I’m always looking for new ways to make extra cash.
From work-at-home jobs to money making apps, there is always something you can do to bring in a little extra money.
But a lot of the popular money making websites are American, and it can be hard to find to find opportunities for us Brits.
That’s why I put together this post on how to earn extra money in the UK. I have over 75 ideas and counting here, including online and offline ways to make extra money in your spare time!
These aren’t full time jobs – they’re easy and flexible ways to make a bit extra, on top of your day job or family commitments.
If you’re wondering how to make extra money in the UK, please read through this post and bookmark it or save it for later. I’m positive you’ll find something that works for you!
By the way, if you’re not in the UK but somehow ended up here, take a look at my post on how to make money online anywhere in the world.
How to earn extra money: UK edition
Please note that this page contains affiliate links. That means that if you purchase something or sign up for a service through a link on this page, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This is how I make money to continue running this site. Thank you for supporting my site!
Matched betting
As far as I’m concerned, matched betting is the fastest way to make decent money online in the UK. I made £1000 in my first three months doing this.
Matched betting is a way to make money from the free bet offers on bookie websites. You use special calculators to ‘match’ your bets (for and against an outcome) so you don’t lose money, and the free bet is all profit.
It sounds complicated but there are training videos to talk you through it and it all makes sense after your first couple of bets!
Profit Accumulator is the matched betting training and support service I use, and it’s amazing. They provide all the tools and information to help you know what to bet.
To try matched betting, you should be over the age of 18, a resident of the UK or Ireland, and have no history of gambling problems.
OhMyDosh!
OhMyDosh! is an awesome money making site exclusively for people in the UK! You get paid to complete special offers and sign up for freebies and deals.
It pays very well, and fast too! Start with the offers in the ‘Lightening Payouts‘ section and you can have extra money in your account in just 3 days.
OhMyDosh! has quickly become one of my favourite ways to earn extra money online 🙂
20 Cogs
20 Cogs is a similar site to OhMyDosh!, where you get paid for signing up to special offers and free trials. The main difference is that you have to complete 20 offers before you can cash out.
This means it takes a bit longer to get your hands on your cash, but you should get a nice big chunk when you’re finished. The average payout is apparently just over £200!
You can read my full 20 Cogs review here.
Focus groups
Focus groups can be an easy and interesting way to earn extra cash.
You will usually have to travel to a location where you take part in an interview or group discussion about a brand or your consumer habits.
Sometimes, the interviewer will even come to your home, or it may be possible to take part online!
The fees vary a lot, but as a rough idea, you could earn £50-£100 for half a day’s work.
Some companies to sign up with in the UK are Code 3 Research and Focus4People.
Work as an extra
TV and film sets around the UK frequently need extras for non-speaking background roles.
You don’t usually need acting experience, although you will need to be professional and keep a straight face! Sometimes companies will be recruiting for people who fit a particular profile.
TV extra work pays around £200 for a day’s work. But be warned – the days can be very long and boring!
Some sites recruiting for extras are Casting Collective and Extra People.
Check out this interview with movie extra Pete for the insider lowdown!
Teach English online
If you’re wondering how to make extra money in the UK part time, without leaving home, teaching English online could be for you.
There are lots of companies recruiting online English teachers to work with students (usually in Asia) over Skype.
You can earn anywhere from £10-£20 an hour depending on your experience and qualifications. All you need is an internet connection and headset!
Check out this post for more information on EF and other online English teaching opportunities. You don’t necessarily need a teaching qualification!
(That said, you can get one online pretty cheaply, and it will greatly increase your employment prospects.)
Risk-free and low-risk casino offers
Casino sites always have loads of promotions to win new customers and keep their existing customers coming back.
These are things like free spins on the slots, or bonus cash to spend on a game of your choice.
If you know what you’re doing, you can tactically make use of these special offers to profit – with no or minimal risk to your own cash.
I gave it a go and made around £100 in 10 days. Read my full Bonus Accumulator review for the details.
Boot sales
Boot sales are a classic way to earn extra money in the UK!
If you have a lot of clutter to get rid of, boot fairs can be an ideal way to have a clear out while making cash. And you get it all over and done with by lunch time – with none of the hassle of selling online and posting your goods.
