I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say they have enough money – whether you worry about having enough money to pay your bills, to buy those little extras or even for the luxuries in life, most people would say no if you asked them if they had enough money (I think they would, am I wrong?).
So this week, we’re going to look at ways to make a little bit of extra money. Some you’ll see the benefit of straight away but some are a little more long term but all of them will make you some extra money, which I’m sure will come in handy at this time of year.
Car Boot Sales – Perfect at this time of year if you can get your timing right and it’s a bright day. Our local one runs right through to the start of November and last week there were people queuing half an hour before it opened. Kids toys sell really well at this time of year if they’re in good condition as a lot of people are shopping for Christmas. We did one a few weeks ago and made over £100 – for me it was about making some extra money and for the kids it was all about making space ready for Christmas.
eBay – I know I’ve said this before but I love eBay. I’ve written all about how to sell on eBay before so I won’t go back into it all again but this is one of my favourite ways to make a bit of extra money. It’s so quick and easy and apart from a trip to the post office, you get to do it all from the comfort of your own front room.
Cashback sites – Whenever I buy something online, I always go through a cashback website where I can. My favourite is Quidco but there are other similar sites out there. I’ve written about it here but basically, if you’re going to buy something, have a look and see if the retailer is listed on one of the cashback websites and click through to the merchant from that site. You make your purchase as normal but your cashback account is credited with money (dependent on the cashback offer available). This is a more long term money making option as it can take a few months for the cashback to be paid. I bought my pet insurance from there and it took about 4 months for the £60 cashback to be paid – presumably to stop people from messing with the system and cancelling the policy once they have their cashback.
Food – If you’re anything like us, a massive part of our monthly budget is spent on food. Thankfully, it’s less massive than it was since we started meal planning and we changed the way we did our shopping. Changing your shopping habits isn’t always easy but it’s worth it in the long run. If you want to see a quick result and have some extra money in your hand, you can have a week like we do every now and again where you shop from your cupboards. These are weeks when we don’t do a shop – other than fresh things and essentials. We make our meals from what we have in already. This leads to some unusual mixed up meals but we have the money we would have spent on shopping that week to spend on something else.
Sell stuff – Look in your drawers and cupboards. Do you have an old mobile phone you could sell to one of the online sites that buy mobile phones? I personally wouldn’t sell a mobile phone on eBay and have used these companies in the past as a good alternative so if you have an old phone, it’s worth a look. There’s also sites like Music Magpie who say they buy your DVDs and CDs etc but I’ve never used them before as Mr Frugal is very attached to ours.
Mystery Shopping – I think it’s safe to say that you’ll never make a fortune being a mystery shopper but it is fun and you do receive a small payment along with your expenses so it’s worth considering. I’ve done it in the past and written about it here but I haven’t had much time lately so haven’t done a job for ages.
Dooyoo – I haven’t used this site for ages but I did register with them as it sounded pretty good. It looks as though you register with them and write reviews for their site. You get points every time you review something and every time someone reads your review and then you can exchange your points for cash, vouchers or gifts. You can register here if you want to have a go. The reason I like it was that it looked as thought you can review things you already own and they cover such a wide range, I was planning to go through the house and review everything 😉
Sell yourself – I don’t mean sell yourself, I mean sell your skills. Can you make fantastic cakes, iron for England or make pretty crafty things. If you can, make it known that you sell them – tell your friends of Facebook and Twitter and get them to spread the word. Set up a little eBay shop or ask for advice on Twitter on how to sell what you make. Do it now and you never know what might come of it.
