Money Making Ideas: Legit Ways To Earn Extra Money

I love finding new money making ideas. Whether that’s money making ideas for stay at home mums like myself, or ways that people can make extra money on the side of their day job, there are just so many opportunities out there to try.

This last year might have made it more financially challenging for a lot of us, meaning that little bit of extra income could make all the difference. While some of these ideas might not be possible right now if you’re living in a lockdown area there are still plenty that can be done online and from home.

Here’s an ever growing list of genuine money making ideas, some of which are easy and that can be done with no experience and some which may need more skills or knowledge.

Living more frugally is a great way to save more and help out your budget, but sometimes it’s not enough just to cut back and you need to find a way to bring in some extra income too.

Whatever your situation, there are so many ideas and options to try and make more money, there’s bound to be something for everyone!

Don’t forget, if you’re making extra money you’ll need to register for self assessment with HMRC and fill in a tax return each year.

Money Making Ideas For Earning Extra Cash

1. Freelance writing

If you love to write and can write informative and engaging content, you could earn money as a freelance writer. You’ll need a small portfolio of pre-written articles to showcase your work and as you work and gain more experience you’ll be able to charge more for your services.

2. Transcribing

If you’ve got good listening skills and some free time then working as a transcriptionist could be for you. You’ll need a good internet connection, computer and headphones and be able to listen and type up what you hear. Usually you’ll be paid per project or per hour of audio. You can sign up for transcribing work on sites such as Babbletype and Take Note . Before being accepted you will need to complete a test assignment to check your competence.

3. Rent your spare room

If you have a spare room in your house becoming an AirBnB Host is a great money making idea. You add photos and a description of your available space to the website, set dates as to when it’s available to rent and wait for the bookings to come in! Guests are rated on the site too, so you can choose whether or not you want to accept the booking.

4. Teaching English

Teaching English via video call is a great way to use your native language skills to help others learn. Some companies will require you to work to a lesson plan, and others just need native English speakers to hold conversations with students to help them learn and practise. One company you can work for without an ESOL certificate is Cambly, a completely flexible language tutoring service. They pay just over $10 per hour. Another is VIP Kid.

5. Try acting

Ever wanted to be on TV or in the movies? Why not try your hand at being an extra? Work is often available for crowd scenes in productions and you can be paid for taking part.

6. Mystery shopping

Mystery shopping is one way in which retailers can get feedback and improve their customer service. As a mystery shopper you’ll be paid to carry out visits and make purchases after which you’ll fill in a report detailing your experience. You can sign up to be a mystery shopper with:

7. Taking surveys

Taking surveys, while not the most profitable of money making ideas, is definitely one of the easiest and most achievable. Anyone can do it flexibly around existing commitments. All that’s involved is sharing your personal experiences and opinions. Most survey companies offer a choice of payments including PayPal, Mastercard and gift vouchers.

Top paying survey sites include Prolific and Populus Live.

8. Babysitting

Do you have free time in the evenings? Babysitting can be an easy way to make some extra money. Start by gaining experience babysitting for friends and family.

9. Tutoring

If you have good knowledge or skills in a particular area you could try your hand at tutoring. Coming up to exam time school students may need some extra help, or if you’re good at playing an instrument you could become a music tutor.

10. Sell books

If you have any old books lying around collecting dust, you could try selling them to raise a few pennies. Academic textbooks retain some value so if you’ve old uni texts you no longer need you could sell them on, or for other books you might be able to sell them using music magpie or similar.

11. Become an influencer

Influencer marketing has become huge in the past few years. If you have a strong social following online, or think you could build one, becoming an influencer could potentially be a very profitable move! Companies are willing to pay good money to advertise their products via online influencers.

12. Pet sitting

If you love animals you could try making some extra money by pet sitting. Draw up some leaflets and posters advertising your services and distribute them around in your area to drum up some business looking after pets when people are away.

13. Ask for a raise

This sounds simple but so many people are too afraid to do it! If you’re confident in your role and feel your work is deserving, why not ask your boss for a pay rise? The worst that can happen is you’re told no and best case scenario – more money for you!

14. Sell your skills

Whatever you’re good at, there’s probably someone out there who needs help with it! Offer your services for work on websites like Upwork or Fiverr and hire out your skills. This could be anything from Proof Reading, Graphic Design, Data Entry to posting on social media.

Once you’re signed up you can search for and apply for any gigs you fancy, and upload your own profile to showcase your offerings.

15. Proofreading

If you’ve got great attention to detail and a good knowledge of spelling and grammar, proofreading could be a good money maker. Check out this comprehensive course that teaches everything you need to be a successful proofreader.

16. Rent your parking space

Empty space in your driveway? Earn some extra cash by renting it out to someone who needs it. You can rent your drive with:

17. Become an Uber driver

If you have time and a car, working as an Uber Driver could be a good money maker. You have to get set up and registered as a driver, then you can just set your profile to available whenever you’re ready to work.

