With the cost of living crisis showing no signs of abating, many people are desperate to find creative ways of making extra cash. Look no further than your own four walls. Renting out your loft or garage, or even your entire home, can be a lucrative way of bringing in extra income. And if that’s not possible, how about clearing out that attic or making more from clothes that you no longer wear? They just might earn you a pound or two. Click or scroll on and we’ll show you how…

Renting out your loft, basement, or even your garage or shed, can be an easy way of making extra money. It’s non-intrusive, takes very little effort and can turn a profit without you even noticing. There are scores of people out there looking for storage in private homes when they are moving house or renovating because prices are competitive compared to commercial rates. Try advertising in classified adverts in newspapers, on websites or social media, or one of the many specialist companies, like Stashbee, where a spare garage in London commands between £325 and £948 ($393-$1,147) per month for storage.

 

If you’re lucky enough to have your own drive, especially in urban areas where parking is expensive, renting it out can pay dividends. High demand is centred around airports, train stations and even sports stadiums. Spaces around Battersea Park in London command an average of £18 ($21) per day, while they make around £6 ($7) per day in Dartmouth, Devon. List your spaces on sites like Your Parking Space, Park On My Drive, or Just Park. 

You can earn up to £7,500 ($9,081) per year tax-free in the UK by letting out a furnished room in your home under the Government’s Rent a Room scheme (halved if you share the income with someone else). You can list your space on websites like Airbnb, SpareRoom and Gumtree. If you do decide to take in a lodger, be sure to let your mortgage lender and buildings and contents insurer know in case you are breaching the terms of your agreement. You can also rent out your entire house over Christmas or holidays to maximise profits.

Whether you have a suburban terraced house or a minimalist city apartment, it’s well worth exploring whether your home is suitable for filming and photography shoots. Production companies are always looking for locations, particularly in London, where properties can bring in up to £15,000 ($1816) a year, says The Standard. You need to factor in the disruption and risk of damage, but if you have the right place and mindset, it can reap rewards.

When you’re cutting back, holidays are the first thing to go. But if you sign up for a house swap website, you can travel the world and stay for free. Websites such as Home Exchange, HomeLink, HomeBase Holidays and bewelcome.org allow you to do a classic reciprocal swap or you can host someone to earn points, which can be used at a later date in another property. Membership can be as low as £49 ($59) per year and families often swap cars, too, which can be a major expense on any holiday.

As well as providing an extra source of income, selling your stuff can be a great way of decluttering your house, and your head. You’ll be surprised by what you can sell on websites like eBay, Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace, everything from a collection of CDs or videos to a hairdryer or a bike. It is essential to get the photos right, to include as much information as possible about the item and to keep your prices reasonable. We all love a bargain!

You may not have green fingers, but others do. Demand for allotments is at an all-time high, so if you have a large garden, think about renting out some spare ground to would-be growers. On sites like Allotme, plot rent prices can command up to £50 ($60) per month. Alternatively, if you live close to places of interest, how about renting it out to some happy campers via Campspace, which offers pitches in private gardens around the world, including in the UK.

They say one man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure and according to MoneySavingExpert, they’re right. A range of items including toilet rolls, corks and jam jars sell well on eBay, Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree, but the trick is to sell in bulk. Old perfume bottles can be sold individually and can fetch up to £37 ($44) a bottle, though about £2-£5 ($3-$6) is more usual. Old sports game programmes do well, too.

Next time you are doing a wardrobe clear-out, pause before you take your items straight to the charity shop and consider selling them. Designer labels always do well on sites like eBay, Vinted and Depop, but if you are thinking of selling your wedding dress, you might be better off listing it on one of the specialist sites like Still White, Nearly Newlywed or Poshmark, according to Hitched. You can also sell bags of clothes by the kilo through companies like WeJustRecycle. 

If you are reluctant to say goodbye to those cherished items of clothing, you might consider renting them out instead. MoneySavingExpert says you can make a tidy sum, in the hundreds, by renting out designer clothes through sites such as By Rotation, Hurr and My Wardrobe HQ. They feature bridal wear, too, so you can let another bride sparkle her way up the aisle and still hold onto your special dress. Lenders are responsible for cleaning, however, so do factor in that cost.

