When funds are low, you can always find advice to help you cut down your expenses.
Plan a personal budget, and generally save money, but when the amount of money in your account isn’t increasing each month, tightening your belt starts to get a little uncomfortable.
At this point, you might want to look into increasing your income so that your efforts at saving can bear more fruit. You don’t have to be up for a promotion or get a second job to boost your income.
There are many ways you can make extra money, either at home or in your spare time, and ease your financial strains.
Loans
If you need to make money fast, loans are the quickest way to go about it, but it can get complicated if you don’t do your research.
There are many kinds of loans available for different needs, such as mortgages, small business loans, and car finance.
People looking to make ends meet usually turn to a payday loan, although they are often advised to do this as a last resort.
Payday loans are only meant to be short term solutions, hence why they have a short repayment period of up to 28 day. In fact, the name stems from the fact that you’re meant to pay them off on your next payday.
Unfortunately, due to their high interest rates, things can get expensive very quickly if you don’t pay them off quickly, which can result in even more financial trouble.
However, this doesn’t mean you should avoid payday loans altogether. If you’ve done your research, and understand the terms, borrowing a small amount of money shouldn’t have a detrimental effect on your credit.
In fact, if you pay it off before the repayment period has ended, it might look better on your credit history. Only apply for a payday loan if you’re reasonably certain that your finances will be more stable after your next payday.
Make money from your hobby
Thanks to the internet, many people can now make some extra cash by sharing their hobbies with the world.
A lot of the videos you see on YouTube are the result of people getting in front of a camera and reviewing their favourite movies, sharing their theories about upcoming TV shows, or demonstrating their skills on an instrument.
When they upload their videos, they enable adverts and get paid each time somebody watches them. Over a billion people visiting YouTube every single month so finding viewers isn’t difficult.
People can also make money from their websites by enabling adverts, or through affiliate marketing. If you’re particularly craft, you could make money by selling your art on Etsy.
Online surveys
Doing surveys online is becoming increasingly popular with students and other busy people because very little effort is required.
Dedicated survey takers can rake in around £200 a year. Signing up is easy, but you should know that you won’t be making a lot of money right away.
Still, this is a good way to save up for your Christmas expenses. Be careful, not all survey sites are created equal. Some are legit and pay a decent amount of money for your time, but others either take longer to pay the same amount, or they’re scams.
Freelance writing
You don’t need a formal qualification to become a paid writer. If you have a great writing style, you can structure an article and try to pitch it to an online magazine or your local paper.
You might only earn a small amount at first, but once you’ve built up a reputation you can start charging more for your articles.
Alternatively, you can apply for a part-time position with a content writing company and write as many articles as you can in your spare time.
All you need to make this possible is a laptop and a good internet connection. Do some research and find out if there are any freelance websites looking for writers.
Rent out some space
An excellent form of passive income is to rent out any empty spaces in your house. If you have a spacious driveway and you live close to the city, a tourist spot, or an airport, you can rent out your parking space for a small fee.
Alternatively, you could clear your garage of any clutter and see if there are any startup bands in your area looking for a rehearsal space.
As long as you negotiate some reasonable hours, and you soundproof the garage as a precaution, the noise needn’t bother you, and you get to help a group of artists make their first step.
Finally, if you’re open to the idea of having more people living in your house, you could rent out your spare bedroom to a lodger.
It could be a student from a local college, an exchange student, or someone who’s moved for work but hasn’t been able to sort accommodation yet.
Each of these options means you’ll have a temporary tenant, so you can try it out for a few weeks to see if you like the arrangement.
At the very least, you’ll be getting help paying the bills, and maybe some help around the house if your tenant is considerate about the mess they make.
Tutor
Do you know how to play an instrument, speak a second language, or just happen to be really good at math? There are plenty of people out there who could use your skills.
As a tutor, you could choose your own hours to fit around your family and other commitments, and you could charge what you feel is a fair price.
Before you start advertising, however, be sure this is something you’d like to commit to, because you could be doing this for months at a time.
It’s very inconvenient to your students if you suddenly decide to cancel all your classes. If you decide to go through with it, you can advertise for free on your own website.
