Martin Lewis shares legitimate ways to boost household income as cost of living rises

Money-saving expert Martin Lewis has shared over 60 ways people can earn more money and boost household income.

As the cost of living continues to rise, many families across the country are trying to find ways to stretch money.

TV money man Martin Lewis has shared some of his top tips, from flogging unused items to giving your opinion on debate sites.

While some tips are simple and easy ways to save a few quid here and there, others could see Scots claim hundreds of pounds, whether it be through testing video games or just utilising Tesco Clubcard points for activities.

Here is the full list of ways to legitimately boost your household income.

1. Overhaul your finances and save £1,000s

“There’s nowt more powerful than sorting out your own finances.

By shifting to the best deal on every product, you can give yourself a pay rise of £1,000s, without cutting back.

Before anything else, this is the most important starting point.

“When Martin regularly did money makeovers for a TV show, the average saving was a little over £5,000 a year, and this was before he started to say “cut back”.

To get started, see our full step-by-step Money Makeover guide.”

2. Make your credit card pay you

“Cashback credit cards pay you back a proportion of what you spend each time you use them.

Set up a direct debit to pay the card off in full each month, so there’s no interest to pay, and you can earn £100s/year.

Just use the card for all your normal spending.

“The top cards pay five per cent cashback for the first three months. For updated best buys, see the Credit Card Rewards guide.”

3. Don’t accept pitiful savings rates

“Too many people stash cash in pitiful savings accounts where former best buy rates have dropped massively, or in a current account earning just 0.1 per cent. Stop! Five minutes’ work will let you increase the interest massively.

“Whether you’ve £1 or £1 million, take action now to ensure you’re getting every possible penny of interest on your savings.”

4. Free £150 for switching to a better bank account

“There’s fierce competition in the banking market – so much so, some bribe you to switch.

The best incentives come and go, but typically it’s possible to grab £150, and they’re often for the best buys too.”

5. Pay off debts with savings

“Most people who try to save while in debt are simply throwing their money away.

The amount you pay in interest to borrow is much more than you earn on your savings, so pay the debt off with savings and you’re quids in.

“How much? Someone with £5,000 on a credit card at 18 percent and £5,000 saved at 1 percent is likely to be around £850 a year better off by paying off the debt with the savings.”

6. Debt-free and financially savvy? Earn cash by stoozing

“Many credit card companies are willing to lend you money at 0 percent interest, so why not use this cash for everyday spending, replacing all other credit and debit card spending?

“This means you’ll now have debts on your 0 percent card (make sure you make the min repayment each month) and a similar amount in your current account, which you can save in a high-interest savings account.

Then pay off the full balance before the 0 per cent ends, having earned interest on the money saved.

“This is known as ‘stoozing’.

It’s legal and can be profitable, yet it’s only for the really financially savvy.”

Flog what you’ve got

1. Flog on eBay for best prices

“If you’ve something second hand to sell, eBay usually pays best – yet to really get the eBay cash rolling in, you need to know the etiquette and shortcuts.”

2. Sell for free on Facebook

“Local Facebook groups and Facebook Marketplace are where, instead of eBaying second-hand goods, people harness the social media network’s power to sell to others in the local community. The best bit is there are NO fees, so you keep the profit.”

3. Get quick cash for old CDs, games & more

“Several sites let you trade in old CDs, DVDs and computer games – or even laptops, phones and games consoles – for cash.

These sites are easy to use and give instant quotes, so if you’ve loads to get rid of, you can speedily make extra cash.

“You’ll usually get more selling on Ebay, but the advantage of these sites is speed and ease.

Type in the barcode, ISBN (books only) or product name on the site to get an instant valuation.

Even better, most sites now also have apps that allow you to scan barcodes using your phone’s camera, speeding the process up.

“What each site will offer for a given item varies, so always compare prices on a few. Some also have a minimum number of items you need to trade in, or a minimum overall value, so if you’re selling lower value items such as CDs you may need a lot of them.”

4. Flog tech ‘leftovers’, eg empty iPhone boxes £8, remote controls £22

“With the pace technology moves at these days, most of us have unused boxes, cables, remote controls and so on stuffed in drawers or packed away in lofts.

