No matter how far we’ve progressed in our current careers or how effectively we manage our money, we occasionally wish we had a little extra cash in our piggy banks. And now, with the added pressure of the rising cost of living and inflation hitting 11.1% as of October last year, more and more Brits are trying to scrimp and save their pennies.
Whether you’d like an extra contribution towards your living costs, making a significant purchase, or building up your emergency savings – boosting your income can be appealing for various reasons. However, despite the notion’s tempting, you might wonder how to squeeze another money-making venture into your life alongside your current job or responsibilities.
Fortunately, there are various ways to boost your income that don’t impact your other responsibilities; some don’t even require you to leave the comfort of your living room! From offering online fitness courses and renting out your driveway to selling your clutter and renting out your spare room, we list some of the best ways to earn extra cash in 2023 below:
Rent Out Your Driveway
If you’re not a part of the 77% of the UK population with a driving license, and you have a property with a drive or parking spaces that aren’t being used, you could consider earning a little extra money online by renting it out. Especially if your property is in a desirable location like the city centre or by amenities like the train station, or university, you’ll be surprised at how much extra cash you could rake in by renting it out hourly or daily.
Partnering with sites like JustPark, Stash Bee, and Parklet, you can advertise your spot (or spots!) to potential parkers without having to lift as much as a finger and end up pocketing as much as £500 to £3000 per year, depending on the availability and location of your parking space.
However, if you partner with one of the above sites, some might take a small percentage of your overall earnings in commission. Yet if you choose to partner with other sites, they allow you to earn your first £1,000 completely tax-free, and you’ll only have to start paying tax once you start making more than this amount.
Not that you want to dwell on the worst-case scenario either, but you’ll also have to consider how sites like these handle damage claims. Although it’s unlikely that you’ll be expected to pay for any damage since most owners will go through their motor insurance – it’s better to be safe than sorry and double-check what will happen if a claim is raised.
Offer Online Personal Fitness Classes
Suppose you’ve always taken pride in keeping healthy and fit or would like to increase your efforts. In that case, you could consider enrolling on a personal trainer course that will equip you with the skills needed to teach online fitness classes from the comfort of your living room. Doing so can bolster your health and fitness efforts while making money from others trying to boost theirs.
After all the trouble the past couple of years has caused the fitness industry, more and more Brits are seeking ways to achieve their fitness goals on their own time and in their own space – this is where online fitness classes come in. Unlike gym settings, where classes are offered depending on the tutor’s availability, online fitness classes allow people to tune in wherever and whenever they like –a luxury many people will pay for.
Whether you’d like to offer tailored one-on-one personal training sessions, group classes, or general fitness advice – these can all be recorded in advance using platforms like Udemy, Patreon, Skillshare, and Teachable that your students can access anytime they’d like. But before you can peddle your online classes, you must know your stuff.
Fortunately, many further education opportunities, like these personal training courses from The Fitness Group, are available in full-time, part-time, or online options so you can interweave your personal trainer journey among your other responsibilities. Consider visiting their website for more information or contacting a team member directly for specific inquiries.
Sell Your Clutter
Regarding unwanted items, we Brits would rather hide our clutter in our attics, sheds, or garages than think about the time and effort involved in decluttering it. Old Pokémon cards that we haven’t touched since the 90s? A Ford Fiesta we haven’t scrapped ‘just in case’ we need it? An old DVD player, a friend, offloaded onto us, and we didn’t have the heart to tell them no?
Before we know it, all this junk makes its way into available nooks and crannies and starts cluttering our living spaces. But, unbeknownst to us, a hidden gem with an incredible resale value could be collecting dust in our attics, sheds, or garages – which would be much handier in our wallets or bank accounts than cluttering up our homes.
As the famous saying goes, ‘one man’s trash is another one’s treasure’; today, it has become even easier to accommodate this through mobile selling apps and sites. Whether you’ve got a wardrobe full of clothes to offload, a drawer of old mobile phones, a toybox full of retro children’s toys, or a shelf full of books – you can find applications or sites for anything you’d like to sell. From Depop and eBay to MusicMagpie and We Buy Books, sometimes all these sites and mobile applications require you to do is photograph your items, write a description, create a profile, and link your bank account. Then you’re ready to start selling your clutter and earn yourself a little profit from these unwanted belongings.
Alternatively, suppose technology isn’t your strong suit. In that case, you could shift some of your stuff the old-fashioned way by holding a car boot sale, donating things to your local shelter or charity shops, or giving it away to family or friends.
Rent Out Your House
Another way to boost your income online is by renting out your home. Suppose you’re going away for a couple of weeks, or you have unvacated properties, and you don’t mind other people staying there; you can partner with sites like Airbnb, Zoopla, Rightmove, or On the Market.
Depending on the size of your property, location and amenities, you can expect to earn as much as £7,500 from letting out your entire property (or even just your spare room!). However, the amount you make will fluctuate depending on various factors.
For example, if you’re listing a three-bed property in the Lake District, you’ll make more than someone listing a studio flat in Cardiff city centre. Yet, similarly to our second suggestion, if you partner with listing agents like the above, you might be expected to pay a commission on the total amount of money you make.
Airbnb, for instance, will take a 3% cut as a booking fee, but other sites might take more depending on their listing rules. Commission aside, you’ll also have to ensure that the condition of your property reflects the site’s rules and regulations, like cleanliness. Otherwise, you might find that the venture isn’t as lucrative as you might have imagined!
