Including how to make money online for beginners
This is the best guide on learning easy ways to make money in the UK. Earn extra money online easily with our beginner guide that walks you through what you need to do to make money online.
We’ve put all our making money online ideas here, in a list, from simple to hard so that, as a beginner, you can start slow and then gain confidence with earning money online.
Remember that before you start earning money you need to register with HMRC if you earn over £1000 during a tax year.
You don’t need a separate account or anything to have your money deposited in. Just remember to try and keep track of what you are earning in case you do need to fill out a self-assessment form.
If you are looking for more ways to make money from home then have a look at:
101 Genuine Work From Home Jobs in the UK – This is the biggest list of work from home jobs that you can use to start your new career. We have everything to help you start up or just do something on the side.
37 Home Based Jobs You Can Do While Working From Home – These the best jobs you can do at home around the kids.
7 Typing Jobs From Home That All Mums Could Do – Are you a really fast typist? Then these jobs are for you.
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Easy ways to make money from home in the UK
This list is full of ways you can earn extra cash online. We’ve started with the easiest money-making ideas right down to the longer-term making money ideas.
Some of these are slow burners but they really can help you to make money from home.
Trading 212
This is pretty much like earning free money. All you do is add £1 to the app and you could get a free share of up to £100 which you can then cash out. There’s no tricks here as we have done this ourselves.
Trading 212 is a free trading platform that helps you to invest. The easy-to-use mobile trading app and website walks you through how to trade by getting you to answer some simple questions on your current knowledge of trading.
Use our free Trading 212 link here to make sure that you get your free share up to £100*.
Read more about how Trading 212 works and how to claim your free share.
Is it really an easy way to make money online?
Yes, using trading 212 is easy as it takes about two minutes to complete. You do need to keep the stock for 30-days but then you can cash straight out and then close your account. Easy rating: 10/10.
Cashback sites
What we love about cashback sites is that you can save money as well as earn money. Every time you spend money make sure you check a cashback website first to see if you can get any money back. This includes everything from your grocery shopping to your household bills.
Search for what you need and buy it through a cashback site and you’ll get back a percentage of what you spend.
We currently use OhMyDosh, but there are loads out there just as good. Sign up here for free to get £1 added to your account now*
Don’t leave your money sat there. As soon as you hit the threshold, cash it out. You never know what’s around the corner.
Read more about the cashback sites we like to use here.
Is it really an easy way to make money online?
Yes. Using cashback sites like OhMyDosh are really easy as you just click on the link and purchase like normal through the website. You get cashback within 30-days of your confirmed purchase. Make sure cashout as soon as the money is there as it isn’t protected in till it hits your own account. Easy rating: 9/10.
Online survey sites
Online surveys are great to do while you are sat watching TV or waiting for the kettle to boil. You won’t necessarily make bundles of cash, but for just 20 minutes or so work, you could make a few pounds.
These are the one’s we’ve used before but there are plenty floating about that payout in either vouchers or cold hard cash.
Read our complete list here on How to Get Paid Market Research Gigs.
Pick My Postcode
Pick My Postcode is all about helping you to win big cash prizes with your postcode. It is 100% free to enter and by visiting Pick My Postcode daily you could win money. What we love is that there really is no catch at all with Pick My Postcode. You sign up for free, tell them your postcode then check back every day to see if your postcode has been chosen. It really is that simple!
Join Pick My Postcode here for free*
Read more about how Pick My Postcode works here.
Join Pick My Postcode here for big cash prizes daily. It’s 100% free*. You don’t have to pick any numbers. Your postcode acts as your winning ticket and can be drawn at any time. It really is super simple and free to enter.
YouGov
YouGov is a government survey website that asks you to rate and answer questions on what’s happening in the world today. The questions could be about anything; from politics to brands and even TV.
It’s really easy to join and the surveys normally take about ten minutes to complete.
OhMyDosh
While OhMyDosh is a cashback website they also offer surveys too. You can boost your income while taking the surveys.
Join OhMyDosh here for free and have £1 added to your account.*
Our other favourite survey sites are:
Respondent
Prolific
OnePoll
Instagc
Swagbucks
Valued Opinions
MySurvey
Is it really an easy way to make money online?
Yes. They don’t take a lot of time but they don’t earn that much. These are a slow burner but are quick to do around the kids. Easy rating: 8/10.