This post has some great tips for a successful boot sale.
Sell old phones
If you’ve recently upgraded your phone and you have the old one knocking about, you can sell it for easy cash.
Compare My Mobile lets you quickly find out which site will pay you the most.
Mystery shopping
Mystery shopping is a popular way to make extra money. You simply have to visit a shop, ask a few questions and complete a questionnaire afterwards.
I love mystery shopping because you often get good freebies! You should be reimbursed for anything you’re asked to buy, and you will usually get to keep it 🙂
Good UK mystery shopping companies to try include Market Force and HGEM (which specialises in mystery dining).
Craft business
If you have a creative side, consider making money from your crafts.
You could sell at local fairs, ask local gift shops to stock your items, or sell online on Etsy.
Online tutor
Several companies are currently recruiting for subject matter experts to help students one-on-one in subjects such as psychology, business, maths, biology, management and more!
These include My Tutor and Superprof (both in the UK, and recruiting current university students to tutor younger students) and Course Hero (a US company recruiting graduates to teach uni students).
Honeygain
Honeygain is an app that pays for your unused internet traffic. Just download it and let it run in the background – you won’t even notice it’s there, but over time you are earning credits that you can cash out once you read $20.
To speed up your earnings, you can download the app on up to three devices, and you also get paid to refer friends.
Users report earnings of between $5 and $30 a month.
Claim your $5 bonus when you sign up with my link!
Sell your clutter
Want to make money fast? Selling items from around your house is one of the easiest ways to start.
There are so many places to sell second hand items, including:
- Facebook marketplace
- Gumtree
- eBay
- Selling apps such as Shpock, Mercari, Letgo, Depop and Vinted (some of these are quite new so the number of users in your area might vary)
- Local community groups (online or real life)
- Local newspaper classifieds
- Noticeboard in local shops
Wondering what you can sell to make money? Good items to sell include furniture, good quality clothes, toys and electronics. But I’ve seen people sell all sorts, including empty jam jars, perfume bottles and iPhone boxes.
So you never know what people are willing to shell out for!
Run a reselling business
If you enjoyed selling off your clutter but you’ve run out of things to sell at home, how about starting a reselling business?
You can look for things to sell on for a profit in charity shops or boot sales.
Here’s an interesting interview with a woman who started a side business reselling used baby clothes after she had her first child. She made almost £8,000 in her first year!
Or, you could offer to help out friends who are decluttering by listing things on eBay for them for a cut of the profits. This lady makes an income doing just that!
Give feedback on TV
If you think you could feature on Gogglebox, you’ll LOVE The Viewers. It’s a market research company specifically about TV.
You can get paid to give your opinion on TV shows in focus groups, online surveys and reviews. It pays around £40 for an in-person focus group and around £10 an hour for online feedback.
Join Quidco
Quidco is a cashback site. You check it before you buy something online, click through from Quidco instead of going directly to the retailer’s site, and then you get free cash back into your Quidco account!
At the time of writing you also get a free £10 new customer bonus when you make your first purchase!
Switch bank accounts
You’ve probably seen all the bank ads offering great deals for switching. But it might seem like too much trouble to switch your main bank account.
Check out this post which explains how you can make money switching bank accounts even without losing your main account.
Rent out your gear
If you have any rarely-used items hanging around but you don’t want to get rid of them, you can rent them out for money.
Tools, lawn mowers, camera equipment and drones are all good things to rent for cash. Have a look at websites like Fat Llama for ideas.
Rent out your driveway
If you’re lucky enough to live near a town centre, station, football stadium, or other busy area – and you have a drive or private parking space – you can charge people to park.
This works out really well if someone needs to park during the daytime when you’re out anyway.
Rent out a spare room
If you have an empty room in your house, don’t let it go to waste!
There are lots of ways to make money from a spare room, including renting on Airbnb, taking a lodger or hosting a foreign exchange student.
And you don’t even need a whole spare room. According to the calculator above, you could net almost £500 per month on Airbnb just offering a place to sleep in a shared room in London (such as a sofa bed in a living room).
