20 ways to make money and boost your finances in 2023 - as cost of living bites
There are plenty of ways to boost your finances - and for some of them, you don’t even need to leave your home.
Families are being squeezed by the cost of living crisis. This means having more cash in your pockets has never been so important.
We round up 20 ways to make money and tips to make the cash you already have work harder.
Keep in mind that if you’re making extra money - particularly if you’re doing it as a regular side hustle or selling for profit - you might need to pay tax.
There is a trading allowance which means you have to report anything over £1,000 in additional income. See Gov.uk for more information.
Savvy woman fed herself for less than £1 per day using items from Tesco
Switching bank accounts can be financially rewarding (Bloomberg via Getty Images)1. Switch bank account
Fed up with your bank? You could get paid up to £175 to switch your current account.
Read the small print carefully though, as you'll normally need to meet certain terms and conditions before you can claim the switch cash.
The top-paying bank bribe right now is from First Direct, which is offering £175 for new customers.
To get the money, you need switch your current account to the 1st Account and pay in £1,000 within three months.
You can't have ever had an account with First Direct before, or have opened a current account with sister bank HSBC since January 2019.
2. Sell your stuff
If you've got unwanted belongings gathering dust, then sell them and make some extra money.
How much you could make depends on how many items you've got to sell.
There are plenty on second-hand selling sites to use - such as Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Gumtree and Depop.
Double check if the site you're using charges a fee for selling.
Facebook Marketplace doesn't charge any fees, whereas eBay is 12.8%, including postage, plus 30p per order.
UK's secondhand economy valued at £10 billion, as Brits sell unused items
3. Rent your stuff
It could be your spare room, or even your driveway... if you're not using it, then rent it out.
This could make you thousands of pounds extra a year.
Websites such as YourParkingSpace and JustPark.com allow drivers to rent out their driveways to other road users.
If you own your home, and you want to rent out a room, you might need to let your mortgage provider know.
If you rent your house, make sure you get your landlord's permission.
The Rent a Room scheme allows you to earn up to £7,500 per year tax-free letting out your room.
4. Fill out surveys
There are plenty of survey websites out there that will pay you just for giving your opinion on anything from sport to TV shows.
You can get paid just a few pence for one answer surveys, going up to a pounds for longer questionnaires.
Most of the time, you'll need to build up points that you then convert into money via PayPal or vouchers.
There are loads of different survey sites out there, but here are just a handful of the most ones:
- Swagbucks
- OnePoll
- Newvistalive
YouGov
Ipsos i-Say
Have a clear out and make money from your belongings (Getty Images/500px Prime)5. Watch videos online
Another one you can do from the comfort of your own home.
Swagbucks will also pay you to watch videos - this could be adverts, news or viral videos.
You'll be paid in Swagbucks points (shortened to SBs) which can then be redeemed for gift cards or cash at over 1,500 retailers, including Amazon, iTunes and Tesco.
MoneySavingExpert says typical earnings for someone using Swagbucks each month is around £25.
6. Get paid to watch TV
Yes, you can actually get paid to watch TV.
The Viewers hosts research panels where programme makers ask for your feedback on certain shows.
You can attend face-to-face research groups or fill in surveys online from home.
Face-to-face group discussions pay at least £40, while online surveys typically pay £1 to £3 depending on how long they are.
You can get paid via a bank transfer, PayPal or gift vouchers.
7. Get paid to Google
Qmee is an add-on to your browser that works in the background as you Google and brings up extra search results.
You get paid if you click on one of these results, usually a few pence.
It can take a while for your earnings to add up - but do keep in mind this is still money for doing basically nothing.
Any cash made is paid to you via Paypal, with can be transferred into your main current account.
8. Share deals online
LatestDeals.co.uk gives away free Amazon vouchers every month to members who share and post about deals.
You need to earn points, which you can then turn into Amazon vouchers.
For a £5 voucher, you need to save up 5,000 points - and you can get a £250 voucher by redeeming 500,000 points.
The most points you can get in one go is 250 points for introducing a friend to the website, while sharing a deal can earn you 100 points.
Posting about a voucher will get you 50 points, while sharing a freebie or competition is worth 10 points.
9. Become a mystery shopper
Mystery shopping can be a really fun way to earn some extra money in your free time.
You could be paid to rate the customer service in a store, or even to eat out in restaurants.
