25 ways to make money from home from filling in online surveys, getting paid to watch TV and even selling your hair
From filling in online surveys, creating a viral website, transcribing meetings and conferences or even selling your hair
FROM rising energy and food bills to perpetually low savings rates, it looks like 2017 is going to be another tough year on your wallet.
But here are some ways to earn some extra cash without necessarily having to leave the house.
From filling in online surveys, creating a viral website, transcribing meetings and conferences or even selling your hair.
1. Become a part-time virtual assistant
Busy business owners are often on the lookout for someone to help with their admin or one-off tasks.
As a virtual assistant, you could use your experience and skills to complete a wide variety of tasks, such as diary management or document editing, for a small number of regular clients.
Clients benefit because they get the help they need to run their business without the cost, risk and hassle of employing someone. You benefit because you get to work from home, choosing hours to suit you.
For example, those with two to three years’ experience as a PA, admin assistant or secretary could sign up to Time Etc, which provides flexible, part-time work from home. The platform finds work for you with guaranteed and fixed hourly pay rates, which start at £11 per hour.
2. Transcribe meetings and conferences
If you have a fast typing speed and can pick up on different accents and pronunciations, you could become a transcriber.
Many companies send audio recordings of conferences, meetings and speeches to be transcribed by a set deadline.
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The amount you could earn depends on how quickly you can complete projects.
For example, transcribing service Way with Words recruits people from around the world and pay begins at $0.40 per audio minute. It says its best transcribers earn up to $1.38 per audio minute, working out at $82 (£67) per audio hour.
3. Sell your skills online - earn from £5 an hour
Can you make a logo, write a blog post or even code a website?
Websites such as Peopleperhour, Fiverr or Freelancer.com match creatives with one-off projects.
Fees vary depending on the task but for example users on Fiverr will pay from £5 or you could earn more for bigger projects on other sites and even find ongoing work.
4. Sell your old stuff, including recycling your mobile phone
Those old CDs you never listen to or the DVDS that you have watched and now just take up space on the shelf could actually make you money instead.
Websites such as MusicMagpie will give you an instant price for old music or mobile phones.
For example, MusicMagpie would buy a 16GB iPhone 5 in good condition for £84.
5. Use eBay to flog your unwanted treasures
From April 2017 the Government is introducing a new online selling allowance that means the first £1,000 of income earned from sales through websites such as eBay will be tax-free.
It is worth having a look around the house for old junk that couple be someone else’s treasure, or even to just offload those Christmas presents you didn’t want.
HOW TO GET THE BEST GROCERY PRICES
Compare prices using mySupermarket.com to see the cheapest supermarket based on the items in your basket.
It will also suggest items that you can “downshift” to own-brand items from branded names to save even more money.
For more expensive items, such as toilet roll and washing powder, you can find the cheapest price and decide whether to make a special trip to a shop for the lowest price.
Don’t forget to check for vouchers and discount codes – and save even more cash by using them to get money off your shopping.
You could even setup your own business. There are more than 200,000 UK business selling on Ebay.co.uk, plus millions of private sellers, all generating an estimated £6billion of sales in the UK every year.
According to eBay’s Power 30 UK index of top sellers, traders are making up to £17million per year on the website.
6. Rent out a room and earn up to £7,500 a year tax free
Tidy up that spare room and make some money from renting it out.
Landlords who rent out rooms to lodgers are getting an increased rent-a-room allowance of £7,500 from the next tax year.
Alternatively, you could rent out a room, or even your whole house, on Airbnb.
You can set your own prices, but UK users in London report typically earning almost £3,000 a year on Airbnb.
7. Rent out your drive way - earn up to £10 a day
Commuters will pay top whack to be able to park somewhere near the station to get to work and home faster. The same goes for festival goers or football fans trying to park near a stadium or concert venue.
If you live near a station or big visitor attraction, you could earn money by renting out space on your driveway.
Websites such as JustPark will let you advertise your driveway and set a day rate. For example, residents around Wembley Stadium charge between £8 and £10 a day for parking on their drive just a short walk from the venue.
8. Rent out your car - earn up to £3,000 a year
If you are not using your car, then why not earn some money by renting it to someone else?