Airbnb experiences
You don’t even need to host guests in your house to make money on Airbnb!
With Airbnb experiences, you can earn money giving guided tours of your hometown, or leading activities such as a cooking demonstration, art workshop, or even pub crawl!
Here are three other ways you can make money with Airbnb without a property.
Sell advertising on your car
If you have your own car, you could make easy money by selling advertising space!
Car Quids is a company that pays you to stick adverts on your car. The ads peel off easily and don’t leave marks. You could earn up to £100 a month with little effort.
Rent your space for photo shoots
Film, TV and photography companies often rent out ordinary people’s houses as a location for a shoot.
They need all different kinds of properties, but you can earn a lot more if you have a very unusual space – for example, a home decorated in a particular period style.
This article has more information on offering your home as a film location, and here are some more ideas for using your home to make money!
Start a blog
Blogging is a long term project rather than a quick and easy way to make extra money, but it can be SO worth it. In my case, I was able to replace my full time office job salary with blog income after just two years (earning £2,000-£3,000 every month and growing).
Bloggers make money in various ways, such as advertising, affiliate marketing (this is when you earn money for recommending products and services you rate), sponsored posts, and creating their own ebooks or other products to sell.
It can be a lot of work upfront but eventually becomes a very enjoyable and flexible business that you can run from your laptop anywhere in the world!
Spot properties for sale
Property developers are always looking for ideal buildings to buy. If you walk pass an empty or derelict property in your area, you can report it on YouSpotProperty.com and potentially make a nice fee.
Job Spotter
Job Spotter is my favourite money making app. You take pictures of any job signs you see in shop windows and upload to the app. It’s so easy to use!
Payment is in Amazon vouchers.
Transcription
Transcription is an interesting work from home job idea. Transcriptionists get paid to turn audio or video recordings into the written word.
You need to be a fast typist, but you don’t need any specific qualification.
One company currently hiring freelance transcriptionists in the UK is Take Note.
Handy app
The Handy app is a great app to find odd jobs in the UK. It is mostly for cleaning and handyman type work.
Charity fundraiser
Otherwise known as the infamous ‘chuggers’. You’ll need a thick skin and an outgoing personality for this, but there are always plenty of part time jobs going as charity fundraisers. The work can be either door-to-door or standing on the street.
The basic pay is low, but most companies offer a hefty commission or a bonus scheme on top of the base rate (which explains why chuggers are known for being so pushy) – so if you’re a confident salesperson, this could be a good source of extra income.
Wesser is one well-known company that recruits fundraisers for various charities in the UK. You can also find opportunities on the major job sites, such as Indeed.
Exam invigilating
Invigilating exams is a way to earn extra money in the UK around exam time.
All schools need invigilators to sit in exam rooms and ensure correct conditions. An easy, if boring, temporary job.
You can find exam invigilator jobs on most major job sites like Reed or Indeed.
Marking exams
Another way to make money from exams is marking. You obviously have to be qualified in the area you’re marking, so this is an ideal way for teachers to boost their income.
There’s also demand for qualified professionals (such as accountants) to mark industry exams.
Election worker
Local councils across the UK hire thousands of temporary staff at local and national election times. There are jobs delivering polling cards, working at polling stations and even counting votes.
This can be a good way to make extra money if you just need an occasional boost. Contact the Electoral Services department of your local council.
Sign up for a Curve card
Curve is a new app and card that lets you combine all your different cards and bank accounts into one! It’s a really great idea and so convenient. Plus, the app gives you spending insights to help you budget.
You can earn £5 free simply by signing up for the free card and using it once. (You connect it to your bank and use it just like your usual debit card.) Plus, you can earn cashback on all your spending at three shops of your choice in the first three months (I chose Amazon, Tesco and Sainsbury’s).
This is not an ongoing way to earn extra money, but it is a quick and easy way to get a free £5. Plus I think the card itself is a great idea!
Task apps
I love task apps such as Field Agent, Roamler and Streetspotr.
These apps pay you to do small tasks around town, such as mystery shopping or checking product displays. You can often fit in small tasks on your lunch break or around a shopping trip.
They pay quite well, too – around £6 for a 15 minute job.