Yet you can earn money as well as declutter your home by selling these ‘tech leftovers’ online, via sites such as eBay, Facebook or Gumtree.

“Who’d want them? Some people need replacement accessories for older gadgets.

Others buy boxes and manuals for devices they want to sell so they can raise the asking price.

“Bear in mind that what you can earn for these kind of items depends on their condition, demand and how scarce they are.

You’ll also need to factor in any the fees on the sites where you sell them.”

5. Get max cash for old books

“Listing books one-by-one on eBay* may get the most cash, but it’ll take some time.

One of the best options for selling old books is Amazon Marketplace*, as you need only search for the book and write a short description. Your listing stays up till it sells.

“Amazon provides full reviews of most from its database – if you’re listing a few in one go, this saves time. Check your sale price covers postage if it’s a heavy book you’re listing.

“You can list up to 35 books a month for free, but Amazon will charge 75p per book plus 15 per cent of the total price paid (including postage).

Alternatively, to list more than 35 books a month, you pay a flat subscription of £25/mth and then 50p per book plus 15 per cent of the total price paid.

See more on Amazon’s selling fees.

“Use trade-in sites for less hassle. If you need speed and ease, trade-in website WeBuyBooks.co.uk and Ziffit let you enter details, they offer a price, and you post books free. Prices can be lower than selling them yourself though.”

How much? Potentially £100s if you’re selling pricey textbooks, less if it’s old paperbacks.

6. Sell old Lego by the kilo

“If you’ve mountains of unmatched Lego bricks sitting somewhere – perhaps your children have grown out of them or they were a hobby you’re no longer into – you can now turn them into cash and sell them online to Music Magpie by the kilo (or half kilo).

“It also buys old CDs, DVDs and more. But if you have unsealed or complete Lego sets or figures, they’ll probably fetch more on eBay.

“How much can I make? Music Magpie pays £3/kg. You’ll need to sell a minimum of £5’s worth (this can include books, CDs, DVDs etc as well as Lego).

“Music Magpie pays you by bank transfer or PayPal (or one of its named charities) as soon as it’s received.”

What are the requirements for selling Lego? Here are the need-to-knows:

It has to be genuine Lego.

You can’t include parts from something similar like Meccano or Nanoblock.

It has to be in good condition. Whole, clean, unworn parts only – any not meeting this criteria may be rejected and recycled, meaning you won’t get paid for it.

Round the weight to the nearest 0.5kg. The minimum Music Magpie accepts is 0.5kg.Seal it in a plastic bag.

You also need to put it in a box so it doesn’t get damaged in the post – pack it well as you won’t be paid for damaged pieces.

How do I post it? You’ll need to create an account, give your details and say what you want to sell. You’ll then be given options to post your Lego off, all of which are free.

7. Flog your rubbish for cash

“It may surprise you, but there are people out there willing to PAY for what you normally chuck away.

“From loo roll tubes to empty perfume bottles, your recycling or rubbish bin is full of items you can sell to those doing arts and crafts.”

Find out more in Flog Your Rubbish For Cash.

8. Flog your old wedding dress – it can fetch £500+

“If you’ve an old bridal gown boxed up in the loft, dig it out and turn it into cash. You could get £500+ for a sought-after dress by a well-known designer.

“A host of wedding dress selling sites promise help. Here, you upload a description and some photos. The buyer usually comes round in person to try it on.

“As you set the price, first find your frock’s true worth. Check eBay to see how much similar dresses have sold for – search for dresses like yours, then tick ‘completed listings’ under ‘Show only’ in the grey bar on the left.

“Don’t just post items to strangers though – it’s far better to get paid cash in hand. The exception’s eBay, which tends to have better protection.

“How much? This can be big money, as forumite fran-o found: “I put my dress on Preloved and had interest from someone who had tried it on in a bridal shop.

“She came to try on and bought it for £550. Very happy!” If you’ve sold one, let us know how you got on in the Sell Your Wedding Dress forum thread.

