Extra income needed - 'side hustle'?

[Icandothisthing]

Hi. For various reasons I need to start bringing in some income on top of my salary (as much as possible). I have up to circa £500 that I can safely use/invest, and 3 days a week that I don't work. I have tried match betting and might give that another go. I also really enjoy buying and selling but not sure what/where. I'm open to a small amount of risk. Does anyone have any suggestions that are more lucrative than surveys etc please? (increasing my hours at job, or changing jobs are not a possibility). Many thanks.

I buy from carboots and sell on ebay and vinted as a side hustle.

What about doing one day a week in a care home. One 12 hour shift on minimum wage would cover it.

Have you investigated the tax implications of a second job? I looked into it, and the higher tax bracket for the second job didn't make it worthwhile for me.

That depends on how much you need the extra income though, as it's only the income that falls into the higher bracket that is taxed at that rate so you're always better off.

So if you earn £1000 extra and this would fall into the higher bracket, you would take home £470 of that.

It's all up to how much you need that £470.

@therejustbarely thanks, but I'm thinking more of a 'side hustle' (hate that term!) rather than a second job. I would definitely declare income though if I started to make enough.

@Tinseltangle this is really appealing to me and have been thinking about it for a while (in fact, off to a couple of car boots this weekend). Do you mind telling me some of your strategy - i.e what types of items do you look for? roughly how much are you able to make from it? I'm willing to put in the hours and hard work on this. Thank you.

@ByCupidStunt thanks. Apologies, I should have said I would prefer it to be something I can do form home, as and when I have free time.

Any earnings from matched betting is tax free.

I would look at the advanced techniques of matched betting. I've been learning these through mat leave. Sequential laying is a good one. For the sake of about 20m max effort, I can make anything between a £5-10 loss (rare), £10-20 profit (most common) and occasionally £40-100 profit.

Doing one a day has me £400 up so far this month.

I wouldn't purchase second hand clothes to sell. The market is saturated and you get little return. I would also think about postage costs, small lightweight items are best. I sell a very niche item that I have researched and know there is a market for. I look for it in second hand shops and car boots. Then sell on ebay. Along the way I've found other 'niche' items that aren't made anymore and have traded those. I never sell high value items, I only sell what I can afford to 'lose' but saying that I have never had a problem with buyers. The items I sell don't seem to attract scammers. Find the item that you know a bit about and do your research.

I make a small fortune looking after other peoples dogs when they go to work. It'd be easier if you could do it 7 days a week, but you might attract customers who only need the care on your days off.

@thecatsthecats thank you! I didn't get very far with it when I tried a couple of years ago as I didnd't have the time then. May I ask how much time you spend daily please?

Tik tok shop, I earn at least £300 a month commission, highest month so far £1200

Good idea. Go on olio and fb marketplace and get free stuff then re sell it online or at a car boot.

@Boymum2104 I'd love to hear more about that please? I don't currently use tiktok.

Me too

What is sequential laying if you don't mind me asking?

You could register as an invigilator for exams at local schools and colleges.

I do well selling clothes and shoes all sourced secondhand. My tried and tested brands have been levis, nudie jeans, north face, nike, trainers in good condition eg adidas. Outdoor clothing does well in the right season and equestrian labels, such as ariat. Guiness memorabilia has also been profitable.
Watch resellers on tiktok for tips and hints about brands to look for.
Start by selling from your own wardrobe.

To be honest, I am absolutely shit at explaining it. The basics is that you place a bet on, for example, the outcome of four different football matches that are happening at different times. Then you bet against each individual outcome in turn in order to make a profit overall.

There are online calculators to help you get it right (you can choose your appetite for risk - I'm cautious, which is gutting sometimes like yesterday, when you see a bet that could have won £100 if I'd been riskier, but that's too much like actual gambling as opposed to "following the maths).

To be honest, the best way to learn it was to place very small bets and win tiny amounts whilst I got the hang of it.

@Icandothisthing it depends how long the baby naps for! I aim for 5m setting something up while he's asleep that requires 15m monitoring/follow up in the evening. But I find that I can easily make at least £10 in 20m, which is £30/hour tax free.

I aim to do a lot more when he's in nursery - target is £30/day then.

This one is Marmite.
All I can say is it got me through some tough financial times. I don't really care if people agree with it or not. People pay for a service that they have every right to believe in. I provided the service.
I did online tarot, horoscopes. Choose a company that lets you log on and off at will, rather than shifts. Some pay weekly. Some work on texts - I do not know about these.
You are only paid for the time you are talking, so if you log on for 1 hour, and only talk for 30 mins (which may be one or several customers) you will be paid for 30 mins talk time. You are self employed, with all that entails.
If you are good, you will be busy.

Oh, and this one's a slow one, but another tax free option.

Invest in "wasting assets" - aka, bottles of expensive whisky! I buy a fancy bottle or two a year, and will sell them as they age to value. Worst case scenario is I get blind drunk on my 50th, but I plan to fund various fun extras off the earnings in a few years.

Reserve forces?

For Tik Tok shop you have to build up 1000 followers, then you can apply to earn commission through promoting items. You apply for free products, if you're accepted they send them out to you, create a video promoting them/ honest reviews & if people purchase through your link you earn commission (anything between 10-20%)

@thecatsthecats cheers - I need to look into this a bit more. Some of the reload offers at the bookies are becoming harder to sniff out.