Survey sites
Surveys are one of the most popular ways to make money online, and for good reason! You can do them any place, any time. I like doing surveys while watching TV.
I have a whole list of the best survey sites in the UK, but here are a few to get you started:
Taskrabbit
Taskrabbit is an app that lets you do small odd jobs for money. The common jobs on the app are things like handyman services, removals, cleaning, assembling furniture and gardening.
Search engine evaluation
This is an interesting work at home job that involves online research to help search engines improve their results.
You have to take some training and pass a test to get started, but after that it should provide regular work.
Top companies to look at are LionBridge and Appen.
Babysitting or childminding
Babysitting is an easy way to get started earning extra cash, especially if you already have friends, family or neighbours with kids who you could ask.
Childminding could be a perfect way to earn extra money while you stay at home with your own children. Again, perhaps start by offering your services to a friend who needs childcare while they go out to work.
You may need to register with Ofsted, depending on the age of the children and your relationship to them. Check gov.uk for details.
Deliveroo
Deliveroo drivers are in demand almost all over the country. You just need your own bike or other transport to get started.
Pizza delivery
The peak time for pizza delivery is evenings and weekends, making this a great way to earn extra cash around your day job.
I enjoyed this post from Stupid Is The Norm who makes £279 from delivering pizzas three night a week and suggests you can retire early by investing the extra cash!
Delivery jobs are usually just advertised in shop windows, so keep an eye out (or go and ask) in the shops near you.
Deliver leaflets
This is another common delivery job in the UK. You can often deliver leaflets on foot, so it could be a good alternative to pizza delivery if you don’t have a vehicle, and it’s more exercise too!
Find these jobs on Gumtree or other recruitment sites.
RedWigWam
RedWigWam is an online temp agency in the UK. They have loads of short term or one-off jobs, such as mystery shopping and helping with special promotions in supermarkets.
Since they are mostly short term gigs, these are easy ways for you to make extra money around a full time job or the school run without too much commitment.
Run a T shirt business
If you’re looking for a way to make extra money online, how about designing T shirts to sell?
I’ve been selling T shirts on Merch by Amazon for about a year now, and I love it.
This money making scheme is called ‘print on demand’ which means I simply upload my design and write a description, and Amazon does all the rest: they print the shirt to order when somebody makes a purchase, ship it out and handle all the customer service.
Merch by Amazon has been live in the US for a while but they’ve just launched in the UK and Germany too. Once you’re accepted, you can sell in any of these marketplaces.
Other sites to sell T shirts (and other products) online include Printful, Redbubble and Teespring.
Read about my own experience (including income screenshots!) here.
Chat line operator
Maybe not for everyone – but adult chat lines are one way to make money from home. You could earn up to £2000 a month!
Find out more in this interview with a woman who makes a full time income from home as a chat line operator.
Sell a story or tip to a magazine
There are countless magazines in the UK that will pay you for stories or tips! The weirder the better, and you get paid more if you include a photo.
Fiona from Savvy in Somerset earned £200 for sharing a medical story. She has all the info in this post.
Modelling
Don’t be so quick to discount this idea – you don’t have to look like a ‘typical’ model to do this job!
If you’re more ‘interesting’ looking, take a look at Ugly.
Street performer
If you can sing, dance, or perform in any way, perhaps busking could be a way to earn some extra cash? Contact your local council about licences.
Get some leaflets made up and it might even lead to private performance work.
Give out samples in shops
Lots of companies recruit part time staff to run special promotions in shops. This post has more info. I’ve also seen these jobs on RedWigWam.
Get paid to search the internet
Qmee is a smart little browser app that shows you special ads when you’re doing your normal Google searches. You can earn a few pennies for each ad you click on.
It’s low paying, but it does add up over time – and it’s so easy!
You can make extra money on Qmee by taking paid surveys, too.
Sell old shoes on eBay
Don’t through out those old shoes. Believe it or not, there are people who pay good money for them – the stinkier the better! Emma Drew has a great article on this.
I’ve heard of people selling second hand socks and other, erm, personal items of clothing too.
Car washing
Washing the car is one chore that a lot of people are more than happy to outsource!