“The top paid-for specific wedding-dress sites. No joy on the freebies? While it has a mammoth audience, eBay charges steep fees (usually about 13 per cent of the sale price, including postage).

“There are also specialist bridal gown selling sites, which are especially good if you’re selling a frock by a named designer.

Check out Sell My Wedding Dress (£10 for six months’ advertising) and Still White (£17, but your ad stays up till it sells). While we’ve little feedback from MoneySavers who’ve sold via these, we hear good things from buyers.

“As a rough rule of thumb, eBay wins over the specialist paid-for sites if your dress sells for less than £100.”

9. Spot and flog from car boot/garage sales

“If you’ve an eye for car booty, buy items cheaply and sell them at a profit on eBay or other auction sites.

Be sure to arrive early to beat other bargain hunters. You can use Car Boot Junction or Carbootsales.org to find your nearest car boot sale.”

“The big money lies in spotting collectables to sell on, so research online first or (subtly) use your mobile phone’s web browser.

“There’s a quick way to glean a product’s market value on eBay*.

Once you’ve searched for a particular product, tick ‘completed listings’ under ‘Show only’ in the bar on the left. It’ll come up with a list of prices similar auctions have already fetched. Then sort by “Price: lowest first”.

How much? The earning potential increases with your knowledge of rare items and collectable brands, and a little luck doesn’t go amiss either.

If you’re in the right place at the right time, this could net you £100s extra a year.

10. Flog old gold

“TV ads yell “sell gold for cash!”, yet many receive a fraction of the promised sums.

So never just send off your gold to any old TV gold site – some hucksters offer far less than your jewellery’s worth.

“The first thing to remember is, as with other commodities, gold prices fluctuate.

If you cash in now, you may lose out and gain more later, but no-one knows for sure.

“Gold-buying companies’ business models are simple: they buy gold, melt it down and flog it on for more.

This means you can get cold hard cash for broken and unloved bling.

Yet it’s a Wild West out there, so, make sure you get quotes from several reputable places including jewellers and a few reputable gold websites.

“Our research showed that do it right and you could get £55 for an 18ct wedding ring and even £54 for an old gold tooth crown.

It’s worth doing your own research too, but two sites that have good feedback on our forum include Hatton Garden Metals* and Lois Jewellery.

“Beware, there’s no protection if things go wrong – if a site goes bust, you may not get your gold back.”

11. Sell your story for £100s – or get paid £50 for a ‘star letter’ in a magazine

“Journalists are always looking for dramatic stories and even amusing photos can earn good cash prizes in some magazines.

“If you fit the bill, it could be big money.

“You don’t need to have slept with an alien. Often publications just want to talk to people with experience of topical issues, eg, severe morning sickness when the Duchess of Cambridge had it.”

12. Sell old clothes by the kilo

“Wardrobes fit to burst with unwanted clothing?

Forumites have reported success using ‘cash for clothes’ companies, which will often buy a wide range of clobber, including coats and sometimes shoes and bedding too.

They usually only accept garments in reasonably good nick (ie, not bobbled or stained) – forumites tell us they typically pay about 40p per kilo.

“Of course, if you’re not strapped for cash, you could donate your togs to charity instead.

And for gear in really good condition, you’ll likely to get more selling on Facebook or eBay, so this is best for clothing which isn’t top quality and won’t fetch much online.

“How much you can earn will depend on how many clothes you have to bag up.”

13. Profit from lost luggage auctions

“Ever watched Storage Hunters, the US show where people bid for the mystery contents of storage units? Now you can do it yourself, with lost luggage auctions.

“When airlines are unable to reunite lost bags with their rightful owners, they often sell them off via specialist auction houses, usually costing £10-£75. For a full guide, including which auction houses do this, see Lost Luggage Auctions.

“It’s also worth checking out Police Auctions, where forces across the UK sell lost property or goods seized from criminals when they can’t find the rightful owner. It’s cracking for bicycles, among other things.”

14. Sell your mobile for cash

“If you’ve recently upgraded and have an old mobile lying around, you could make £100s by selling it to a mobile-buying site. The more recent the handset, the more you’ll get for it.

