someone else’s pets? Yes, it’s the dream! If you’re good with animals, but maybe you don’t have your own, it is the perfect way to make some pocket money.
Through Cat in a Flat, you can offer daily visits or overnight stays for looking after someone’s cat. You’ll set your own fees (to make yourself competitive, you might want to set your prices a little lower) so it’s like running your own mini business. Put as much as you can about your skills and experience into your profile, and you could just be someone’s dream pet sitter.
Or if you’re more of a dog person, Care Pet Care advertise lots of dog sitting and walking jobs.
Rent out a room
If you’ve got a spare furnished room going, you could earn £7,500 each year tax-free through the government’s rent a room scheme. This is halved if you share the income with your partner or someone else.
This includes when you run a B&B or guest house, or you rent out the room on Airbnb. There are tips on Airbnb’s website on how to rent your room out.
If you’re looking for a lodger, you can try SpareRoom or the room-to-rent section on Gumtree. With such a shortage of affordable homes at the moment, you might just be helping someone else out while making your own money.
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Rent your home out to film crews
Fancy seeing your home on the big screen? You could rent out your home to film and television companies and photographers and earn some money. You can register your home on a website like Locations Direct and Lavish Locations and Shoot Factory. Your house doesn’t have to be particularly fancy, but it may well help if it’s interesting or quirky.
Get paid for your TV opinions
Are you a wannabe film critic? You could be paid for your TV opinions with The Viewers. Group discussions (either online or in person) typically pay between £50 and £70. The highest paying projects offer £150 for approximately six hours of your time over a couple of weeks, which is well over minimum wage.
Online surveys are another option, paying up to £10 for a programme review which takes an hour. A shorter survey pays £1 to £3 for five to 15 minutes of your time.
You will always be told the reward and time required before you decide whether to take part. This might just help give you an extra tiny bit of income and, if you’re a big TV fan, it’s probably something you’ll enjoy regardless of the money.
Have a car boot sale
You can make a lot of cash quickly by having a big clearout and heading to a car boot sale. Some car boot sales are visited by hundreds of people every week, and you might just earn a lot of money.
Many have a small fee which sellers have to pay – so you’ll have to consider whether you’re likely to make enough of a profit. Sometimes, it works best to sell a lot of items for a cheap price. But make sure not to sell anything valuable for a knock-off deal – it might be better to sell your valuables online or to an antiques store.
Got a decent parking space? Rent out your driveway for the day
Those of us who drive all know the agony of trying to find a parking space. So it’s no surprise that apps and websites like Just Park, Your Parking Space and Park on My Drive are becoming more popular. You can rent out your driveway or parking spot for a few hours or a day and you’ll be saving someone the worry of having to find a space! If you don’t already have a car parked there or you know you’ll be out, it’s a great way of making some easy cash.
Refer a friend
Many businesses run schemes where you can refer a friend and get money as a reward. On the website Refer Me Happy, you’ll find a few of the best ones listed. This includes Virgin Media – if you refer a friend, you could both pocket up to £50 in cash. If your friend was already thinking about joining Virgin Media anyway, it’s definitely worth it.
Octopus Energy also has a £50 referral scheme, as does the Co-operative Bank. Another option is Monzo, which will give you and your friend £5 when you refer them.
Make money by recycling your old tech
You can earn a bit of cash by recycling your old mobile phones and other devices like laptops and tablets – and it’s helping the environment too.
Through Giffgaff, you can recycle your old phone and get cash straight to your pocket. A fully working iPhone XR could get you as much as £105. Giffgaff then refurbishes the phones and sells them on so it will have a new home.
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Envirofone works similarly – you sell your phone to them and they’ll refurbish it. You’ll also get a 12% bonus if you go with them. Mazuma will take your old phones, tablets, smartwatches, laptops, macs and gaming consoles for cash.
Shop around for the best deals. SellMyMobile might be useful for this, which will compare the best deals you can get. Remember to check whether they take broken or faulty phones before you sell, though, as some places might not give you cash if its got a cracked screen, water marks or cannot open at the home screen.
Become a Big Issue vendor
Could you or someone you know benefit from becoming a Big Issue vendor? You’ll have total flexibility to earn immediate cash today, work your own hours and manage your own time.
You only need yourself and some magazines – and we’ll give you 10 free magazines to get you started. You will also receive our special starter pack for free, get on-hand support from our staff, and your own pitch to sell on.
Big Issue vendors can earn £225 a week, based on selling 100 magazines. They can also get tailored support in areas such as healthcare, financial and digital confidence and sales coaching. Further training programmes and work placements are also available.
You can sell your old clothes on websites and apps like Depop, eBay and Vinted. Make sure to take good-quality pictures of your clothes where they are looking their best, be honest about the item you are trying to sell and be realistic about pricing.
If you build up a good reputation as a seller, people will be likely to come back and the sites will recommend you before your competition. More people are turning to second hand clothing stores to buy their clothes in a rejection of fast fashion trends, so it’s worth getting on board with the trend yourself if you’ve got old clothes to sell.
Got a DVD but no player? That could be worth something to someone else, particularly if the film is a real classic. You might not earn a lot for it, but every little helps. You can also sell your old CDs and video games.
MusicMagpie is worth a look for this. It’s easiest to download their app, scan the barcode of your item and get it valued. Then you can box it up and send it to them for free. You’ll be paid on the same day. You could also try eBay, Amazon Marketplace and Preloved.
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Make money by turning your hobby into a side hustle
Are you brilliant at knitting? Have you got a talent for arts and crafts? You could set up your own Etsy shop and sell your work online. You’ll only pay 17p to set up an Etsy account and list your first item – but after you sell an item, Etsy will charge you commission.
There are perks to selling on a website like Etsy as it’s used by millions of people across the world. But there’s a lot of competition, and you’ll need to make sure your product has a high profit margin. Another way of doing it is to use social media – if you can build a good following, it will be much easier to sell products.
If you are struggling financially, you may be eligible for charitable grants. You can find out what grants might be available using the Turn2Us grant search. Grants are also usually available to people who have no recourse to public funds and cannot claim welfare benefits. Turn2Us helps people to access grants and support services if they’re in financial difficulty – especially important now we’re facing a cost of living crisis. If you contact them, they’ll check what’s available to you.
Get a grant from your energy supplier
If you’re struggling to pay your energy bills, a number of energy suppliers offer grants to help. British Gas grants are available to everyone who has a fuel debt of up to £1,500 and you don’t have to be a British Gas customer. This includes the Individual and Families Debt Write Off Fund. You’ll need to seek help from your local money advice centre first and be able to show that you’ve thought about how you will manage your costs in the future. You can apply for a grant and get advice from the British Gas Energy Trust through its website.
EDF provides support for individuals struggling to manage household energy debt through their customer support fund. You can apply here. E.ON has a fund which could help you pay your current or final E.ON Next energy bills and potentially replace old appliances.
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If you’re an Octopus customer, you can access its financial support form on its website. It asks you a series of questions about your financial situation. The company offers a number of support options including access to existing schemes, monetary support from the Octo Assist Fund, or a loan of a thermal imagery camera to find heat leaks at home.
Check if you are eligible for benefits
People struggling with money may be eligible for benefits, welfare support and tax credits. There is support available for people working or unemployed, sick or disabled, a parent, a young person, an older person or a veteran. You can use the Turn2Us benefits calculator to find out what benefits you are entitled to claim.
This Christmas, 3.8 million people across the UK will be facing extreme poverty. Thousands of those struggling will turn to selling the Big Issue as a vital source of income - they need your support to earn and lift themselves out of poverty.