You don’t need much special equipment, so if you need extra cash fast, get out knocking on doors and see if you get any takers.
VoxPopMe
VoxPopMe is a fun app that pays you to do short video questionnaires. Usually you have to record a two or three minute clip sharing your opinion on a certain brand.
Sell second hand books and DVDs
Books, DVDs, games and CDs – we all have piles of these around which could be turned into cash!
I like the apps Ziffit and WeBuyBooks. You simply scan the barcodes, and the app suggests a price which you can accept or reject. They’ll even come and pick them up from you if you have enough!
More info here.
Design and sell printables
‘Printables’ are basically anything that somebody can download and print at home. One low-cost, low-risk way to start making money online is designing printable products to sell.
Some examples of popular printable products are: calendars/journals, meal planners, party/wedding invitations, art prints, greetings cards, gift tags, party decorations… the list is endless.
You can sell your products on Etsy, or set up your own shop on Shopify or a similar platform. I would recommend Etsy for beginners though, because they already have great traffic so you don’t have to work so hard at promotion.
All you have to do is design the products on your computer and upload the digital file to Etsy (or your platform of choice). The beauty of selling printables is that you can sell each file over and over again, with no extra effort from you!
Swagbucks
Swagbucks is a popular money making website and app. There are lots of different ways to earn, including surveys, watching videos, playing games, paid to search, completing offers and more.
It’s not very high paying, but you can make a little bit of extra money while killing time on your phone.
Inbox Pounds
Inbox Pounds is a money making site similar to Swagbucks. The three main ways to earn are taking surveys, playing games and searching the web.
The site sends you emails with new money making opportunities, hence the name.
Tip: I recommend making a new free email address when signing up to Inbox Pounds (and other money making sites such as Oh My Dosh) because you will get a LOT of emails!
Sign up to Inbox Pounds here.
Website testing
Website testing is one of my favourite ways to make extra money from home, and it’s not very well known!
You get paid to explore a company’s website and answer questions about how easy it is to use.
The website I use most is User Testing. You can find other sites to sign up with at this link.
Website testing pays around £8 for a 20 minute test. It’s a great rate of pay, although be warned you might only get a couple of tests a week.
Sell company names
Are you good at coming up with snappy sounding phrases? The website Squad Help pays you to think of company names.
You can either sell a name you’ve already thought of, or enter a contest to submit the perfect name for a particular brand. The contest prizes are usually $100-$500.
Dropshipping
This is an online business model where you set up an online store and arrange for products to be shipped directly from the supplier. Most dropshippers use Chinese suppliers from Ali Express or similar, because it’s so cheap.
This is an interesting way to start up an online shop without handling products and shipping yourself!
Proofreading
If you are the sort of person who always points out the mistakes in menus, blog posts and other reading materials, proofreading could be the side hustle you’re looking for!
Freelance
Freelancing on the side of your day job is a good way to make extra cash if you have any skills such as writing, editing, coding, web design, translation, proofreading and so on.
You can look for jobs or advertise your services on sites such as People Per Hour and Fiverr.
Read this post for tips on starting out as a freelancer.
Dog sitting
Animal lovers can earn extra money as dog sitters or walkers! Look on Rover and Tailster for opportunities near you.
Virtual Assistant
Virtual Assistants are online assistants who help out bloggers and businesses. This is an internet based job that you can do from anywhere in the world.
You can offer pretty much any service as a VA. Popular services include social media management, answering emails, research tasks, and so on. There are even VAs who specialize in Pinterest!
Mobilexpression
With Mobilexpression, you can earn Amazon cards just for downloading an app! The app monitors your internet usage and sends anonymous info back to the company.
InstaGC
InstaGC lets you earn gift cards by taking surveys, watching videos and other easy online tasks.
Like Swagbucks, this is not a high earner so don’t get your hopes up, but it’s a simple and accessible way to get started earning online.
Did you know you can earn money by pinning on Pinterest? If you love using Pinterest for searching and sharing ideas, you will love this!
You can earn money on Pinterest by pinning products you love with affiliate links. This means that you earn a small commission if somebody clicks on your pin and buys the item.