“Make sure you compare mobile-buying sites to get the best price – top sites include Sell My Mobile and Compare and Recycle.”

Rent it out for cash

1. Earn £7,500 tax-free by taking a lodger

“If you’ve space and don’t mind a stranger intruding on your Line of Duty-watching time, getting a lodger is a fast way to earn £100s.

The doozy is that you can earn £7,500/year tax-free letting a spare room via the Government’s Rent a Room scheme.

“The scheme applies when you rent out a furnished room in your home to a lodger or take short-term guests through Airbnb.

It also applies if you run a B&B/guest house. It works whether you live in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

2. Get cash for spare storage space

“If you’ve unused space in a loft, garage or spare room, Storemates puts you in touch with folk who need space.

“It’s free to register and list, but it charges 16.5 per cent (plus 20p per monthly payment), if you find a match.”

How much can you get?

Storemates recommends charging 50 per cent of commercial price.

It automatically suggests a price, but you can charge what you like. For example, a 20 sq ft loft space in south London could net £600/year.

3. Rent out your parking area

“Is your driveway paved with gold?

If you live near a city centre, airport, train station or footie ground, it might be. You can earn cold hard cash each month by renting out your drive. Rent Your Parking Space guide for more.”

4. Rent out your frocks

“With going out back on many people’s agendas, it’s the perfect time to profit from your wardrobe by renting items out on designer dress rental sites.

“Depending on what brands you have, you could net £100s a month for togs that are just languishing on the rails.

“The sites and apps are easy to use and you usually have control over which rental requests you accept. Find out how and see a full list of the top sites in make money renting out designer clothes.”

5. Rent out your house as a film set

“Film and TV production teams are always on the look out for homes and areas they can shoot in. Your home needn’t be Downton Abbey to qualify – all shapes and sizes can be desired, and rates of pay can be pretty good.

“A number of online agencies will register your property for free, taking commission once your property is chosen for a shoot (this varies depending on the property).

“Sites worth a look include Lavish Locations and ShootFactory.

See the film set forum thread for more suggestions and feedback. Never use any that charge a large upfront fee, and check if there are any other fees involved before agreeing to anything.

How much? It varies widely, but if your property’s chosen, as a rough guide you can expect from £500 to £2,000 a day.

And you get to brag about it. Don’t bank on being selected though; there are many more properties than film crews.

Reclaim, reclaim, reclaim

1. Tax rebate for uniform wearers

“If you wear a uniform at work, and have to wash, repair or replace it yourself, you may be able to reclaim £100s of tax for up to five years of expenses.

“This applies whether it’s just a branded T-shirt or you’re a fully uniformed pilot, police officer or nurse. Read the full Uniforms Tax Rebate guide.”

2. Reclaim packaged bank account fees

“If you’ve ever had a packaged bank account (where you pay £10-£20 a month for add-ons such as travel insurance) that you didn’t ask for, or couldn’t use the benefits, try our free Reclaim Packaged Bank Fees tool.

“There’s growing evidence accounts were systemically mis-sold – with many flogged worthless added insurance. You may be able to reclaim £100s or £1,000s.”

3. Switched energy in the last six years? Get £100s back in minutes

“If you’ve switched energy firm in the last six years and were in credit, some providers operated a ‘don’t ask, don’t get’ policy. That’s mostly changed now, but if you didn’t get your money, even if it was years ago, you can still ask.

“It only takes a minute or two – see the Reclaim Old Energy Credit Back. Many get £100s.”

4. Find £100s of lost Tesco vouchers

“Check your Clubcard account online to see if you’ve any unused vouchers or able to reclaim lost ones going back up to two years – some people find £100s. “

Full help to do that in the Reclaim Tesco Vouchers guide.

“The guide also shows how you can triple their value.”

5. Check your tax code – you could be due big money

“Every year, millions of people are hit by tax code errors. Some will have paid too much and are due cash back, others too little and may have a horrid shock coming.

“It all depends on how wrong your banding was, but it can range from tens of pounds to thousands.

One forum user managed to claim over £5,000. Use our Tax Code Checker guide and tool to work out if your code is correct.”

