Here are five things I’ve done to make extra money in the past.
How do you make extra money? What things have you done over the years? Here are the different types of income stream you should have.
Inspired by Michelle’s post, I thought I would share five things I’ve done to make extra money over the past few years. I’ve tried a few side hustles in my time and found some really worked and others didn’t. What would be on your list?
1. Online Surveys
Probably one thing that most personal finance bloggers advise against. Online surveys can see you spending a lot of time for little reward. However these were great for when I was bored and on maternity leave. Now that my time is a little more limited, I have cut down online surveys to certain websites that I know take a short amount of time for a decent reward – I have a £50 cheque coming from one next month which will be helpful in paying off some more of the credit card.
2. Bar Work
I had never really considered bar work until I found out a friend of mine was buying our local pub. I was looking for extra money, he was looking for staff and it fitted in well around my other job. I was on gap year when I started but I never went to uni, I much preferred making my money through my two jobs and doing some freelance writing on the side. I finally stopped working there in October 2010 after almost three years but I did do the odd shift occasionally when the landlord needed me to up until 2014- it was a win/win for both.
3. Babysitting
This is one that I haven’t done for quite some time but it did bring in a lot of cash when I was doing it. I only ever really babysat for my neighbours children but I was paid handsomely for the privilege -I could watch what I wanted on the TV, eat what I wanted from the kitchen and if any problems arose, I could call them (or grab my parents from next door if needed). I never stepped out of line though – I barely ate from the kitchen or anything like that – as I wanted to keep the job. I used to get £40+ per babysitting shift which isn’t far off what my (qualified childcare professional) friends were earning.
4. Leaflet delivering
I only did this a couple of times as it was quite tiring and was a one-off idea by my former boss, however it was good money (when I got it!). The pub I worked in had just been taken over by my friend and he wanted to promote that it was under new ownership so had some leaflets printed up which I then delivered with some help from my friends (who I paid from my cut). Unfortunately, my friend left it up to someone else to pay me and I ended up having to go to my friend anyway to get the money I was owed.
5. Proofreading
This is now included as part of my freelance services but once upon a time I used to help friends and family proofread their work. I never charged them for it but they would often give me a little something which definitely helped when cash-strapped.
I actually did many of these as a teen! Here are 10 places you can find online jobs for teens.
What things have you ever done to make extra money?
