Make Money With These Helpful Tips

Given the current economic circumstance and cost of living crisis, money is a little tight for a lot of people and it feels like we’re all in the same boat! But don’t worry, there are ways to top up your bank balance.

There are many reasons you might be constantly thinking about how to make money. Whether it’s because your current pay is no longer enough, you’re struggling to find a job in the first place or you want to top up your monthly going-out budget.

We’ve got 15 different money-making tips that are bound to boost your bank balance.

1. Sell Items You Don't Use

The number one of money-making ideas. You may have even already started with this one: selling stuff you no longer use.

We’re all guilty of hoarding possessions claiming we will indeed use that iPod shuffle again or repair the button on our favourite shirt. The reality is that our clutter could earn us easy cash.

There are so many sites and apps making it so easy to quickly list your items and sell them.

Commonly Sold Items Include:

• Clothing and Shoes
• Electronics
• Furniture
• Unused Stationery
• Books, CDs and Games
• Lego and Toys
• Bike and Scooters

Some sites such as eBay even offer days with free listing meaning you don’t have to pay a fee to sell, giving you more money!

2. Sell Unwanted Goods at a Car Boot Sale

Taking this one step further you can sell your items at a local car boot sale. Car boot sales seem to be making a comeback as they make selling items compared to shipping them off and dealing with PayPal disputes.

They are usually quite easy to find by googling or checking Facebook - there’s likely to be one fairly close to you. You could probably even set one up yourself.

While it might initially seem like a hassle, there’s no having to pay postage or queue at the post office. Plus, you can get the cash instantly without any online squabbles. Selling face-to-face also allows you to make deals so you’re more likely to be able to sell a few items at a time and keep your profits.

3. Upcycle Furniture or Accessories

For those of you with a creative flair, upcycling items has become very trendy and you can make a lot of money from it if you’re any good.

Start by finding some bargains in the charity shops or even anything currently lying around the house in need of some TLC. A fresh coat of paint, some new material and a deep clean, boom! You’ve just created a masterpiece that someone will love.

It might be worth considering the size of your project as anything too big is unlikely to get posted or picked up easily. While this is certainly a great bit of fun, it’s probably not the most effective way to earn extra money as you’ll more than likely have to pay for supplies and put a lot of time in before you’re able to sell.

But as we mentioned before, if you’re good at it you could make a bit of money here so considering up cycling as a side hustle rather than a one-off piece could be a game-changer!

4. Sell Your Art

Another idea for budding artists is to try and sell artwork. A great way to build your portfolio and make a name for yourself. While this one may have a fair few costs involved such as materials and selling fees, those can be scrapped later on.

If you want to get some work known try approaching local businesses such as cafes or hairdressers and ask if they’ll display your work for a percentage of the sale price. Doing this will get your work seen by a huge variety of different people so you’re guaranteed to sell it.

You might even have heard of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) which are an increasingly popular way for artists to sell their work digitally. For anyone wanting to dabble in cryptocurrency and mining then definitely get clued up on this, there are many debates as to whether this could be the future.

5. Become a Baby Sitter

Babies, toddlers and small children, are always so cute when they’re happy and playful and…. someone else’s problem when they throw a tantrum.

More seriously, babysitting is typically the first job a lot of people get and it can be a real fun one too! When kids are at that cute age, babysitting is a breeze and can be a super easy way to earn money for a few hours. Plus, they’re always on their best behaviour when it’s not their parents!

But we get it, not everyone is mad about babies and babysitting might sound like their idea of hell. If that sounds like you, why not check out tip 6 below instead.

6. Become a Dog Sitter

One for the animal lovers: offer your services as a dog walker or pet sitter (depending on your preference).

This is another really easy earner with very little cost for you. Dog walking will have incredible effects on your mental health. It could be super useful as a job if you’re having a particularly stressful time as it’ll get you outside and isn’t a massively demanding job. Who doesn’t love a dog!?

Might be trickier to get started but there are a few sites you can register on or ask family and friends too, there’s always someone who could do with help dog walking or need someone to check on their cats while on holiday.

7. Fill Out Online Surveys

We will be honest; these can be a bit hit and miss sometimes depending on who you’re undertaking these surveys for. But the majority of the time, compared to the time it takes to complete a survey the rewards are pretty decent.

Many of these sites won’t give you cash directly and instead offer shopping vouchers or restaurant gift cards. So, if that’s something you’d enjoy give it a go. It’s always worth checking before, what you’re going to be receiving in return.