18. Sell your stuff

When you need to make money quickly, selling your stuff is one of the best ways to get your hands on some fast cash. Maybe you’ve been meaning to have a good declutter anyway? Try Facebook, eBay or selling apps like Schpock or Depop for quick results.

19. Reselling

Run out of your own stuff to sell? No problem, why not try your hand at reselling? Scour the charity shops and car boot sales to find some bargains you can sell on for a profit. After a while you’ll begin to get a good sense of what sells and what wont, so you can increase your earnings.

20. Scan your receipts

This won’t make much, but it’s so easy you might as well take the few seconds to take a pic of your receipts after shopping and upload them to receipt scanning apps such as Shoppix. You’ll earn points for each receipt you scan which you can then exchange for cash or gift cards.

21. Sell crafts

If you enjoy crafting and making things, you could considering starting your own business via Etsy. It’s easy to set up your own online store and add pictures of your products for people to purchase.

22. Become a blogger

Of all the money making ideas, this is my favourite! Blogging can be a great way to make some extra money, or even become a full time job. Bloggers make money through affiliate marketing, sponsored content and by running display ads. Whilst some niches are more profitable than others, you can start a blog about any topic at all that you’re interested in, and have the potential to monetise it. It’s inexpensive to get started, all you’ll need is a domain name and some web hosting and you’re away!

Read more:

How to make money as a blogger >>

23. Take part in clinical trials

This may not be for everyone, but some clinical trials pay a lot of money for research participants. Obviously you’d need to weigh up the risks versus benefits of taking part in any medical trials, but it’s certainly one way to both earn some money and help shape the future of medicine.

24. Website testing

Companies such as UserTesting and Intellizoom will pay you to test websites for any bugs or other user issues. To become a website tester you will need a computer with a microphone and a good internet connection.

25. Write an ebook

Good at writing and got something you want to share the world? It’s easier than ever to self publish your own book, especially eBooks, and sell on sites such as Amazon.

26. Become a Bookkeeper

If you’re good with numbers are are organised, book keeping is a great option for starting a home based business. As a bookkeeper you can work from home in your own time. You will need to undergo some training, but you can do so from home and you don’t need any prior experience to get started.

27. Kids party entertainer

This is one for the extroverts among us. If you love kids and have an outgoing personality you could set yourself up as a children’s party entertainer. Parents will pay for people to come and run a party for them.

You could run it as a DJ – organising music and party games, or go more specific, perhaps doing magic shows, or balloon animals, dress as a Disney princess – find a niche that works for you and that kids will love.

28. Virtual assistant

In this digital era, more and more people are starting and growing online businesses and need help. If you’re skilled in areas such as copywriting, social media, administration, graphic design, SEO, communications or similar, you could be making money online as a Virtual Assistant.

Read more: VA jobs for beginners >>

29. Put your phone to good use

Always picking up and mindlessly scrolling through your phone in your spare time? There are so many money making apps you could download to put that time to some good use!

30. Sell your story

Magazines and newspapers are often on the lookout for human interest pieces, and are willing to pay. If you have an interesting story or experience you could earn some money by sharing your story.

31. Consumer research

Another easy money making idea to to sign up for consumer research panels. Companies carry out market research when developing new product ideas and need your opinions to help shape their products. You can be paid to take part in interviews, product tests, focus groups and survey panels. Some good panels to sign up to:

Respondent.io – online market research. You’ll need a computer and occasionally a webcam
Pinecone Research – online market research surveys around 15 minutes each.
UserTribe – Consumer research interviews, online, via telephone and sometimes in person.

32. Mobile Xpression

MobileXpression is a research app that collects data about internet usage. You can install it on your smartphone or tablet (or both to earn more!). Once you’ve had the app installed for a week you’ll earn your first gift card, and the longer you keep it, the more gift cards you’ll earn. For every 90 days you’re a member, they’ll also plant a tree in your honour!

Join MobileXpression

33. Sell old shoes

As a way of making extra money, this one’s a little more ‘out there’ but has the potential to be pretty lucrative! You can sell your old and worn out shoes on eBay – even the smelly ones. In fact, the smellier the better!

Want to know more? Read this interview about making money from your smelly shoes >>

34. Life modelling

If you’re not shy and can hold a pose, you could try making some money modelling for art students. University campuses and art colleges might be on the lookout for new life models for their art classes and you can also search for work on job search websites.

35. Search engine evaluating

When you want to know something you Google it, right? But how does Google know which results to show you? If you’re thinking it’s by a clever set of algorithms, you’re right, but Google also employ real people to make sure relevant, quality results are shown. Becoming a search engine evaluator is a great way to earn a decent supplementary income from home.