For dining out experiences, you'll normally need to pay for your dinner first, then you'll be reimbursed and paid a fee on top.
One mystery shopping site we've tried and tested is iShopFor Ipsos.
Get paid to become a mystery shopper (Getty Images/Tetra images RF)10. Become a product tester
Product testing is where a company offers you a free sample of a product in exchange for a review.
Most of the time, the item is yours to keep - but do check the terms and conditions to be sure.
There are a few ways you can check for product testing opportunities.
First, check the website of the company that manufactures the item you want to try out.
The second way to look for product testing opportunities is through third-party websites.
Home Tester Club, Trnd and Savvy Circle are just some of the well-known “review and share” websites.
11. Find empty houses
YouSpotProperty.com rewards people for telling them about unoccupied homes in England.
If the house or flat you find meets the eligibility criteria - it is privately owned, not up for sale and no planning permission applied for recently - then you will initially be given a £20 voucher for M&S or Amazon.
But if YouSpotProperty.com goes on to purchase that home, then you would get a 1% share of the property value.
The Mirror spoke to one man who made £1,250 after reporting an empty bungalow located in a street nearby where he lives.
12. Enter competitions
By no means a guarantee, entering competitions can be a fun way to potentially win prizes and cash.
Some online and magazine competitions are completely free to enter - so if you're feeling lucky, it doesn't hurt to have a go.
SuperLucky is a well-known website which lists current UK competitions and is run by serial "comper" Di Coke who has bagged £300,000 worth of prizes over 20 years.
Magic Freebies will also list free competitions for you.
13. Free postcode lottery
There is a lottery called Pick My Postcode which is free to enter. You win if your postcode is drawn.
As you can probably guess, there are a lot of postcodes in the UK, which means you have a slim chance of wining.
But as it is free, why not give it a go?
14. Start a side hustle
Whether you're the crafty type or you're a keen photographer, or you're brilliant at writing and blogging, why not see if you can make money out of your skills?
How much you could earn through a side hustle depends on how much time you have to put into it.
Start off small, so you can test the waters before investing money into what could potentially become a small business.
15. Use cashback websites
Cashback websites give you a percentage of your money back when you make a qualifying spend.
To do this, you first log into the cashback website and then search for the brand you want to shop with.
You then need to click through to the retailer via the cashback website link, then complete your purchase as normal.
Some of the most popular cashback websites, which are free to sign up to, are TopCashback and Quidco.
16. Get the best saving rates
Interest rates have steadily climbed over the last 12 months - and this means savings rates have gone up as well.
Make sure your money is working as hard as possible by putting your cash in a top-paying account.
The best-paying easy-access account current pays 2.86% while a five-year fix now pays up to 4.6%.
Keep in mind that if you fix into an account, you won't benefit from potential future rate rises.
17. Cut your bills
The start of the New Year is a great time to go through your finances with a fine-tooth comb.
For example, are there any subscription services you can do without? Or are you really getting as much use out of your gym membership as you should be?
Check your mobile and broadband packages as well. If you're near the end of your current deal, check for cheaper prices elsewhere and either switch or haggle down your current deal.
The same goes for your insurance policies.
Also have a look at anything you're spending too much money on - whether it's takeaways or cigarettes - and see if you can make a change.
18. Cut your tax bill
There are several ways to lower your cut bill.
You could be eligible to claim money back if you’re on the wrong tax code, if you haven’t applied for the marriage tax allowance, or if you’ve had a PPI payout.
With these examples, you can reclaim for the last four tax years.
Find out more information here.
19. Look for forgotten cash
Brits across the UK are sitting on an estimated £50billion in forgotten or lost bank accounts, investments and pensions.
But there are ways to track down money that is rightfully yours.
If you cannot remember the details of an old account, or your bank or building society cannot find it, you can use a service called My Lost Account.
There is a free Gov.uk Pension Tracing Service that will help you track down the contact details of any pension schemes you've been signed up to.
20. Check your loyalty schemes
Chances are, you're probably signed up to lots of different loyalty schemes - but do you know how much money you have saved up in each one?
Go through your wallet and smartphone and check those loyalty accounts now.
Money champion Lynn Beattie, aka Mrs Mummypenny, told The Mirror how she found £380 in forgotten loyalty points last year.
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