AIBU to ask for ideas to make extra income

[Crystalcrazy]

Due to a relationship split I need to generate some extra income to help towards general living expenses.

I work full time, children grown up and left home but I have pets so earning extra income needs to be something I can do from home on an evening and weekend. My current salary isn’t fantastic however I’m not entitled to any benefits. I’ve gone through all my outgoings and nothing I can reduce. My biggest expense is pet food and care and a dog walker for when I’m at work.

Looking to earn an extra £200 plus per month. All ideas gratefully received. Thanks in advance.

Can you make something interesting? Any talents?

Take in a lodger?

What is your current job role? Any scope for a promotion/change of employer to one who pays better?

If you have spare rooms you could get a lodger. If in a university city then mature students often need week day only accommodation.

Following with interest. I need to conjure up at least 500 quid by the end of next month and I have not a clue how to do it

Can you offer dog walking on evenings and weekends and take your own dog(s) along? Do ironing? What are your skills? I am a teacher so I would do tutoring.

Search daily for the word 'free' on facebook marketplace. Go and collect anything which has resale value (usually needs a clean, and better photos). Resell same item via gumtree or eBay. Repeat.

What is your job, can you step up a level? There are no magic pie in the sky income generators from home.

@idontlikealdi

What is your job, can you step up a level? There are no magic pie in the sky income generators from home.

That's unfortunately correct.

The £10 a day threads in money matters are pretty helpful

Think this is the current one

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/4207913-Earn-10-Day-April-Thread-we-aint-no-Fools

Matched betting
Reselling

Ebay selling

Thank you all for your suggestions so far.

I work in an office, there is no chance of a change of role, promotion or a pay increase, I have asked for all of the above numerous times.

I live in a small town where salaries are typically low with lots of seasonal work but few full time permanent positions.

To be honest I’ve been feeling very down about the relationship split and haven’t been in the right frame of mind to think about this but I’m aware that it’s something I need to concentrate on now.

Some interesting ideas from here to think about.

Be very, very wary of multi level marketing organisations (MLMs) - Younique, Juice Plus, DoTerra are just a few examples. They target people exactly like you, but the majority of people who sign up to them end up losing money.

Taking in a lodger is a good way to earn some extra cash if you have a spare room. It's tax free to a maximum of about £7500 a year under the Rent A Room scheme.

I do ironing from home OP. Lovely easy earner. £200 a month would be very doable. It would be the equivalent of 2-2.5 hours a week worth of ironing for me.

What are your strengths? I’m a good writer so applied for a freelance writing job on Indeed back in February (and managed to get it!) so I’ve been earning £1000+ extra each month just from writing articles in my spare time. Is there anything you’re particularly good at that you could monetise?

@Kitten9 that sounds very interesting, would you mind telling me a little bit more about how this works. Part of my current role involves writing content for articles.

Of course! To be honest I’m no expert, I just searched for remote content writing jobs on Indeed and sent off applications. They were few and far between but they do exist! Do you have an online portfolio? I think that helped my application to stand out

My partner does just eat in the evenings a couple times a week, makes about £120 a week for a few hours work

Selling or reselling on eBay/Gumtree.
Take in some ironing.
Online surveys.

You could do dog walks at weekends, BUT you'll need to set yourself up with some insurance, and there's no guarantee you'll be able to take your own dog(s) along. The money is in group walks but you need secure transport, insurance and I would say first aid training as a minimum.

Cat feeding/cat sitting? Around here it’s a minimum of £10 a visit. You could offer extra services if the owners are away like open/close curtains, buy milk and bread for their return. Appreciate there’s not much international travel happening right now.

I second the £10 a day thread over on money matters, I made £1000 a month doing an extra 20 hours a week online with a company called Appen there is lots of information on that thread. It’s fairly boring but it paid my daughter’s school fees for a year. The only reason I stopped was because I m too busy in my main self employed job now but back then my work had completely tanked!

Babysitting or dog sitting. The latter I struggle to find anyone who can even just pop into my home and spend 30 minutes with my dog, give him a run in the garden when I’m at work (which is always evenings and weekends!) the dog sitters around here only ever work normal office hours and it’s infuriating. I’d bet lots of night shift/shift workers would be pleased

Babysitting is one I occasionally do. I do some school runs/pick ups or just evening or weekend babysitting. £200 a month is very achievable

Content sounds the way to go. What else do you do in your day job that could be useful?

A few mid week shifts in a pub or waitressing was always my favourite option but now I have children.
Surveys I make about £30 per month, check you are on the best bank account etc. I’ve just discovered I can make £60 a year by swapping accounts with the same bank.
eBay anything you don’t need, find something you can buy and resell on eBay
Short term sell unwanted books etc. You need to check with various apps for the best price. I made over £100 using a mix of apps,eBay and the local second hand bookshop.
I’m going to try matched betting