6. Reclaim for train and tube delays

“Leaves on the line, the wrong kind of snow and service faults… delays are all too common on our railways.

But it’s possible to claim for a delay if you know your rights. Full details in our Train Delays and Tube Delays guides.

“Plus if you’ve an Oyster card or use TfL, you may be due a share of more than £300 million.

There’s big money sloshing about – if you failed to touch your Oyster out you can often claim back the excess (some have got £70 on this).

“Plus if you now use your contactless card instead, or if you’ve an old Oyster, you can claim back old credit. See our Oyster card reclaiming guide for a how-to.”

7. Find lost assets

“Billions languish unused in old bank accounts, pensions, life assurance, Premium Bonds and investments, whether forgotten in a house move, lost through a work change, or simply overlooked in the hurly-burly of modern life.

“Yet it’s usually easy and, in many cases, free to reclaim cash that belongs to you or your family. See the Reclaim Lost Assets guide.”

8. Reclaim bank charges

“If you’ve been hit with bank charges in the past few years and are in financial hardship, you can ask for them back.

“It all depends on your circumstances, but if you incurred charges of £35, four times a year for the last six years, then on average that all adds up to a huge £840 payback.”

9. Council tax rebanding

“The council tax system in England and Scotland is fundamentally flawed. Many people are in the wrong band.

“It takes 10 minutes to check if you’re one of them using our step-by-step Council Tax Rebanding guide.”

10. Reclaim for flight delays

“If you’re delayed by more than three hours or your flight’s cancelled, you are often entitled to between £100 and £520 in compensation.

“See Flight Delays for a full step-by-step compensation guide, including template letters on how to get your money back for free and how to stop the airlines squirming out of paying.”

11. Get the benefits you’re entitled to

“There’s a plethora of benefits available – the key is working out whether you’re entitled to them. The rather nifty tool from benefits specialists Entitled to in our Benefits Check-up guide does the work for you.”

12. Car or bike damaged by a pothole? Claim for it!

“Whichever authority controls a road has a legal duty to maintain it to a fit standard. If it doesn’t, and your car’s damaged, it should pay for repairs.

“Often you will only get a payout if you can prove negligence, but it’s worth giving it a go.”

Get paid for your opinion

1. Sign up to online survey sites.

“Willing to give views on One Direction, washing-up liquid or politics? Our Top 25 Online Survey Sites guide shows how to make cash by filling in surveys. Committed survey-doers can get £200ish a year.”

2. Earn £50-£200 by road testing video games

“Before big new games hit the shelves, companies need to test them out to see if they’ll be a hit. And a market research agency typically pays between £50 and £200 for you to do it.”

3. Get paid to watch telly

“Telly addicts can cash in by getting paid for their opinion. The Viewers sources research panels for broadcasters and programme makers.

“Projects can include giving feedback on TV programmes before they hit screens, coming up with catchy titles or deciding which personalities should get more airtime.

You can attend face-to-face research groups (these are usually in big cities around the UK), fill in surveys online or do both.

“Anyone over 16 who lives in the UK can sign up – you’ll have to fill in a questionnaire on your viewing habits, which takes 5-10 minutes. This allows it to provide info to TV companies that helps them either select the right demographic for each piece of research or make sure they are gathering a wide range of opinions

“Applications are reviewed before being added to the panel, which can take up to two weeks at busy times, but once approved you’ll have the same chance of being selected for a project as existing members.

How much? You’ll get at least £40 for face-to-face group discussions and it’s usually paid in cash straight after the event.

Occasionally there are online versions of a focus group, which pay the same amount via bank transfer or PayPal. You should receive payment within a few days of the group taking taking place.

“Online surveys typically pay £1-10 depending on how long they are. Payments are made monthly via bank transfer, PayPal or Amazon email gift voucher. Unlike with many online survey sites, there’s no minimum you have to earn before you get paid.”

4. Become a mystery shopper

“High-street retailers are desperate to check their in-store customer service is up to scratch, and contract mystery shopping agencies to do so.

