Five ways to boost your income before Christmas
If your seasonal cheer fades when you think about the cost of Christmas, don’t panic. With three months to go, there’s still time to make extra cash to lighten the financial load. With these clever little earners, your bank balance will be healthily in the black by December…
1 WORK WITH A FURRY FRIEND Want to turn your passion for pooches into a profession? Consider becoming a dogwalker or pet-sitter – it can earn you up to £30 a day. Tell dog owners you already know about your service, or maybe create a Facebook page. If you join the National Pet Sitters & Dog Walkers association (Narpsuk), your business will show up in the postcode search tool on its website. Membership also gives you access to contracts and forms you can use with clients, specialist insurance and advice.
2 RENT OUT YOUR SPARE ROOM For occasional lets, you can list your spare room on Airbnb but, to find a longer-term lodger, it’s free to advertise on spareroom. co.uk. You can pay to upgrade your listing (£7.99 for 7 days) so it appears more prominently in search results. If you opt in to the government’s Rent-a-Room scheme, the first £7,500 of your rental income won’t be taxed if you’re renting out a furnished room in your only (or main) home.
3 BE A MYSTERY SHOPPER It sounds like every shopaholic’s dream: getting paid to purchase! Retailers, restaurants and other companies use mystery shoppers to test the service their customers are getting. Sign up on grassrootsmysteryshopping.com or mysterydining.net. You’ll be offered assignments when your profile matches the type of customer a company is interested in. How often, and how much you are paid, will vary.
4 RENT OUT YOUR DRIVE Brits who rent out their driveways for parking collectively earn just shy of £4 billion a year, according to research by insurance firm Direct Line. Fancy a slice of the action? Us too! Use an online agency like Just Park. It’s free to register and list your drive, but the company takes a three per cent cut of earnings from short-term lettings. For bookings of more than two months, Just Park takes 20 per cent of the first month’s rental, then three per cent on future earnings. Also, check out yourparkingspace.co.uk and parkonmydrive.com.
5 DO ONLINE SURVEYS Penny for your thoughts? How about up to £200 per month? If you spent an hour and a quarter each day completing surveys for PopulusLive, that’s what you could earn. The surveys help companies and organisations to work out what consumers want or what products and services they may be interested in. Or join prolific.co, which specialises in academic surveys.