If the kids have grown up and moved on and you have an attic full of Lego boxes, you may be relieved to hear that there are several online companies who will take it off your hands for cash. We Buy Bricks will give you £25 ($30) for five kilos and you don’t even have to sift through it. Just box it up, send it and enjoy the spoils. Also, check out Music Magpie and Toy Exchange.

If you thought watching television was a waste of time, think again. These days you can actually earn money while you binge on the latest drama or cookery show. The Viewers is a consumer research panel you can sign up to for free, which will pay you to give your views on anything from last night’s telly, to the latest shows before they air. You can attend face-to-face group discussions which pay up to £70 or online surveys for up to £10 for a programme review.

You’ll never hit the big time, but filling in online surveys can be a fun and low-stress way of earning extra money or vouchers. All you do is sign up and wait for the survey alerts to land in your inbox. You can be asked to give your opinions on everything from washing up liquid to politics, depending on your interests. The top sites include i-Say, Swagbucks and PopulusLive.

While there are some books you’ll read again and treasure, others are simply taking up space on your shelves and could earn you some extra pocket money. MoneySavingExpert suggests you head straight to Amazon Marketplace if you want to earn money on unwanted books. Search the title, add a quick description and sit back until it sells. It’s free to list up to 35 books a month, but Amazon will take a 75p (90cents) fee, plus 5.1% of total sales below £5 ($6) and 15.3% for total sales greater than or equal to £5 ($6). If you’re selling on some of those pricey textbooks, you could make a tidy profit. Otherwise, try We Buy Books, for an instant price and no postage to factor in.

As well as saving you money on your energy bills, solar panels can also earn you cash. According to the Federation of Master Builders, you can sell any unused solar power back to the National Grid through the smart export guarantee (SEG) scheme. The Energy Saving Trust estimates a typical household based roughly in the middle of the country could make between £100 and £145 a year based on a rate of 5.5p per kWh, reports MoneySavingExpert in addition to savings of up to £400 off your bills at the current Energy Price Cap rate. 

If you have expensive gear like photography equipment, DJ decks or electric scooters, that you are willing to rent out to others, check out Fat Llama, which connects would-be renters with items they need, charging a 25% cut. According to The Standard, some lenders make as much as £12,000 ($14,500) a month and the platform even arranges insurance of up to £25,000 ($30,350) just in case.

If your car is usually sitting on your driveway, you might consider hiring it out via rental apps like Turo, Hiyacar or Karshare, which matches your vehicle with nearby drivers. According to Which? some owners earn an extra £400 a month. The apps charge around 30% of the rental fee you set and insurance is included. Check with your own insurer in case renting out your car invalidates your existing cover and factor in wear and tear, plus added stress should accidents occur.

The pandemic increased the number of Britons buying static caravans according to The Guardian and some of them have ended up quids in due to the ease in renting them out. Rental platforms like UKcaravans4hire claim you can earn £20,000 per year, but it can be a huge cost and responsibility as you need to arrange commercial insurance, annual gas checks and cleaning. Meanwhile, Camplify claims campervan and motorhome owners can earn up to £10,000 a year by renting out their vehicles.

If you are not familiar with cashback websites, they’re a simple idea. Instead of going directly to a shop, you access a retailer’s online store through a link from a cashback website, like Quidco or TopCashback, which claims members earn an average of £345 ($450) cashback per year. It’s free to sign up and you still receive your item from the retailer tracking problems can occur, so view cashback as a bonus only and not a guarantee.

If you’re a whizz in the kitchen and love hosting dinner parties, why not do it for cash? Eatwith is a platform to find unique dining experiences hosted in cool locations all around the world by professional and home chefs. You can even host cooking classes. You set the time, capacity and price, and post lots of images to tempt your diners. The platform claims you can earn up to around £600 ($700) per event, plus you get to meet lots of interesting new people.

Before you embark on any of these money-spinning enterprises, be sure to check where you stand with the tax man. As already mentioned, you can earn up to £7,500 tax-free on the Rent-a-Room scheme, but if you are earning more than £1,000 a year on a money-making side hustle, you might want to check with HMRC to avoid a possible penalty charge, says The Times. Whether that’s selling second-hand clothes or hosting dinner parties, if you earn beyond that £1,000 trading allowance, you are liable to pay tax and your extra income could push you into a higher tax bracket. 

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