“They employ you to visit a specific shop or pub, to rate service quality or the quality of their goods. If you fancy a bit of ‘cloak and dagger’ identity, this can be great fun too.”

How much? Payment for this type of work varies hugely between agencies. Some pay in gift vouchers, others simply give you free items. Some will pay you cash too, sometimes as much as £30 a day.

Make money from home

1. Make £100s as a serial bank-account switcher

“Some banks bribe you with free cash to switch.

Repeatedly switch to bag sign-up bonuses and you could earn £100s.

“One MoneySaver made £845 in three months, while another MoneySaving couple racked up £1,565 between them – just by switching bank accounts.”

2. Earn cash online

“If you’ve a computer or smartphone, there’s a host of small ways to boost your coffers. Our Make Money Online Tips guide lists (legit) ways to make money online.

“You can get paid just to watch videos, write, search on Google, make your own YouTube clips and much more.”

3. Get paid to check your credit file(s)

It’s crucial to ensure your credit files are correct – and you should do so regularly. But do it right and we’ve got a trick that gets you PAID to check your credit file.

4. Earn a £30 Amazon voucher doing quick online activities

Mega-popular with forumites, Swagbucks is a site that rewards you for online activity such as answering polls, completing surveys, or watching videos. It gives you points (called ‘SB’), which you can then cash in for gift cards, PayPal credit or other rewards.

5. Get paid to check shops’ prices

“If you’ve an iPhone, take on a mission (should you choose to accept it) from free app Field Agent; it pays up to £10/job to check prices/snap photos.”

6. Enter contests as a cash boosting hobby

“From cars to £20,000 cash, five-star USA holidays to £10,000 Tesco gift cards or even two years’ rent paid, MoneySavers have won it all. It’s all about ‘comping’, a potentially profitable hobby for the lucky.

“Comping’s about systematically sourcing and entering hundreds of the contests, using web gadgets to fill out forms at speed, answer questions and help with tie-breakers.”

7. Design (and sell) T-shirts, mugs, phone cases & even socks

US-based website Spring lets you design T-shirts, socks, mugs, iPhone cases and more for people to buy online. It’s open to designers all over the world and only takes a cut when your designs sell.

8. Do some freelance work

“If you’ve skills in a specific area, you may be able to do a little freelancing on the side.

“International project recruitment site PeoplePerHour allows companies to list projects they want completed. Freelancers ‘bid’ on projects, saying why they’ll be the most suitable candidate and entering their price for the work.

“The site’s free to join and bid on work, but a fee is taken out of your pay for each job.”

9. Take in foreign exchange students

“In normal times, renting out a room to exchange students provides a stream of ready money, and a handy tax break means you can keep a decent chunk of it out of the taxman’s hands.

“Get in touch with local secondary and language schools to enquire about how often they take students, and the vetting process. This can be a tidy little earner, though most programmes are on hold right now.”

10. Solve companies’ problems

“Several companies put problems online and offer cash to people who can come up with effective solutions.

“While not a guaranteed way to grab cash, these can be an interesting, fun, and lucrative way to spend your spare time if you’re a business or science boff.

“At InnoCentive companies post dozens of challenges offering big money for the best solutions, though they’re often quite technical.

A typical example’s £5,000 for low-cost labelling solutions for reusable glass containers.

“Also worth a look is Idea Connection. Register and it sends you email invites to help solve firms’ problems for cash.”

11. Iron out your finances

“Set up a professional ironing service, advertising in local shops and newspapers. A good tip is to advertise in the poshest part of town; that way you can charge more.”

12. Start a ‘cottage industry’

“If you’re a dab hand at arts and crafts, try selling your jewellery and artwork, whether on eBay* or at craft fairs.”

Work, work, work

1. Ask for a pay rise at your current job

“People are often scared, yet why not simply ask? After all, the worst that can happen is they say ‘no’.

“Simply ask for an appointment, prepare your points – which should be more about your job role than ‘I need the money’ – and see what happens. It’s just as difficult for an employer to say no when you ask, as it is for you to ask in the first place.”

2. Make money playing Father Christmas – or one of his helpers

“Now we all know Santa’s toy workshop can get pretty hectic as Christmas draws near, so sometimes he needs a little help at the grottos you see at shopping centres and festivals around the UK.

