Quickest way to make £6k

[TammyTwoSwanson]

Hi!
DH and I are currently renting, and we want to buy our own house asap. Our letting agents are awful and the already extortionate rent is going up soon! We've saved up part of a deposit, but need another £6k to buy to cover fees etc.

Dh works full time, and I'm a full time (mature) student. I know that me getting a full time job is probably a pretty quick way to make up the shortfall, but I couldn't until at least January because of my uni work and the kids.

We don't have any family we can pack up and move in with to save rent, and we don't have £6k worth of stuff to sell!

So does anyone have any genius and magic ways I can make six grand in my spare time? Or is this wishful thinking?

Sorry, can't think of anything other than OnlyFans or selling used panties online :(

How about matched betting?
I know nothing whatsoever about it, but have seen people on here making huge amounts in the past.

Can you work any hours at all around your studying/childcare?
Are there any outgoings at all that you can cut back on to save more?

Don't do matched betting if you're looking to get a mortgage - you'll fail
The credit checks if there are loads of soft searches from bookies. It is a good way to make ££ though...

Can your DH do overtime or get a second job?

Can you do something like cleaning or babysitting when DH can look after your DC?

Can you pause your studies for a year so you can work for the deposit?

Or yes, can you live like hermits on very basic food for as long as it takes to save the money.

Would probably only work if you have room to cut back though.

Get a job. Nights, evenings etc

Borrow the money? From family? Obvious pitfalls but agree to pay interest and you may have some takers

Outright gift from parents?

Either route may however cause you problems when trying to get a mortgage

Second job for DH, evening job for you (or whatever fits in with studies).

Thanks for the replies!

We don't really have room to cut back as we already have. Cancelled sky, no take aways or meals out etc etc. I don't fancy the onlyfans thing!
Babysitting etc is possible - I hadn't thought of that. I could probably study while kids are sleeping? Pausing studies isn't an option as I finish in January anyway! I'm on the last semester of the past 4 years. Uni honestly takes up every bit of time I have until I finish.
DH can't get another job as commuting etc takes up a lot of time, and he is salaried yearly so overtime isn't a thing where he works.

I thought someone might suggest matched betting but if it will affect a mortgage application, I don't want to risk that!

I didn't realise it would affect your application, either.
Plan B needed.

Does your husband commute alone?
He could try and find a lift share buddy who is heading the same way.

I’ve done matched betting with all the bookies and my credit score is still ‘excellent’ (I had to look into it for the first time ever this week). If you go onto one of the matched betting Facebook groups there’s usually a thread giving advice about mortgage applications you can read.

January is only a few months away. Focus on your studies rather than risking not doing as well as you could right at the end of a 4 year course. Then get a job

Ideas:
Move somewhere cheaper to rent in interim. It's nearly Winter, maybe an off season holiday let/static caravan/actual caravan? Maybe closer to DH work?
2-3 days before the rent renewal, ask your agent/LL to keep rent the same or you'll give notice. Some LLs would rather have a good tenant in than find a new one. Depends on your local market.
Get rid of one car, get bike/ebike?
Reassess how much you need i.e look at smaller homes to buy.
Get a credit card with 0% on purchases, put all spending on that, cash balance goes up. (May affect credit score or amount you can borrow though so check).
Don't do:
Short term investments (too risky)
Crypto (even more risky)
Spread betting (theme here!).

Invest in a stocks and shares ISA. I've turned 10k into 11k in 4 months

I’ve also done quite well with a stocks and shares ISA this year. Have made 17% interest in 6 months! Risky though for a house deposit as it could easily go the other way.

@alvinsimontheo That's what I was going to do! I just wondered if there was anything I hadn't thought of.
We don't live anywhere remotely touristy so little in the way of holiday lets. I would happily get rid of a car but youngest is disabled and we need it to get him to school/appointments.

I shall look into the credit card thing and stocks and shares ISA.

Dont put it into shares if you need the money in under a year. Those are long term investments and you could end up badly burnt.

You can make cashback through changing suppliers or bank accounts.

I don’t think of any easy way to raise that kind of money easily, painlessly or quickly unfortunately unless you are a celebrity decluttering

Not going to get you to £6k, but every little helps ..

Rent out your car eg through Hiyacar when you're not using it. Or sell your car and use Uber or zipcar when you need it.

Rent out your driveway on justpark.

Airbnb a spare room, I've been surprised at the demand for our spare room, we've had people who are renovating their own place and want to get away from the dust, and people visiting family in the area, so don't assume there's no demand just because there is no tourism.

When I retrained at uni, one of the other students had 2 young kids with a partner who worked away so couldn't take on an extra job. She had a contract for 24 hours a month as a live in support worker, where she would literally do one 24 hour shift a month. I quit my job to do that too as I could do uni work in down time.

Any old jewellery to sell? Good prices for gold at moment. It can be out of fashion and broken.

Could you squeeze in a few shifts of bar work?

Take in ironing?

Christmas present wrapping service?

It won’t be easy unfortunately. Can you agree with family to only buy presents for the children this year and then save what you would have spent on gifts for others?

Any big items that you could sell?