Rental companies such as Easycar match car owners with renters. The website says average earnings can reach £1,500 while regular users can earn up to £3,000 per year.
For example, you could get paid £128 a month for renting out a Ford Escort for just five days
Alternatively, if you own a classic car there are companies such as Great Escape Classic Car Hire that will rent your vehicle for weddings and events.
9. Make money from your storage space and earn up to £40 a month
All that space in your loft or shed could be gathering money rather than just dust.
Websites such as StorageMates let you list space for free and you can earn up to £40 a month and there is also a 15 per cent service fee for the renter.
Just make sure your home insurance covers you for whatever is being stored.
10. Fill in surveys online and earn cash - earn up to £200 a year
Stop giving everyone your opinions for free! Instead, if you’ve got spare time and don’t mind filling in surveys online then you could up to £200 a year.
You will get dished out surveys depending on who you are, where you live and what your interest are. It can be slow at times as you can’t guarantee when a survey is going to come through but you could earn up to £15 per month depending how many you do.
THREE WAYS TO CUT FUEL COSTS
1. Make your car more fuel-efficient. You can do this by keeping your tyres inflated, taking the roof rack off, emptying your car of clutter and turning off your air con when driving at lower speeds.
2. Drive more efficiently. Some ways to do this, include:
- Accelerate gradually without over-revving
- Always drive on the highest possible gear
- If you can, allow your car to slow down naturally as your brake is a money burner
- Re-starting your car is expensive, if you can keep moving
3. Find the cheapest fuel prices. Use PetrolPrices.com. All you need to do is enter in your postcode and tell it how far you want to travel (up to 20 miles).
You can register for free, try i-Say, Swagbucks and PopulusLive. The money is usually paid via PayPal or into your bank account once you’ve earned a certain amount. MoneySavingExpert have a great guide on how to maximise your earnings on survey websites.
11. Animal lover? Offer to pet sit in return for cash
We are a nation of animal lovers but sometimes dog or cat owners need to go to work or on holiday.
If you are at home and like animals, you could set up a pet-sitting service or even offer dog walking services.
For example, PawShake lets pet sitters set their own rates to look after animals with users charging rates of £8-£12 per night for home dog boarding.
12. Become an Avon or home-based seller
Setting up a home-based business means you can keep your own hours and truly be your own boss.
There are established companies that will provide you with stock. For example, Avon representatives sell beauty products that are provided to them and you can keep 20 per cent of each order.
Alternatively, if you are good at arts and crafts you could sell your own products online or at local events.
13. Set up your own household chore service
Everyone finds household chores pretty dull but you could take advantage of this by offering washing, ironing or even sewing services.
You’ll need to invest in a good iron and ironing board if you don’t already have one and be able to get those creases out to a good standard.
You can choose to work for yourself and get clients by advertising on local notice boards in supermarkets, shops and the town hall or by asking friends to recommend you.
Alternatively, you can join an agency like Mrs Hunt’s Staffing which works with clients in posh part of London. You could charge per item or even by the hour.
14. Sell your hair - earn up to £200
This only really works if you have long locks and if you don’t mind having it chopped.
The more hair you sell the more money you’ll be able to make. This isn’t going to be something you’ll regularly make money from (unless you have speedy hair growth!) but if you’re going to cut your hair anyway it could be a simple way to get extra cash.
Bloomsbury Wigs will pay up to £200 for your hair, while Banbury Postiche (Wigs UK) pays £3 per ounce.
15. Make money from YouTube videos
Online video bloggers, or vloggers, such as Zoella have made millions from sharing tips or views on subjects from beauty to sport.
You may not become a millionaire from it but thousands of non-celebs earn extra cash from uploading their clips to the video search engine through the YouTube partner programme.
It puts adverts on to your videos and you earn a slice of the cash. The more views you get the more money you’ll make.
16. TV fan? Get paid to watch telly (and give your views)
Forget watching Gogglebox, if you’re telly addict then you might be able to put your knowledge to good use.
Theviewers.co.uk puts together research panels for broadcasters and programme makers so that they can get feedback on TV programmes before they hit the box.
