Wouldn’t we all love to make a little extra money each month? Scrimping is never fun, and there are times when I wish I could afford those extra treats for my boys (or the bunnies!) That’s why I started thinking about ways to make a bit of extra money each month that could either be saved up or spent on little luxuries.
After doing some online research, I’ve come up with a few ideas to test out, and I thought I’d share them with you all. They’re things you can work around the family, all fairly hands-off, meaning you won’t have to spend too much time on them to make some money and boost your household income
De-clutter via eBay*
This is a double whammy in my opinion: you can create extra space in your house and earn some money on stuff you never even imagined had any value! Turns out, people will buy almost anything – used, broken, or out-dated – so you never know what could end up selling well.
One option for those of you with children when, unlike me you don’t have a younger one who’ll accept hand-me-downs, is to sell off old baby clothes. If they’re in good condition there’s no reason why you can’t advertise them for sale, and an especially good way to do this is in bundles – sets of baby grows or booties for example could be easier to sell (and package up) than single items.
Rent out your extra space
If you have an empty attic, garage or even cupboard at home you could actually advertise it for rent online. You can set up an advert on the website SharemyStorage.com, and rent out your extra space to people in your area who need extra storage space. And if you don’t have any extra space – how about trying out my first suggestion and selling off some of your clutter first?
And get this, if you have a parking space you don’t use, you can rent that out too! Whether you simply don’t have a car, your house comes with a double driveway and you only need one, or even if you use your space at night but drive to work, it can suit most people. Spaces near train stations, stadiums, and airports are good apparently. Try YourParkingSpace.co.uk – listing your space is free, and they’ll manage everything for you, taking care of getting your space rented out and sorting out payments.
Depending where you live you can make anything from £40 – £250 per month, which could be a really great boost to the monthly budget!
Switch your providers
OK, so you may need to spend a fair amount of time online hunting down the best deals around, but you could make some serious savings on your household bills by switching to cheaper providers. With all the comparison sites out there it’s not difficult to make a start, and the savings could make a big difference to your monthly outgoings, potentially saving you £100s each year.
Start your own cottage industry
If you read my previous post about balancing work and the little ones, you’ll know I mentioned that I was planning to try and turn my newfound sewing skills into a commercial venture. If you have a hobby like knitting, painting or maybe making jewellery, why not see if you can make a bit of money out of it too?
This suggestion can be time-consuming, but if you have a hobby you could well turn it into cash with just a little bit of extra effort. And if not you could try and learn, just like I did! The website Etsy is perfect for this, and sells all kinds of people’s weird and wonderful creations. You could try selling at school fairs too or even set up a market stall one Saturday. In my opinion it’s a great way to fit in work around looking after the children and family time, as you can do it on your own time and (hopefully) get some enjoyment from it too!
These are just a few ideas I’ve come up with to inspire you, but there are loads of other things you can do to make some extra money on the side. Let me know if you’ve tried out any of these ideas or if you have any other tips to boost the household income!
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