musicMagpie Blog

Got more time than money on your hands? It's time to switch things up! Our friends at Save the Student take a look at low-effort ways to make a buck on the side.

There are hundreds of ways to increase your income "" often, you're only limited by your imagination! Whether you want to make something, do something or monetise the things you own, we've got the quick fixes to get you started (there are 40 more easy money makers right here).

A lot of our tips include some of the best ways to make money from your phone too. And while these are all things you can dive into without lots of red tape, don't forget to check the tax rules for yourself!

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1. Sell stuff you've made

No crafting skills? No problemo: hand-made doesn't have to involve glue, nails or accidentally stapling your jumper to a desk:

–  Got a decent camera, or have loads of holiday, pet or even lunch snaps? Get your photos on sites like iStock, PicFair or Alamy and they could earn you cash (just check what commission sites slice off the top)

–  Sell sound fx or "" if you're more musical "" songs, tunes or jingles on sites like Audio Jungle. Computer games are a huge market: think cartoon beeps, bangs or level-ups!

–  If you're skilful with your digits, you may be able to charge a premium for hand-made clothes, jewellery or ornaments (get your own Etsy store?). Or go the upcycling route: find cast offs, make "˜em pretty, and sell "˜em on.

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2. Teach what you know

You'd be surprised what folk want to learn "" remember when we hit peak knitting a few years ago? If you think outside the box, you've probably got a whole heap of talents ripe for picking:

–  Offer conversational English practice (or whatever lingo you speak). Get online if local demand is low "" services like Skype make it super easy

–  Pass on the skills of your job, or be a career mentor

–  Know how to fix a leaky pipe or fit shelves? DIY is always in demand but, if you're not ready to go pro, teach what you know "" for a fee

How to make money from your phone

You can make money when you sell your old phone to musicMagpie! Simply:

1 – Select your phone's network, story capacity and condition

2 – Pop it into a box and send it for FREE

3 – Get paid the same day it arrives!

Make money from your phone today!

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3. Hire out your gear

If you've ever had a mate borrow something and never return it (or, worse, handed it back in bits), charging for the privilege is a smarter option.

Not only are folk more likely to look after stuff if they've got cash riding on it, but you can earn extra for very little effort. Think: gardening gear, printer access, camera test drives "" even clothes. There are websites out there to help you find clients but if you're sticking local, a blog, social media or flyers in supermarkets might be all you need.

The sweet spot is charging a fraction of what the item costs to buy, but enough to cover your time and any cleaning or maintenance. If it's something very pricey you might want to include you-break-it-you-pay-for-it terms!

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4. Be strategic about surveys

There are hundreds of penny-a-time survey sites out there, but the smarter tactic is sourcing ones that reward your time better. You've got a couple of options:

– Prolific is rumoured to have decent rates, as they only host surveys that pay ethically (at least £5/hr, although not all surveys last that long)

– Wait for bonus sign-ups, then dedicate a couple of days to blitzing surveys and tasks to meet the reward limit. Then cash out.

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5. Be a task turkey

Payouts may vary from the lucrative to the laughable, but there's no shortage of online task work. Amazon's Mechanical Turk offers home-working gigs (stuff like checking text, psychological experiments, or posting links), but pay can be as low as a few pennies a time. Unless you've got oodles of time be selective and wait for higher paying jobs! Turk's had mixed feedback: jobs are easy enough but repetitive and unlikely to make you rich.

If you've got more time to spare, check out sites like Fiverr, which is where the world goes to hawk its talents. Could you design business cards, build a website, hold a billboard or record a voice-over? Someone out there will pay "" and from £4+ a time.

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6. Earn from blogging

Everyone seems to have a blog and a book deal these days. If you've got the viewing figures you can wait to be discovered "" but if you just want some extra cash, you could consider monetising in the meantime:

–  If you own the content you upload to YouTube opt in to show advertising alongside your videos. Earnings can be low, so think about posting regularly and often, or go for unique, funny or opinionated vlogs to bring the cash in.

–  Loads of successful bloggers have created whole sites around just a couple of products, whether make-up, photography equipment or books. They review or link to those items on stores which give them a cut if readers buy. There are a lots of affiliate sites out there "" try Amazon Associates or Affiliate Window.

–  As with anything, the more time you can throw at developing your online presence, the more you can earn. But if you're not bothered about earning big bucks, even setting something up and leaving it alone could earn you pocket money without any more effort.

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Have you got a brilliant way to make extra money? Let us know in the comments!

And don't forget, you can also make cash by selling your unwanted Mobile Phones, CDs, DVDs, Games, Books and Tech with musicMagpie! Simply get an instant price, send your stuff for FREE and we'll pay you the same day it arrives – why wouldn't you?!