15 Ideas for Making Money You Can Try Immediately (and make £500 a month)

We all know what to do with a bit more money. When it comes to ideas for making money, things are not as easy.

More likely than not, you have grown up believing that making money is hard.

You watched people around you struggle while relying solely on their wages. Your dad told you that ‘money doesn’t grow on trees’.

And you believed it, right?

I know how it is to dream about having more money while feeling impotent when it comes to earning it.

What if I tell you that it is possible to earn money on top, or even instead, of your wages?

Yes, it is possible. I’ll prove it and run by you fifteen money making ideas that will make you up to £500 per month. No sweat.

(And I’ll never tell you to sell your old stuff and call it money making. Recycling your stuff is great for the environment and may even bring you some money; sustainable money-making idea it isn’t.)

I have money making ideas for you. Do you have five minutes to read them?

Specialist ideas for making money

These ideas on how to make money may need specialist skills. Still, the work is not ‘high entry’, and you likely either already have the competencies, or you could develop these fast.

#1. Cook, and deliver, meals

You can start a side hustle to cook and deliver meals to people who either have no time to do that or a not able to do it (through age, for example). Go around a neighbourhood and ask whether people would try the service.

Pros: This side hustle scales: the products will cost you more with no increase in effort. You can scale up the meals you cook for yourself. Cooking for five people at £30 per week could make you a profit of approximately £100; or £400 per month.

Cons: It is a great responsibility. You also need to be able to convince people in quality, reliability and hygiene.

#2. Design and sell custom t-shirts

We all have t-shirts that say funny things on them. I’m wearing a hoody telling people who look at me to ‘keep calm, carry on and let Maria sort it out’.

Did you know that this can be a lucrative side income source?

For success, you need three things:

• Come up with clever, funny and timely designs (a friend in the US made thousands selling t-shirts and mugs saying ‘Nasty woman’ after Trump called this Hilary Clinton).
• Find a reliable print, shipping and fulfillment service like Printful.com and make full use of what they have to offer.
• Identify the platform to sell your creations.

Pros: This is a money-making idea that can grow into a small business.

Cons: You need to experiment; some of your designs will fail.

#3. Mend electronics

We live in a ‘use and throw away’ culture.

Environmental and money concerns, however, are bringing mending back.

Mending electronics – both software and hardware – is a growing opportunity.

Pros: You can do this from home and in your ‘spare’ time. It is hard to cost but depending on how much you work, you could easily make £500 per month or over.

Cons: Needs specialised knowledge and skills.

#4. Teach a musical instrument

Middle-class parents send their middle-class children to learn to play musical instruments. If you play an instrument, learn to teach it.

Pros: This could be fun, and by working couple of hours on Saturday you could make £60 per week (easy).

Cons: Requires specialised expertise (and talent). You also must be good with children.

#5. Tutor in a school subject

When I was at school, you had to do the learning yourself.

Today, many children study with tutors.

You could turn this to your advantage and become a school subject tutor.

Pros: Working four hours per week, you could make between £80 and £120 depending on subject and level (GCSE or A-level). Maths, physics and chemistry pay best.

Cons: This is highly specialised. Needs continuous learning to keep abreast with changes in curriculum and exam structure.

#6. Learn to edit text

Editing text, whether content marketing copy or student essays, is a growing business. Especially appropriate if you do write, have some experience editing and live in a university town (overseas students are especially in need of this service).

Pros: Can do from home in your spare time. Editing a 2,000 words essay can bring you between £80 and £100 depending on subject and year of study.

Cons: Highly specialised and seasonal (there are no essays to edit every week).

#7. Write for websites

There has not been such a great time for writers to make money since the time of the scribes. Learn to write for websites and other online opportunities.

Pros: This side hustle scales well. When you become a better and faster writer it could become your main source of income.

Cons: Building up the competence and evidence of being a good online writer takes much effort and some time.

#8. Mend clothes

When my sister comes to visit, we welcome her with a hug and ask her to saw some buttons, mend hems and correct torn trouser pockets.

When my sister is not around, we take clothing that needs small alterations and mending to a nice lady.

If you are good with a needle, you can make some money by mending clothes.

Pros: Can do working from home in your spare time. Mending you could make £60-£70 per week with little effort.

Cons:  If you are like me, you’d rather climb Everest than pick a needle.

General ideas for making money

#9. Walk dogs

Most people have very busy lives. Does this mean they have to forego the pleasure of having a dog?

Not really. It only means that the number of people who pay for dog walking is growing. My friend, for example, pays £12 per day for dog walking (one walk of an hour and a half).

Pros: You get to enjoy playing with dogs and walking in nature without the responsibility to look after them all the time. Walking four dogs, three times a week you will make £144. You could do this before work or step up and make a job of it.

Cons: Must love and understand dogs.

#10. Dog-sit for busy professionals

This is not like walking dogs; this is so much better and easier.

Busy people can be away from home for up to ten hours a day. Dogs are sociable creatures – when left alone for long they get depressed and destroy the house.

You could sit a couple of dogs during the week, right?

Pros: It is no bother, and you can have the dogs in the house when you are there (and doing other things, like writing, for instance). You can charge £100-£150 per week, per dog.

Cons: You must love and understand dogs.

#11. Offer gardening services

Some people love gardening and relax doing it.

I’m not one of them; and there many people like me.

If you like gardening and can do it at basic or advanced level, you’ll be doing me a favour if you do my garden. I’ll pay you for it.

Pros: Flexibility and doesn’t need specialised skills.

Cons: I can’t think of any.

#12. Become a general DIY person

Things break and need maintenance. Most people don’t have the skills and time to do it.

Pros: Can be done on weekends.

Cons: You must be handy, healthy and strong.

#13. Clean houses (housework)

This one is the most straight forward money-making idea. Most working people have little time to do housework. Learn to do it and do it well (including spring cleaning, ironing and cleaning after house repairs).

Pros: There is a lot of work.

Cons: There is a lot of competition because this is low entry work (said differently, anyone can do it).

#14. Help people declutter

I love living in a house with no clutter.

Still, my house is far from my ideal of clean lines and empty surfaces.

What is stopping me?

I can cope with selecting what to keep and what to discard. I can’t cope with the rejects and would have loved someone to take it all away and dispose of it.

You can start helping people declutter by offering to take their discarded stuff away.

Pros: You’ll get paid at both ends – to take the stuff away and to recycle it.

Cons: You need a van, and this can be hard work.

#15. Do small chores for older people

Older people need help to stay independent and in their houses. They need help with shopping, cleaning, cooking, ironing and washing.

(We are not talking about looking after older people but helping with chores.)

You could reach an agreement with several older people and help them with everyday chores for a set fee per week.

Pros: Can be done flexibly and feels good.

Cons: Can become demanding work.

Final thoughts

Do you still think that making money is hard?

Try three ideas for making money shared in this post.

I bet you’ll be making £500 or more per month within a couple of months. Think about what you could do with this money and have the courage to get out of your comfort zone.

There isn’t so much good stuff on Netflix anyway.

 

photo credit: DimitraTzanos Motivational Quotes & Lions via photopin (license)