I have a full tutorial on making money on Pinterest here.
Respondent
Respondent.io is a site that pays you to take part in online focus groups and interviews. These are usually longer, detailed surveys by phone or video chat.
Because of this, they pay really well – I have seen several opportunities that pay over $100 for a one hour interview!
It’s a US site but they are often looking for UK participants. Respondent often look for participants with specialist knowledge, for example, people who work in a certain field, but there are lots of general opportunities as well if you keep an eye out.
Get paid to write music reviews
The website Slicethepie pays you to write reviews of new music tracks. It is quite low paying, but an easy and fun way to earn a bit extra if you love music.
Write book reviews
Maybe you’re more of a bookworm than a music buff? There are lots of websites that pay you to write book reviews.
Again, this isn’t a highly paid job, but the money can be an excellent bonus if you read a lot anyway. Plus, free books! And an excuse to curl up with your latest novel all day!
See this post for details.
Solve companies’ problems
On the websites Innocentive and Idea Connection, companies post problems they’re having and request members of the public to submit their ideas. If they pick your idea, you can earn cash rewards.
You will have better luck with this if you have specialist knowledge such as engineering or information technology. And of course, you could spend time submitting answers without getting paid.
But if you come up with the winning solution, the reward can be tens of thousands of dollars!
Take in ironing
Ironing is an easy home business to start with little upfront costs. And most people hate ironing, so you’ll never be short of customers!
Advertise locally in area Facebook groups or just by asking around.
Customer service representative
There are lots of home-based jobs in the UK doing customer service by phone, email or live chat. Read this interview with someone who did it for 7 years for more info.
Life modeling
If you are wondering how to make a bit of extra money in the UK in an interesting way – and you are confident in yourself! – the answer could be life modelling!
Life models pose nude for artists and students. And you don’t have to look like a ‘model’ for this job – artists need models of all shapes and ages.
You can find life model jobs on job sites, and websites such as Gumtree, as well as directly on art school websites.
But please put your personal safety first. Personally I would only attend jobs hosted at a legit college or art school, and stay away from positions listed by private individuals.
Sell videos from your phone
Take videos on your phone and upload to Newsflare. If they get picked up by a news source, you’ll get paid.
Good ideas for popular videos include anything cute (babies, kittens, dogs) and news coverage (such as protests or anything happening live in your area). Newsflare also post requests for videos on certain topics – check under the ‘Video Briefs’ section.
Read more here.
Sell revision notes
Here is a great side hustle idea for students, as suggested by student blogger Anneliese, who made extra cash in her first year at uni by getting ahead of the course materials, writing up study notes and selling them to her coursemates.
Learn more in this post.
Trade domain names
A domain name is a website address. For example, my site’s domain is boostmybudget.com.
Did you know domain names can be bought and sold, just like any other asset? Many people make great money by buying unused domain names at a cheap price and selling them on to businesses or bloggers who are willing to pay higher prices.
I buy all my domain names at Namecheap. They are very affordable and easy to use. You can sell your domains at specialist auction sites such as Sedo and Flippa.
Rent out your garden as an allotment
There are long waiting lists for allotments in many parts of the UK. If you have your own garden and you could spare a patch, you could try renting it out as an allotment to somebody who wants to grow their own veg.
I don’t know of any websites specifically for this but you could try advertising on local community websites and Facebook groups.
You might get some free veg into the bargain!
FAQs on making extra money in the UK
How do I make an extra £1000 a month?
If you want to make an extra £1000 or $1000 a month in the UK, you have lots of options. You can aim to earn 1000 from one main side hustle, or from a few smaller projects.
Here are some of the most effective ways to earn £1000 on the side:
- Blogging
- Matched betting
- Search engine evaluation
- Teaching English online
- Rent out a room
- Work as a VA or freelancer
I actually have a whole post on how to earn an extra £1000 a month, so check that out for more details!
How can I make $100 a day in the UK?
$100 a day on the side is a bigger challenge, but it’s not impossible!
Again, you can aim to make a extra $100 through a mix of smaller online tasks, such as surveys and apps.
But I think it’s easier to reach $100 a day by concentrating on providing a service, such as freelancing (writing, coding, editing, design – whatever skills you have) or working as a Virtual Assistant.
