How many times in the past few months have you needed some extra money? Around 44% of us are already putting away money every month, but cutting costs and saving money can only do so much. Why not try to boost your income on top of your regular salary? If you’re looking to make some extra cash, here’s a few ideas.
Rent out your spare room. Got an empty room that’s just full of boxes? Don’t mind sharing your space with someone? You might want to consider renting the room out. Of course, there needs to be an incentive for you – in the UK, you’re entitled to earn up to £4,250 per year in rent, tax free. This is automatic if you earn less than the threshold, but if you earn over that amount, you’ll need to complete a tax return. There’s also a few other legalities you’ll need to cover off beforehand – for example, you must register as a private landlord and you’ll also need insurance to cover unexpected events and accidental damages. Renting a property or a room is never without a risk and there will always be accidents, so make sure your property is protected and you’re aware of what the policy covers.
Don’t have a spare room to rent but have a driveway or space outside your house to park? You can rent it out! Renting your driveway might not seem like an obvious way of making money, but if you live in a city where parking is at a premium, people are willing to pay for it. You could make as much as £3000 per year for a parking space in London.
Share your car. As this article by The Guardian notes, it’s simply not rational to own a car in a busy city such as London – lack of parking spaces and congested roads means it’s easier to ditch the car in favour of public transport. However, for those living in places with less-efficient public transport systems as London, a car is often (an expensive) requirement. Fortunately, with the rise of car-sharing sites and apps, you can split the cost of petrol with a couple of other people – spending £100 less on fuel every month is a lot of extra cash in your wallet!
Wardrobe full of clothes that you never wear? Sell them! We’re all guilty of buying clothes we never wear or decide we don’t actually like all that much, but that doesn’t mean they need to be confined to the depths of our wardrobes. eBay is the obvious choice, but there are a number of other apps and websites with features targeted specifically for selling clothes.
Switch your bank account. Some current accounts offer cashback on direct debits and reasonably good interest rates. A lot of banks offer one-time cash bonuses as an incentive to open a new account too, and if you live in the UK, you can easily switch by using the Current Account Switch Service.
Lets be clear – this isn’t a way of getting rich quickly, but these five things are easily achievable and don’t require a huge time investment. Keep track of your side income and separate it out from your main income and you might be surprised at how much you can earn.
About Carson Derrow
