Pick the best competitions!

Most of us never bother with competitions because we think our chances of winning are so slim. Wrong! It’s this attitude that leaves the door wide open for people who do bother, allowing them to swoop in and win all the prizes!

For tips on how to be a competition champion invest in a copy of  From Beginner to Winner – The Comping Essential. You should also sign-up to free websites like Get Me A Ticket and  Get Me a Quiz where you’ll be able to enter lots of competitions (with great prizes up for grab) completely free of charge.

De-clutter your house and earn some cash

It's time to rumble through your cupboards to de-junk and make some dosh. The obvious place to sell is online auction site eBay*, but there are other options too.

How much? Dedicated sellers make £100s on the side.

Top Tips: Wait for eBay free listing days if you can. This way, even if a few things don't sell, you won't be out of pocket - and you'll maximise your profit margin. Best of all, you get to enjoy a relaxed, clutter-free home.

Try grouping things together - so if you're selling baby clothes, rather than listing each item one at a time, sell them in bundles of similar sizes and quality. People tend to prefer buying in bulk.

Books & CDs: Amazon is probably the best option for selling old books (unless they are especially rare or collectable), since you need only type in their ISBN numbers and a short description. Amazon will provide full synopses and reviews of most from its database. If you're listing a few in one go, this can save you a lot of time.

Plus Amazon marketplace listings last until all the items are sold, or until you close the listing. Listing CDs one-by-one on eBay may get you the most cash, but it'll take you some time.

Cashbak Shopping

When shopping online, click through to a shop via a ‘cashback’ site and it'll give you a small proportion (usually around 2% but up to 10%) of what you spend back in cash.

These are advertising sites, paid for by providing leads to retailers; to encourage traffic, they split some of their revenue with you in the form of cashback.

How much? Up to £1,000 a year if you’re a serious online buyer.

Affiliate your website.

If you run any kind of website – commercial or personal – you can add affiliate link packages to it and get paid each time somebody clicks from your page. The most popular schemes are Google’s 'Adsense' and Amazon's 'Associates' – and don’t cost a penny to install. Of course, if you're to generate a substantial income through these schemes you'll need a high level of site traffic, and this can be difficult to achieve.

If you're sure you can provide site content which will appeal to a substantial number of people then give it a try, but generally it's not worth starting one up just for the purpose of affiliate linking.

How much? A niche website with loyal usage could earn £1,000s a year from these links.

Spot & flog from car boot/garage sales.

If you've an eye for car booty, buy items cheaply at car boot sales, and sell them at a profit on eBay or other auction sites. The big money lies in spotting collectibles to sell on, so do some research on the net first. Be sure to arrive early to beat off other bargain hunters.

How much? The earning potential increases with your knowledge of rare items and collectible brands, and a little luck doesn't go amiss either; if you're in the right place at the right time this could net you £100s extra a year.

Hey guys not posted for a while as I've been busy and any time I've had I have been working on my other blog.

I'm now an amazon affiliate wooo!

Heres some useful links that may be relevant to your interests.

Work at the supermarket.

Work weekend shifts at your local supermarket - some pay double on Sundays and Bank holidays, and the general rule is the posher the supermarket, the more you'll earn.

How much? Around the £5.50 / £6 mark per hour, and most - if not all - will offer a discount card (usually 10 per cent) on groceries once you’ve been there for a while.

To my followers

Hey guys I'm starting to run out of ideas for this blog!  I've created a new blog here http://motivationallol.blogspot.com/ its gonna be updated daily with a dump of funny images please go check it out!

I'll still be active on this blog and create a new post every few days.

x

Take in a lodger or play guesthouse - tax free.

The ‘rent a room’ scheme means you can take in a lodger to live in a furnished room in your home, and it has a special exemption meaning you won’t have to pay tax on the first £4,250 you make each year. This is a huge tax break for most people and really ups the gain. Better still, as a landlord you’ll be expected to ask for a month in advance, which means ready cash comes in quickly.