36. Sell T-shirt designs

Get out your creative side and design some T-shirts; you don’t even have to use graphics, slogans and word play in nice fonts work really well for this one. You can upload your designs on Amazon Merch, or Teespring and then when someone purchases you’ll receive commission. This is great for passive income, as once you’ve created your designs, they can keep on selling.

37. Work an election

Election time is the perfect time to earn some extra money. Your local council will be on the lookout for people to work as Polling Clerks, Polling Officers, and Count Staff. Once you’ve worked one election you will be kept in the loop about upcoming roles too.

38. Data entry

Okay, so it might not be the most exciting of jobs, but it’s also not the most difficult. If you have good attention to detail and can get it done quickly, data entry is not a bad option for a money making side hustle. You can find work on sites like UpWork and FlexJobs.

39. Sell photos

Got a good eye for photography? Try selling your images to stock photo websites; they are often on the lookout for good photographers to add to their collections. If you really love photography you could take it one step further and set up your own photography business. You only need that one client to start and build from there!

40. Start a YouTube channel

You can make money making videos by joining the YouTube Partner Programme. If you enjoy making and posting videos and can get plenty of views, you can make money by partnering with YouTube. You will need to reach 1000 subscribers to qualify to join.

41. Use get paid to sites

These are a really easy way of making some extra pennies in your spare time. GPT sites will pay you to complete tasks, try new apps, answer questions, watch videos and all sorts of activities. Top sites include InstaGC and Swagbucks.

Read more: Making money with GPT sites >>

42. Delivery Driver

Do you have a car or even a bicycle? Then you could make some money delivering food working for services like Deliveroo or UberEats. This is a super flexible money making idea as you can set your own hours and work when you want.

43. Become A Dog Walker

If you enjoy walking and being outside, and also love animals, you could consider becoming a dog walker or pet sitter. Sometimes people are too busy to walk their dogs and will pay someone to do it for them. You can advertise your services by making flyers and displaying them around your local community, or by advertising in local Facebook groups and similar.

44. Help Develop AI

If you’ve got an eye for detail, you can sign up to earn money with Spare 5. The tasks you will complete are designed to help develop AI, so it involves a lot of object recognition and determining whether photos are accurately showing what they’re supposed to be.

You can log in and complete tasks whenever you have time (hence the name) and you’ll be paid weekly to PayPal.

45. Get Paid To Walk

Do a lot of walking? Why not earn a little as you go? All you need to do is install the Sweatcoin app on your phone, and it records you steps and gives you ‘sweatcoins’. Once you’ve earned enough, you can exchange your points for rewards. Okay, so unless you’re a marathon walker, you probably wont do enough steps to make actually cash, but you can exchange points for free gifts and other rewards.

Already use Sweatcoin? Check out these other 14 apps that pay to walk >>

46. Make Money from Your Online Searches

This is one for just earning a few pennies, but it only takes a couple of clicks, so why not? Qmee will pay you for searches online on Google, Amazon, eBay and more. Simply install their browser extension, then search online as normal. If a paid result comes up, just click the link and the money will be added to your Qmee piggybank. You can collect your money to your PayPal account instantly at any amount.

47. Make Money Reviewing Music

Slice The Pie pays you to review new music. You just need to listen to the music, then write a review saying what you liked and disliked. You can also choose to review fashion items or commercials. The more detailed and higher quality of your review, the more you’ll earn. Payment is via PayPal on Tuesdays and Fridays, once you’ve earned $10.

Slice the Pie is US based, but you can sign up globally to be a reviewer. You can join Slice the Pie here.

48. Get Free Shares

Sign up to trading app Orca using this link to get rewarded with a free stock worth between £1 – £200. You’ll need to fund your account with just £1 in order to receive your free share. You can earn further free shares by referring your friends and family.

Make your money make money – money making ideas for the cash you already have

49. Switch bank account

A lot of banks are offering switching bonuses, so for some very easy money you could consider moving your bank account. Just make sure to check the terms and conditions as you may be required to pay in a certain amount or have a specific number of direct debits linked to the account to receive the bonuses. Once you’ve met the terms, there’s no reason you can’t switch again if you come across another great incentive!

50. Shop via cashback sites

When you’re buying anything, always check for cashback first. When you shop through a cashback site such as Quidco or TopCashBack you earn money back on your purchases with hundreds of retailers, so it’s always worth using these when you shop.

51. Use a Cashback credit card

Some credit cards will offer a percentage of cashback when you spend using the card. If you know you can be organised to make sure you pay off the balance in full every month, it could be worth using a cashback credit card for your every day spending.

52. Find a better interest rate

Do you have your savings in accounts with the best interest rate you can get? It’s always worth regularly checking offers on savings accounts to make sure you’ve got your money earning the most interest it can get.

53. Consider investing

If you have the funds, consider investing your money to make more. There are a few options for investing, such as stocks and shares, P2P lending, bonds etc. Make sure you fully understand the risks and benefits and have a look at how your money could work for you if you invested it.

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