In fact, there are some side hustles – such as getting paid to Google, or watch TV – where you don’t even need to leave your sofa.
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Selling your old clothes is a good way to make cash with minimal effortCredit: Getty Images – Getty
You don’t usually need to pay income tax on money you get from occasionally selling personal possessions online.
But if you’re selling regularly to make a profit, there is a tax-free trading allowance of £1,000 that can be applied to these types of earnings each year.
Anything over this, and you might be liable to pay tax.
See the Gov.uk website for more information.
You may also need to pay capital gains tax on items worth £6,000 or more, excluding cars, that you’ve made a profit on because they’ve increased in value.
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Did you know you can get paid to Google?Credit: Getty – Contributor
Get paid to Google
Yes, you can really get paid to sit on the sofa and browse the internet.
One company which will give you money to Google is Qmee, which is essentially an add-on to your browser.
This add-on then works in the background as you Google and brings up extra results when you start searching.
If you click on one of these results, you’ll earn between 4p and 15p – and sometimes as much as £1.
It could take a while for any earnings to add up to a substantial amount, but it could be worth it if you have spare time on your hands.
The cash is paid to you via Paypal, with can be transferred into your main current account.
Get paid to watch TV
If you’re a telly addict, you could be making money by sharing your opinions on the latest shows.
The Viewers puts together research panels for broadcasters and programme makers so they can get feedback on TV programmes.
So not only could you be making money from watching TV, you could get a sneak peak of the latest shows before they air.
You can earn up to £50 for taking part in a 90-minute research panel via Zoom, £10 for a programme review of an hour-long show, or between £1 and £3 for a survey.
Payment options include bank transfer, PayPal, Amazon or flexible gift vouchers redeemable at most retailers.
Sell your old clothes
If you’re bored at home, it could be a good time to clear out your wardrobe.
You can then sell unwanted garments online, using sites such as eBay, Shpock, Facebook Marketplace, Depop.
Depending on what you’ve got to sell, you could be looking at a few spare pounds or more.
Just keep in mind that some of these sites may charge listing fees or take a percentage of any sale, so check first.
For example, eBay doesn’t charge private sellers to list items but it takes a “final value” fee of 10% of the total sold price including postage and packaging.
Private listers are allowed to post 1,000 items for free each month.
Anything over this amount is charged an “insertion” fee of 35p per listing.
Turn rubbish into cash
From wine corks to toilet roll tubes, you might be surprised to discover how your rubbish can turn into cash.
The people who buy these items are usually looking for craft materials, or even bits to decorate their home.
When we looked on eBay, we found 100 used wine corks had sold for £5, meanwhile a box of 85 toilet roll tubes sold for the same price.
Check out our full round-up of what other rubbish items people are buying.
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If you don’t use it, you can make money from itCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Sell unwanted gadgets
Unused gadgets that have been gathering dust can also be sold from home.
Cash In Your Gadgets, for example, offers a free courier service where it’ll pick up your goods, including old laptops, computers and tablets.
For example, we were offered £150 when we tried to sell an Asus Intel Core i7 laptop in “good condition”.
Your computer must be in full working order to be sold.
You also won’t get paid until Cash In Your Gadget has received and tested your item.
Sell old CDs and games
If you’re looking to get rid of old CDs, Music Magpie also offers a courier service so you don’t need to leave your home.
To start selling, you need to enter the barcode of the product you want to sell.
We were offered 50p for an unopened Star Wars: The Last Jedi DVD, so you may need to sell in bundles if you want to make decent cash.
The courier service from Music Magpie is free.
Fill out online surveys
Filling out online surveys can be an easy way to make money if you’ve got spare time.
There are lots of sites you can use, but these are among the most popular: YouGov, i-Say and Swagbucks.
Each survey pays between 5p to £1, depending on the size of the survey and site, so it can take a while to build up your cash.
You also need to check daily for new surveys, so be prepared to put the time in.
We’ve previously reported how you can make up to £6 per survey.
Some survey websites also pay in vouchers, but they include big-name retailers such as Amazon, John Lewis and Argos.
Post deals
LatestDeals.co.uk gives away thousands of free Amazon vouchers every month to members.
Bargain hunters earn points whenever they share and post about a new deal on the LatestDeals website.
These points can then be turned into Amazon vouchers – completely free of charge.
Sharing a deal online will get you around 100 points, while posting about a deal or competition is ten points.
You can also earn 250 points by referring a friend to the LatestDeals website.
To transfer these points into vouchers, you’ll need 5,000 points for a £5 gift card, going up to 11,000 points for a £50 voucher.
Read more about how to earn free Amazon vouchers.
Become a problem solver for companies
If you’re super creative, or maybe have a unique skill, you could earn money from helping companies solve problems.
Check websites such as InnoCentive and Idea Connection which are where businesses will post problems that they need help fixing.
If you’ve got a solution, post your proposal, and you could be chosen to help the company.
Recent posts include creating a gel or a cream to protect against Covid-19, or designing an inflatable paddle.
This cash is by no means guaranteed – but the rewards can be substantial if you’re chosen, sometimes going into thousands of pounds.
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You can make money by renting out your drivewayCredit: Getty – Contributor
Cashback on shopping
Cashback websites pay you to shop by giving you money back on what you buy.
Simply purchase your item through free websites including TopCashback and Quidco and registered purchases will automatically add cashback to your account.
Once received, you can withdraw the money and transfer it straight into your bank account.
We’ve previously seen how one savvy spender made £1,200 through cashback.
Rent out your driveway
If you’ve got a driveway you don’t use, you could be making money from it.
In fact, we’ve seen how one money-saver made £500 by renting out her unused parking space.
Websites where you can do this include Kerb and JustPark, although both take a percentage of booking fees.
Kerb takes 20% of any booking fee, while JustPark takes a 3% booking fee.
If you don’t own your home, check with your landlord first before listing your driveway.
You should also run it by your home insurer too.
Enter competitions
Competitions are never guaranteed, but if luck is on your side, you could find yourself winning holidays or big cash prizes.
Websites including Magic Freebies will scout out free competitions for you so you don’t have to spend ages browsing the internet.
The Sun spoke to one competition addict who enters 100 a day and has won £20,000 in prizes over the past two-and-a-half years.
Try and stick to free competitions, as you don’t want to end up spending loads on entrance fees.
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It could be a good time to save cash, with bills set to rise by up to £347 for some UK households.
We’ve rounded up how you can get help paying your rent, mortgage and bills if you’re struggling financially.
See our rent payments guide for more information.
Fed-up wife lists her husband of 7 years for sale on eBay for just £16
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