If you don't want to do it full time, there's a good halfway house too, you can also just play guesthouse. Website Crashpadder allows you to list your spare room online, and take in travellers looking for a cheap place to stay. You can set the nightly cost, undercutting the local hotels, and you might just get to work on your language skills to boot.

How much? With a full-time lodger, you can take home £4, 250 without paying a penny of tax; if you've a desirable property and don't mind paying income tax on anything above this, you could easily add another £1,000.

Market Research

Focus-group based market research can pay between £30 and £50 for a couple of hours of talking. To get started in it, look up local agencies in the Yellow Pages, or try Saros Research online.

How much? Usually between £30 and £50 per session.

Life Modelling

If you have the confidence to go nude (or semi-nude in some cases), life modelling is a fun way of earning extra cash. For a few hours work, you can usually get a very good rate of pay because it is very hard to recruit for this role. All you have to do is make sure you are able to hold a pose. All shapes and sizes are desired, so do not be put off if you’re not ‘model’ size. Make enquiries at local colleges.

How much? The average wage of a life model in London is £10.50 p/h. Of course, wages vary depending where you work and some models are paid on a 'per job' basis, usually earning more.

Rent out your parking area.

If you live in an area where parking is expensive yet have got an empty parking space in your driveway, you could rent it on a monthly basis. Online parking marketplaces, such as Parkatmyhouse will allow you to list your space in their databases, and set a monthly price for it. You can also set restrictions on use if you're likely to need the space yourself during the weekend or at certain times of year.

How much? You should be able to take just slightly less than the going parking price in your area. Spaces in London generally go for around £200 per month, though security is also a factor in determining price. 

Earn from internet research.

Any Question Answered (AQA), and Ask118 are internet businesses often on the lookout for researchers. All the companies work the same way: a customer searching for the answer to any random question sends a text to researchers - you - who replies with the answer.

The beauty of this work is that you can choose the type of questions that you answer, and hence the hours you work. See Issuebits (AQA), and 118 for vacancies - you'll likely have to pass a test before you get an interview. Vacancies aren't open all the time, so you'll need to be on the ball and checking the sites regularly.

How much? You'll be paid roughly 30p per question, and some can take just a few moments to answer, meaning that experienced researchers get up to £2,000 a month.

100 followers!

Just like to say thanks to everyone that's following and supporting the blog.

Cheers!

Many credit card companies are willing to lend you money at 0% interest, so why not take this cash and save it yourself earning 6% interest on it. This is known as stoozing, it's legal and very profitable; yet it's only for the really financially savvy.

How much? If you get a 0% card with a £5,000 credit limit you should comfortably be able to earn £250 a year on it. The biggest reported stoozer was making £6,000 profit a year from stoozing.

Journalists are always looking for dramatic stories. If you've been in an extreme situation or come close to death, or have any gripping or extraordinary tales to tell, why not get paid and have it published? Many magazines will also pay a premium for interesting letters and photographs, and many TV channels, including Five, will pay for videos too; and often it's much easier to get on-air than you may think.

How much? A 'star letter' will usually fetch £50, and stories can earn £150+. Even amusing photos can earn good cash prizes in some magazines.

Start a 'cottage industry'.

If you're a dab hand at arts and crafts, try selling your jewellery and artwork, whether on eBay or at craft fairs. US websites Etsy and Redbubble are designed exclusively for buying and selling homemade goods. All prices are currently in dollars, but they offer live currency conversion. Some talented MoneySavers make big profits.

How much? Potentially £100s, depending on your spare time, artistic ability, and ability to sell yourself.

If you're fit and healthy – and prepared to accept the risk of tests - you could earn up to £150 a day by taking part in medical trials. Website gpgp.net offers a whole load of information on what to expect (go to the UK section), and where to apply. Note though that it's sponsored by BioTrax; one of the biggest medical trial recruiters in the world.

How much? Depending on what it is you’re being tested for, you can earn between £70 and £150 per day.

Work over the phone and net.

TeleTech is an American telephone support company, who sometimes recruit in the UK. Its major advantage over other phone work is it expects you to work from your own PC at home, using its special software to field calls. Generally, you'll be offering customer service and technical support; full training will be given. Find out more and apply at the TeleTech website.