I would also recommend starting a blog! There’s a lot of hard work upfront, but after a year or so you can make £100 a day easily with your blog from advertising or affiliate marketing.
How can I make money fast today?
If you need extra money fast in one day, the quickest way is to sell something. You could either sell a service, such as car washing or cleaning, or sell things from your house that you don’t need.
For ideas of things to sell to make money fast, check out this related post:
And there are more ideas, including money making apps and websites that pay out quickly, in this post:
What are some second income ideas in the UK?
Well, any of the 75+ ideas in this article are a great way to earn extra income in the UK!
But if you want a second income – as in, a significant source of income outside of your day job – I recommend you focus on one of these online side hustles with high earning potential:
- Blogging (I earned over £2000 a month blogging on the side when I was still in full time employment)
- Teaching English online (you can get regular work with the same students each week, and it pays well, especially with a TEFL qualification)
- Freelancing (flexible to fit around another job, and you can charge a lot if you have an in-demand skill)
- Print on demand (designing T-shirts etc. The more designs you create, the more you can earn. Eventually you’ll be earning an income on autopilot)
- Dropshipping (another online business you can run from your computer)
Alternatively, you can earn a second income by looking for a second job with hours that fit around your main job.
So for example, if you work a typical 9-5 job, you could pick up evening or weekend work doing babysitting, taxi driving/Uber, food delivery, working in a restaurant, and so on.
These articles will give you lots more ideas on ways to make a second income:
Do I have to pay tax on my extra earnings?
Remember that if you earn extra money in the UK, it is your own responsibility to register with HMRC and declare your income.
However: there is currently a £1,000 tax-free allowance for trading income (which means self-employment and small casual jobs such as babysitting, gardening and selling on eBay – most of the things on this list), and another £1,000 allowance for property income (such as renting out a room on Airbnb).
You generally don’t have to register or pay tax if you earn less than £1,000 in each of these categories.
But you may choose to register voluntarily in certain situations. For example, if you need proof of self-employment to qualify for Maternity Allowance or Tax Free Childcare. Please see the government website for more info.
Another exception to this is matched betting. You don’t have to declare matched betting income, because it technically counts as gambling winnings, which are not taxed in the UK!
This is yet another reason why matched betting is one of my top recommendations for making money from home in the UK 🙂
Learn more about matched betting here.
How to register with HMRC and declare extra income
If you do earn over £1,000 in extra income in one tax year (which runs from April to April), you’ll have to register for Self Assessment with HMRC and declare your earnings in a tax return.
This is a lot easier than it sounds, so don’t let this put you off!
Just make sure to keep a record of all the extra money you earn. You can list this in a spreadsheet or notebook, whatever works for you.
Also keep track of any work-related expenses, such as a laptop or tools. You can claim tax relief on these.
And don’t forget to put aside some of your extra income to pay your taxes – otherwise you will be in for a nasty shock when you have to pay it all at the end of the year! I transfer a percentage into a separate savings account each month, so I can earn interest on it until it’s time to pay the tax bill.
HMRC has a useful calculator you can use to estimate your self employment tax bill here.
Don’t worry about your main job finding out about your side job. They will not be notified when you register for Self Assessment. Any extra taxes you pay (or tax relief you claim on your expenses) is between you and HMRC.
Please note that I’m not a tax adviser. This section is based on my own knowledge and research on gov.uk. If you have any questions about paying tax on your side hustle earnings, please speak to HMRC or a tax professional for advice!
Make extra money UK: which idea will you choose?
Have you tried any of the ideas on this list? How did they work for you?
Do you have any other ideas regarding how to make extra money in the UK?
Please do share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below. That way we can all help each other share the love and earn more cash!!!
At last count, this post contains 78 ideas on how to earn extra money in the UK! I try to keep this post updated, and I regularly add to this list with new ideas as I come across them.
Why not bookmark or pin this post for future reference, and check back for new ideas.
You can also sign up for my FREE money making email course, to get daily money making ideas sent straight to your inbox!
This post was first published on 30 October 2018 and was last updated on 27 May 2020.
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