There are scores of legit ways to add to your income, whether selling stuff, working from home or going online. After all, no matter how good a MoneySaver you are, a bit more money's always useful.
Make your money work harder
1. Give yourself a 25% pay rise
There's nowt more powerful than sorting out your own finances.
By shifting to the best deal on every product, you can give yourself a 25% pay rise, without cutting back. Before anything else, this is the most important starting point.
How much? The average UK family could gain £2,500 to £5,000 a year doing this.
How do I do it? Use the step-by-step Money Makeover guide.
2. Make your credit card pay you
Cashback credit cards pay you back a proportion of what you spend each time you use them.
Set up a direct debit to pay the card off in full each month, so there's no interest cost, and you can earn £100s/year. Just use the card for all your normal spending.
How much? The top cards pay 5% cashback for the first three months.
How do I do it? For updated best buys, see the Top Cashback Cards guide.
Make sure you're getting the most out of your savings. Too many people leave their savings in pitiful high street bank accounts where former best buy rates have dropped massively.
Even worse, you may have it in a current account earning just 0.1%. Stop! Five minutes' work will let you increase the interest massively.
How much? For every £5,000 you have in a top easy access savings account, you could earn over £100 a year more than in a poor account – potentially much more if you're able to tuck it away for a couple of years.
How do I do it? See Top Savings Accounts, Starting Saving and Best Bank Accounts.
4. Free £150+ for switching to a better bank account
There's fierce competition in the banking market, so
much so, some bribe you to switch - often with as much as £150. As often
these are best-buys anyway, take it and smile.
See Best Bank Accounts for a full guide on how to switch accounts, what the best deals are and what sort of account is right for you.
5. Pay off debts with savings
Most people who try to save while they're in debt are
simply throwing their money away.
The amount you pay in interest to
borrow is much more than you earn on your savings, so pay the debt off
with savings and you're quids in.
How much? Someone with £5,000 on a credit card and £5,000 saved is likely to be around £800 a year better off by paying off the debt with the savings.
Find out more: See the full Should I Pay Off My Debts?, Should I Pay Off My Student Loan? and Should I Overpay My Mortgage? guides.
6. Get the benefits you're entitled to
There's a plethora of benefits available – the key is
working out whether you're entitled to them.
The rather nifty tool from
benefits specialists Entitledto in our Benefits Checkup guide does the work for you.
For more, read the Benefits Check-up, Pension Boosting and Childcare Costs guides.
7. Use your credit rating to stooze
Many credit card companies are willing to lend you money
at 0% interest, so why not use this cash for everyday spending,
replacing all other credit and debit card spending?
This means you'll now have debts on your 0% card (make
sure you make the min repayment each month) and a similar amount in
your current account, which you can save in an ISA or high interest
savings account.
Pay off the full balance before the 0% ends, having
earned interest on the money saved. This is known as stoozing. It's
legal and can be profitable, yet it's only for the really
financially-savvy.
For a full how-to, see the step-by-step Stoozing: Make Free Cash guide.
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