8. Become a Freelancer

If you’re not quite sure what freelancing is all about it’s a pretty simple concept and it’s really easy to get the hang of. It’s a very popular way of just making a little bit of extra money and there are countless possibilities in this kind of area.

Many firms look for freelancers to perform tasks such as writing, designing, administrative services and social media. They can be great for those with little previous experience and signing up to a site can help you find an ideal fit quicker. This is another great idea where, depending on the job you go for, can have very little initial costs but often offer competitive pay.

This is more typically like having a job which is great for guaranteeing you’ll earn income but it also means you’ll have to put in the required work! Another fantastic quality of freelance work is that it’s typically on your own timeframe, no clocking in 9-5 (unless you want to). You can keep your social calendar and work around that when you want.

9. Become a Student Tutor

Another relatively simple idea to try is tutoring. There’s a lot of flexibility around teaching in person or online plus any subjects you can specialise in. Whether you’re good with academics like Maths or English or perhaps musical.

Many adults, teens and children will happily pay you to teach them your knowledge and there are no formal requirements or experience necessary. Many parents look for recent graduates and school leavers to teach their children exam content especially as mocks and final exams approach. Further to this if you’ve kept old textbooks and revision notes of good quality, you could find people willing to pay for those too! So, it’s worth having a dig around your room if you think you’ve still got those lying around somewhere.

10. Play Music at a Gig

If your future aspirations surround musical, dramatic or comedic performance why not get started now as a small earner. Whether you’re still studying or aren’t ready to commit full-time, everyone’s got to start somewhere. Many local pubs and cafes are always looking for live performances and if they’re not advertising, you’ll never know if you don’t ask!

Whether it’s just playing a bit of guitar at a local cafe shop or singing at a one off summer party, put your talent to good use. You never know what could come of it other than financial gain.

11. Sell Your Photography

If you’re a budding photographer or just really handy with a camera, again another easy way to make some money. There are lots of websites that will pay to have the copyright of the image for them to then re-distribute or you can sell photos as artwork. If you’ve got a camera lying around the house take it with you next time you go for a walk or visit the city.

While this idea isn’t always the biggest earner, especially for novice photographers, there are a lot of competitions you can enter too.

In addition, many local magazines and publications in need of new content may look to get photos of local landscapes and buildings that they could be willing to pay for.

12. Teach a Virtual Class

One benefit of the recent pandemic is the rise in online classes. With such busy schedules, it can be difficult to get to venues, especially during peak hours. Teaching an online class means you can run it from home with no additional venue cost so it’s a super cheap idea! Plus, there are endless things you can do with it.

Fitness classes are very popular including yoga and HITT. But there are many other options too from jewellery making to knitting or teaching a language. If none of those ideas clicks why not instead set up a club and charge a small joining fee. Book or film clubs are always a great place to start!

13. Get Paid to be a Bridesmaid

Might seem a bit random at first but who doesn’t love getting glam for a wedding so hear us out. Most of us have seen 27 dresses and we can agree what a dream it would be to have all those dresses from lots of weddings. Well, that could be a reality.

Now we’ve moved on from COVID, weddings are back on the rise and many people are willing to pay for members of the groom/bridal party. Yes, this is more typical in America but they do happen in the UK.

This is possibly another idea that could end up costing before earning but equally, the money from this could be a fair amount plus think of the fantastic experiences you can make from each wedding you attend. Plus, free cake, that’s always worth saying yes to!

14. Invest in The Stock Market

As we're currently experiencing difficult economic times, the markets aren’t performing very well making it a pretty good time to consider investing for when the markets recover. Markets continuously fluctuate in response to economic performance among other things.

There are many examples of people generating a lot of cash from their investments but also of people losing a lot too.

Of all the money-making ideas this is probably the riskiest (but with significant risk is the potential for great reward!).

If this is something that interests you, it is certainly worth looking into. Investing is challenging especially if you have no experience or limited knowledge so it’s worth looking for professional advice if you’re serious and considering investing a lot of money.

15. Save with Premium Bonds

Lastly, you might want to try your luck at premium bonds. They are very easy to purchase and basically, they act like a savings account.

Instead of paying you interest on your deposit, NS&I give you the opportunity to win a cash reward. Of course, the downside of this is that the reward is not guaranteed so you could invest money without earning any return but at least there’s no risk like with stocks and shares investments.

*Sponsored by Save the Student.