“You can make extra money by filling in for Father Christmas or an elf in a grotto – and as a bonus, you get to put smiles on kids’ faces too. Companies usually start to recruit from September onwards.”

3. Let elections boost your coffers

“Councils need help counting votes and staffing polling booths for general, local and mayoral elections – it’s a great opportunity to help make democracy work while earning some extra cash.”

4. Bag a Christmas job

“There are more likely to be temporary vacancies around the Christmas period in certain sectors. Check out Gumtree and Gov.uk’s Jobmatch.

“Check which retailers are looking for extra staff to cope with the extra Christmas shoppers. Print out multiple copies of your CV, and then do a mail-drop on your local high street.

“Ask catering agencies, restaurants, pubs, clubs and bars. Festive parties may mean more jobs. Also, Royal Mail often seeks Christmas casuals.”

5. Baby-sit

“Watching somebody else’s TV and eating their food while the kids lie fast asleep upstairs doesn’t sound so hard – and it often isn’t. But you must be prepared to deal with the odd stroppy or ill child.

“You’ll need a proven track record with little’uns, so work for friends, family and neighbours first.”

6. Be an interviewer

“Ipsos Mori and NatCen Social Research are usually on the look out for freelance interviewers. The job involves interviewing selected people about all kinds of topics in their own homes, then sending the answers to your set questions back to base.

“Go to Ipsos’s website and NatCen’s website for full details.”

7. Work at the supermarket

“Work weekend shifts at a supermarket – some pay up to double on Sundays and bank holidays. Generally, the posher the supermarket, the more it pays.”

8. Party planning & selling from home

“It’s possible to make cash by selling products to friends, family, neighbours and colleagues – by approaching them directly or (where coronavirus restrictions allow) hosting parties.

“Since you’ll effectively be self-employed, you can make your own hours and work as often or as little as you want.

“Before starting though, be sure to check whether there’s already a popular representative of the company in your area. If so, it’s probably best to sell something else.

“Typical examples include Avon, The Body Shop At Home* and Usborne Books At Home. Forumites recommend choosing a company where you’ll be selling products you like – you’ll find it more enjoyable, which will help you succeed.”

9. Monitor exams

“During exam periods in secondary schools, colleges and universities, there’s often a shortage of exam invigilators since the teachers and lecturers still have other work to attend to.

“Jobs will be thinner on the ground this year, but it’s still worth asking local institutions and temp agencies, as you can earn fair cash for a couple of hours of (blissfully silent) work. You’ll need a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check (formerly known as a Criminal Records Bureau check).”

10. Use your head – tutor

“To tutor up to GCSE level you don’t necessarily need a degree or PGCE teaching qualification (although you can command much higher rates if you have the latter), but some previous teaching experience is a must.

“You’ll need a DBS check if you’re to work with kids, so start out by asking some local teaching agencies about getting one, and about getting started.”

11. Be a life model

“If you have the confidence to go nude (or semi-nude in some cases), life modelling is a fun way of earning extra cash. For a few hours work, you can usually get a very good rate of pay because it’s very hard to recruit for this role.

“All you have to do is make sure you’re able to hold a pose. All shapes and sizes are desired, so don’t be put off if you’re not ‘model’ size.”

12. Be a TV extra

“It can be a little more boring than Ricky Gervais makes it out to be, but the fun of seeing yourself in the background of shows can more than make up for it.

“There are several legit online extras agencies which don’t charge you for signing up, although they’ll generally take an ‘administration fee’ out of your pay.

“If you’re serious, you’ll need to sign up to a few agencies to be in with a chance. You may have to pay your own travel expenses.

“As there are a lot of agencies to choose from, it’s well worth checking out forum feedback before you join to help you find the ones that are right for you.”

13. Take part in psychological experiments

“Taking part in psychological experiments can be an easy – and often interesting – way to pocket a little extra.

“These could be on anything from how sleep affects memory to how people identify information in “noisy videos”. Many university psychology departments recruit participants of all ages to help with their research.”

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