You can either attend face-to-face research group, fill in surveys online or do both. You can earn between £40 and £70 for a discussion group and this is usually cash in hand.
The fee for online surveys varies but it’s usually about 50p per form and money is paid into your bank account or via vouchers.
17. Get paid to surf the web surfing
It is possible get paid just for using the internet. All you have to do is download a web browser add-on from Qmee. It then works in the background when you use Google.
If you click on a result that interests you then you’ll earn cash. Usually 7-15p per search but sometimes as much as £1. The cash is then paid to you via Paypal.
There is also a social sharing network called Baagloo that pays you and a chosen charity each time someone views a post you make recommending a local attraction such as a bar or restaurant.
18. Sensible spender? Make money from cashback credit cards
You may be paying off your Christmas debt but if you are planning some spending in the January sales you could get paid to shop using a cashback credit card.
Plenty of credit card You can get up to 5 per cent cashback with some credit cards such as American Express, but watch out for terms and conditions as the incentive drops to as low as 1 per cent after three months.
Also make sure you keep up with repayments as the APR can be as high as 28.2 per cent.
19. Earn cash while you spend with cashback websites
Cashback websites such as Quidco or TopCashback are easy ways to earn money while shopping either online or on the high street.
You can get money back on your shopping, energy bills or financial products Quidco claims you could earn up to £280 a year from cashback.
20. Get paid £25 per hour to cuddle with strangers
Research shows that human touch and company can be extremely therapeutic.
You could become a professional cuddler and provide comfort to someone just seeking human company.
This could be someone feeling isolated if they are going through a tough time at work or in their personal life.
DO YOU NEED TO PAY TAX ON EXTRA EARNINGS?
Extra income is very welcome but don't forget about the taxman. Any sources of extra money need to be delcleared to HM Revenue & Customers, there is more information on the HMRC website.
From April 2017, all of this will change as you'll be able to earn £1,000 tax–free, both for property-related income and trading (so potentially £2,000 in total)
Professional cuddlers can charge £25 per hour and you can get training through professional cuddling organisation BeCuddled. All arrangements are platonic and each person must be fully clothed.
21. Rent our your friendship for up around £8 an hour
Get paid to be a plus one at weddings or just to keep someone company.
Websites such as RentaFriend connect people looking for a platonic partner. You could help show a tourist around London or be someone’s dance partner.
The international website says hourly rates can start at $10 (£8).
22. Turn your dining room into a restaurant
If you are always the one bringing cakes into the office, why not make some cash from your culinary skills?
You could sell your baked goods or offer to host and cook your dishes for people on meal-sharing app VizEat.
You can sign up, create a profile and take bookings from people wanting to pay to eat in your home or share in a delicious foodie experience with you.
23. Clinical trials can pay around £1,000
Drugs companies are often looking for people to test new medicines on.
You could get paid to take part in clinical trials to help find treatments for Crohns Disease or pre-term pregnancy.
There is obviously the risk of nasty side effects but companies like Trials4Us can pay around £1,000 per trial.
24. Tech savvy? Design an app
Remember Flappy Bird? Vietnamese programmer Dong Nguyen reportedly earned $50,000 (£40,000) a day from in-house ads on a simple app he designed in 2013 where users had to help a bird avoid obstacles.
The app was taken down by Nguyen in 2014 citing its addictive nature but you could also make extra cash by designing an app and getting a cult following.
Websites such as Udemy provide useful tutorials on the technical side of becoming an app developer.
25. Design a viral website
If apps aren’t your thing, how a about a viral website?
People will go to the internet for the strangest of questions so if you can make a website to address a popular question, then you could incorporate Google AdSense, which incorporates ads based on the visitors own search history, onto the site and get paid each time someone clicks through on an advert.
For example, Gareth Arnold, of digital marketing firm Rackley Arnold Associates says he made £15,000 during the US elections last year by setting up viral websites, www.reasonstovotehillary.com, www.reasonstovotebernie.com, www.reasonstovotetrump.com.
Each contained a witty message saying “There aren’t any” and included a Google AdSense advert which generated income each time it was clicked.
The Trump version was shared more than 1million times on Facebook.
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