I made £45k on my side hustle in a YEAR – you can even make cash watching Netflix, it’s easy
A WOMAN has revealed how she raked in an extra £45k thanks to her savvy side hustle – and it’s loads easier than you might think.
Speaking on The Money Giants Podcast Emma Jackson, from Bee Money Savvy, opened up about her own side hustle success, plus how anyone can make some extra cash without even leaving their couch.
After watching her parents living from pay check to pay check to get by, Emma knew she wanted to have funds for a rainy day.
“Throughout my teens I was super money savvy because I did not want to be in the same position as my parents,” she explained.
But once she got older she took things up a notch, which meant she didn’t have to count down to payday each month like her co-workers.
Alongside her first job where she earned around £12,00 per year, Emma had a few side gigs to help out, including taking part in paid surveys and being a mystery shopper.
But it wasn’t until she she started sharing her money advice on her blog that money really started coming in, although she confessed it was slow to get started.
Now, Emma makes the bulk of her money through blogging, followed by referral schemes online, which brought in £8,000 for her last year.
She also gets an extra £50 per month from surveys, although noted that she could earn way more if she had the time.
Surveys are a great side hustle if you don’t have much spare time, Emma said, because you can do them on your lunch break or even in the evenings when you’re watching Netflix.
“It’s worth having [the survey sites] open in a tab just to see if anything pops up,” she said.
Some surveys will pay you less than a quid, but for longer surveys, you can earn a lot more.
PopulusLive pays £1 per five minutes up to a maximum of £50.
Prolific is another survey site, but there are eligibility criteria so you won’t be able to do every survey.
Where you do qualify, each survey could net you up to a tenner.
Some of the best-known survey sites are:
- i-Say
- Swagbucks
- Crowdology
- Curious Cat
- Google Opinion Rewards
- PopulusLive
Cashback sites like Cheddar and Top Cash Back also mean you can get money back when you spend, Emma explained, which is a great way of making passive income.
Emma suggested using more than one of the sites, “If there’s a retailer that’s on three [of the sites] you’ll earn three lots of cashback,” she said.
For anyone wanting to start their own side hustle, the money whizz said her best tip is to “just start”.
“You’re not going to start something today and it will make £1,000 tomorrow, but if you keep chipping away it will pay off eventually.”
She also suggested finding a side hustle you actually enjoy, since you’re more likely to stick to it and make more money.
Other popular side hustles anyone can try
Help out your neighbours – up to £45k a year
There is now a whole selection of apps that help people living in a local area to swap information, offer services for free or a fee and resell unwanted items.
It’s possible to turn something you love into ready cash by listing on these sites.
While tasks like dog walking, helping others out with DIY or gardening are popular choices, there are those you can do from your sofa, or someone else’s, like house sitting.
Nextdoor is a popular app that connects you to your neighbours.
If you have a service to offer, you can list it easily for free. The app also verifies every user so you know they really are a neighbour.
TaskRabbit specialises in DIY and other more physical tasks such as home repairs, cleaning and moving house.
Job site Indeed lists the typical salaries you can earn through the app, ranging from around £25,000 a year for cleaning jobs up to £45,000 for people helping others to carry out business operations and admin.
Some apps will take a cut of what you earn, while others let you keep 100% of the income you generate through their app.
Make sure you check the fine print so you don’t get stung with a nasty surprise.
Rent it – up to £650 a month
There’s a demand for renting a huge range of items – anything from DIY tools to your car or even your driveway.
Hiyacar, Getaround, Karshare and Turo let you rent your car out to other people when you’re not using it, meaning it earns its keep.
Check the contract terms for insurance and safety measures before you get going – you could earn up to £650 a month.
JustPark and YourParkingSpace let you list any spare space where you park and charge users a fee.
Depending on where you live you could earn up to £40 a day – especially if you’re close to a train station.
You can also advertise on sites such as Nextdoor and Gumtree if you want to rent out smaller items such as a lawnmower for the day.
Do I need to pay tax on my side hustle income?
MANY people feeling strapped for cash are boosting their bank balance with a side hustle.
The good news is, there are plenty of simple ways to earn some additional income – but you need to know the rules.
When you’re employed the company you work for takes the tax from your earnings and pays HMRC so you don’t have to.
But anyone earning extra cash, for example from selling things online or dog walking, may have to do it themselves.
Stephen Moor, head of employment at law firm Ashfords, said: “Caution should be taken if you’re earning an additional income, as this is likely to be taxable.
“The side hustle could be treated as taxable trading income, which can include providing services or selling products.”
You can make a gross income of up to £1,000 a year tax-free via the trading allowance, but over this and you’ll usually need to pay tax.
Stephen added: “You need to register for a self-assessment at HMRC to ensure you are paying the correct amount of tax.
“The applicable tax bands and the amount of tax you need to pay will depend on your income.”
If you fail to file a tax return you could end up with a surprise bill from HMRC later on asking you to pay the tax you owe – plus extra fees on top.