How much? It depends on which of the company's contracts you're involved with, but you should get no less than £6/hour.

f you don't mind having your car turned into a billboard, some agencies will pay you to advertise on it, or you can get given a car to drive for free. It costs nothing to enrol and there are hidden advantages; cars with large adverts on them are unlikely to be stolen, and the ads protect paintwork. How much? How much you'll earn will depend on what type of car you drive, where, and even (possibly and quite horribly) what you look like. Newcomer Money4Space promises up to £125/month for your trouble

There's a website which pays you to review unsigned music. SliceThePie pays you 5p for each song you rate, but as you build up a reputation you can command up to 25p a time. You'll need a pretty open mind, as you can't choose specific genres, but once you've found a band you like you can vote for them and even buy stock in them to trade.

The system could also be profitable if you're a musician, as if your songs get voted for you could be financed for an album. The system's too complex to describe fully here, so read the site's tutorials before you start.

How much? A dedicated fan putting in a couple of hours a night could expect around £30/month. Not much, but not bad for a hobby. For a band, the sky's the limit if you're good enough.

The website Music Magpie* allows you to type in details of your CDs & DVDs, and it’ll give you an instant cash price, though you need to trade in a minimum of 5 at a time (and up to 500!). To do it you just type in the barcode numbers and follow the on-screen instructions. The site also buys computer games, but for the most part you'll do better by trading them in at high st. game shops.

If you accept its offer, it’ll send freepost stickers for posting and you’ll get cash upon receipt. Someone with loads to get rid of could speedily make money this way.

How much? It depends on the CD of course, most CDs will get you 60p-70p though some go for over £1. DVDs go up to £3.

Can’t I do better elsewhere? Yes, for more modern CDs/DVDs you’re far better off selling them individually on eBay* and other auction sites to get much more. Where MusicMagpie wins out is on convenience, not price.

It's time to rumble through your cupboards to de-junk and make some dosh. The obvious place to sell is online auction house eBay* but there are other options too.

How much? Dedicated sellers make £100s on the side.

Pro Tips: Wait for eBay '10p listings' days. This way, even if a few things don't sell, you won't be out of pocket - and you'll maximise the profit margin. Best of all, you get to enjoy a relaxed, clutter-free home.

Try grouping things together, so if you're selling baby clothes, rather than listing each item one at a time, sell them in bundles of similar sizes and quality. People tend to prefer buying in bulk.

Books & CDs: Amazon is probably the best option for selling old books, (unless they are especially rare or collectable) since you need only type in their ISBN numbers and a short description; Amazon will provide full synopses and reviews of most from its database.

If you're listing a few in one go, this can save you a lot of time. Plus, Amazon marketplace listings last 60 days, and relisting books which don't sell's free, so you needn’t keep spending after the initial fee.

Listing CDs one-by-one on eBay is likely to get you the most cash, but it'll take you some time.

Recycle old mobiles, laptops, cameras, sat navs & more

This is the easiest form of decluttering, as there's a whole industry set up to help. If you have unwanted gadgets, eg, mobiles, cameras, MPs players or even fridges lying around the house, several companies will happily take the relegated beast off your hands.

Not only could this bag you as much as £200 but, by not throwing it out with the rubbish, you'll also be doing your bit for the environment.

How recycling companies work

The idea is simple: you go to the website, find your gadget and it'll tell you what you can get for it. If you agree, it'll send you a free post bag, you send the gadget to it (make sure you send it registered) and the cash will be transferred or you'll receive a cheque. Some sites even arrange free pick up for heavy items.

Many credit card companies are willing to lend you money at 0% interest, so why not take this cash and save it yourself earning 6% interest on it. This is known as stoozing, it's legal and very profitable; yet it's only for the really financially savvy.

How much? If you get a 0% card with a £5,000 credit limit you should comfortably be able to earn £250 a year on it. The biggest reported stoozer was making £6,000 profit a year from stoozing.