Finding good ways to create an extra income is becoming increasingly popular these days as the costs of living continue to rise.
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Many people choose to make use of an established skill or hobby as a way of earning extra cash as UK side hustles.
You can even make instant money online absolutely free. The trick is knowing what to look out for and how to approach this. You do have to be a bit careful though, if it seems too good to be true, it is!
So what are the best ways to make instant money online absolutely free when it comes to UK side hustles? Below we’ve put together a list of a few things I do now to make money from my lifestyle blog.
Some of the best sides hustles in the UK include…
Virtual Assistant
Perhaps you could become a virtual assistant to one, or a few companies. Doing odd jobs for them throughout the company such as…
- Managing their customer service
- Making sales calls & finding clients
- Booking flights & accommodation
- Responding to email requests
- Ordering stationary & supplies
- Social media management
Whether you have a few hours to spare, or you’re looking for a full-time income working from home. This could be a very lucrative UK side hustle idea.
Online Surveys
Another great UK side hustle idea is to complete online surveys. An easy but time-consuming way to make money online in your spare time.
Research companies are always looking to hire people to complete surveys and test new products. You will probably get around $5 per survey so it’s not a huge amount but if you have a lot of spare time, this quickly adds up.
However, make sure you research the company first as again, there are fake companies out there trying to do this. I would go through The Money Saving Expert if you want to do this as he will point you in the direction of honest companies.
Forex Trading
Wide access to technology and the creation of platforms and apps has meant that almost anyone can now become a forex trader.
Investors are no longer tied to stockbrokers or fixed to certain times, with most trades being able to be carried out in real-time, anywhere in the world.
Even if you’re a beginner, there are plenty of tutorials and demo accounts available to help get you started as a trader and advancing trading tools mean you don’t necessarily need to be a pro in understanding strategies and data analysis.
If you’re starting off in trading, it’s wise to keep to low-risk, basic investments to begin with until you’re confident you have enough knowledge and skills to move on.
Get Paid For Your Photos
Do you love to take photos of everything around you? Are you the selfie Queen? If you own a camera or a mobile phone with a good camera, why not consider selling your services? This could be one of the best side hustle ideas to do from home if it’s something you love to do anyway.
If you go on an amazing holiday and take some really good pics of where you’re staying, contact the resort and ask if they’d be interested in purchasing the rights from you.
I wouldn’t do this too often or hound the resort but asking can’t hurt, especially if you’re nice about it. Or, if you’re really big on Instagram, it might be worth contacting a few PR companies. Let them know you’d be willing to post content on your account on behalf of companies looking for advertising.
Drop Shipping
This is a type of business model where you sell products online to customers and transfer their orders through to the manufacturer or other retailer.
The product then gets shipped directly to the customer, meaning you don’t have to deal with stock storage or associated costs. T
The money you make will be the difference between the cost of the item plus postage fees and the price you charge on your site.
This has become increasingly popular with growing numbers of retailers selling online and the accessibility of niche markets.
Mystery Shopper
Years ago this was one you could only do in person at the store. However, these days you can also do mystery shopping online.
OK, so the pay is generally pretty bad but if you have enough free time, and could do quite a few each day, then this could end up being a great way to earn extra money from home.
Some of the best mystery shopping companies in the UK include…
- BeMyEye
- Streetbees
- Ispos UK
- GBW
- Retail Maxim
- Grassroots
- ESA Retail
- Assosia
Website Testing
There are loads of companies that look for people to user test their websites for them and give them feedback so they can see how customers will navigate around and what they think of the layout…etc and they will pay to have this done.
The company WhatUsers Do is great for this although they don’t take people from all countries…UK & USA is fine though.
You will get roughly £8.00per 15-minute website test you do so this could be a great little money earner if you have the time.
Affiliate Marketing
There are so many affiliate sites you can use to make a little extra money from your blog as passive income. Amazon Associates and Awin are the best ones I have come across so far.
As soon as someone clicks on the link on your website you’ll either get a commission from the link being clicked, or you’ll get paid once they purchase that item.
It isn’t much, you might get anything from 1 – 10% commission per purchase, depending on the brand and the affiliate company you’re using. However, it does add up if you’re getting a good amount of traffic to your website, and you’re promoting products of interest to your audience.
Blogging
If you have a particular interest, this can be a great side hustle, especially if you’re a creative type or you love to write. Blogging can be done from practically anywhere, as long as you have access to the internet.
However, it’s perhaps not the best short-term money-making solution as it can take months or even years to make a good amount of money blogging.
Adding affiliate links or offering an online store selling related products can help build your audience and increase your earnings though.
Data Entry
OK, so this isn’t going to be the most exciting of all of the side hustle ideas you can do from home. If you aren’t that keen on writing articles or reviews, maybe data entry is more for you. Click worker is a company that pays you to do data entry work for you.
This is one I have not tried as I hate data entry, I find there is nothing more boring, I’d rather be creative but if this is more for you, sign up and get paid to enter data for them.
Matched Betting
Matched betting isn’t something you should do if you don’t like gambling, or have any kind of addiction to this sort of thing as technically it is still gambling. Perhaps not one of the best side hustle ideas to do from home if this is you.
Many people swear by it and have managed to make around £10k in just over a year from doing it. However, it is very time-consuming, and getting started with it can seem like a minefield!
There is so much information to take in and you do need to have some spare money to get it up and running.
However, if you can master it, and don’t mind being bombarded with emails from every betting company, then go for it, you could make a lot of money from it.
Article Writing
If you love to write, this one could be for you! The company Text Broker will pay you anything from £5 – £30 per article written. They have been approved by The Money Saving Expert so they are genuine and it’s one I have used myself.
Annoyingly, it takes them a few weeks to approve your application so this isn’t a quick money fix but be patient, it is worth it! A great little money earner for freelance writers.
Writing Reviews
The review site Slice The Pie will pay you for each item you review. Putting in a few hours each night could earn you around £30 per month.
Not a lot but again, if you have more spare time, the cash will add up and be a great little extra money earner. This would be great to do on long train journeys to pass the time and earn a little extra as you go or if you have plenty of spare time.
Get paid to write a 20-word paragraph on homeware items, songs, and mobile phone accessories. This is one I use occasionally and have been paid a few times through using it now.
Quick Typer?
If you are a super quick typer, you can earn cash for translating audio files into word documents. You have to be able to type 65 words per minute but they will test you on your application.
Online Games
When it comes to side hustle ideas from home, playing online games probably isn’t one that often comes to mind. However, If you’re a big fan of online gaming, you can actually make money out of this.
I’m sure those of you who are online gamers probably know this already, but for those who don’t, even things like playing Bingo could be a fun way to make some extra money online.
Of course, as it is a form of gambling you do need to be super careful but wouldn’t that be fun if you could earn your holiday money from playing games?
Selling Old Stuff
Probably one of the easiest side hustle ideas you can do from home is selling your old items. If you have a lot of junk lying around your home, why not try to sell it?
There are so many great places, other than eBay where you can sell your old stuff at pretty good prices. For music, DVD’s and games I always use Music Magpie.
They don’t pay amazingly well but it’s so simple and they come to you to collect the stuff which is really helpful.
How would you go about making instant money online? Which of these side hustle ideas UK have you tried, or would like to try to earn some extra income?