Mystery Shopper
Mystery shopping is a great way to make money but also get some free items, which will help reduce your family food bill as well.
Being a mystery shopper involves you evaluating the quality of service.
Companies agencies recruit mystery shoppers to carry out assignments so they get a real view of what is going on. Once the mystery shop is complete, the shopper will fill out a report and you will receive a payment for doing so.
Is it really an easy way to make money online?
Yes, it is but it can take a few weeks to get accepted to become a mystery shopper. There is normally an online test as well that you have to pass to be accepted. Easy rating: 7/10.
Real ways to make money from home
The next set of easy ways to make money ideas are a little bit more difficult but can earn you more money in the longer term. These are more like jobs and can turn into something really special.
Virtual Assistant
A virtual assistant is someone who works from home, who can perform all the nitty-gritty admin jobs that a client needs remotely.
This could be any admin task and is normally a high-paying job with no experience needed. You could be doing anything from scheduling social media to creating marketing images to just answering emails or amending spreadsheets.
A Virtual Assistant is useful for any size business, and as someone who’s worked both sides, as an employer and employee, most Virtual Assistants are very flexible and work on an hour-by-hour payment basis.
You don’t have to have any secretarial experience, as many Virtual Assistants specialize in something. Have you got marketing experience? Social media knowledge? Are you organized? Most Virtual Assistants can earn up to £25 an hour.
It can be hard to find your first client but you can start by using the content mills like Fiverr and People Per Hour and then slowly branch out when you have a portfolio or word of mouth hits.
Read more about becoming a Virtual Assistant here.
This is the only Virtual Assistant Essential Tool Kit you will ever need.
It includes:
A list of essential tools you’ll need to get your first client and get paid
This 7 value-packed templates includes:
- A list of VA essential tools
- Invoice template (Word)
- Time Card spreadsheet (Excel with pre-made formulas)
- Invoice spreadsheet (Excel with pre-made formulas)
- Blog post promotion spreadsheet (Excel)
- Engagement questions for most niches (Excel)
- Facebook schedule (Excel)
The Virtual Assistant Essential Tool Kit can help you land your first client, and keep you on track for when it’s time to invoice.
Read more about becoming a Virtual Assistant here.
Is it really an easy way to make money online?
Yes, but it is a slow burner. You will need a laptop and be familiar with the latest Office Tools and social media platforms. You need to be keeping track of the hours you do so you can bill them correctly. Easy rating: 5/5.
Matched Betting
Matched betting is a completely legal, tried, and tested way to make money online while you’re at home. It basically turns the tables on the bookmakers, to give you their free bet offers, so you can’t lose.
If you’re doing it correctly, you will never lose any money, but you do need to take your time and be really careful to avoid any mistakes.
Make sure you understand fully before you deposit any money.
Our matched betting guide is for beginners who want to place their first bet safely, but have no idea how matched betting even works.
Read more about how Outplayed works here.
Is it really an easy way to make money online?
Yes, it is when you know what you are doing. It can take time as you need to make sure that you really read through the guides on how it works. You also need to keep some money in the pot as that’s how you get the best deals. Easy rating: 5/5.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is when you sell something on behalf of someone else and get a commission. You advertise someone else’s products and services and when someone buys, you receive a small percentage.
There’s a lot of affiliate programs out there, so whatever you’re interested in, you’ll be able to find a scheme for it. It does take a while to build but affiliate marketing is a great passive income earner meaning you only have to set it up once and you’ll keep receiving income.
Remember to research the rules on declaring the links.
Our top five affiliates who are great to work with and we trust are:
Profit Accumulator: A oddmatcher and tracker
Mailerlite: A email campaign provider
Switch Craft: They automatically switch you when there’s a better deal
Go Henry: A pre-paid pocket money card and app for kids
Emma Drew’s Turn Your Dream into Money*: A blogging course to get you up and running
Is it really an easy way to make money online?
Yes, but it is a slow burner as you do need to be dropping links on your social media accounts or use any online platform you have. Most only pay out when you hit a certain limit, like £50, so you need to think about that as well. Easy rating: 4/10.
Blogging
Blogging can be a great hobby, but also a very good way to earn money and go places with your family that you’ve never even dreamed of before.
You need to find a topic that you are passionate about. Don’t worry if you don’t enjoy writing, you can vlog on YouTube or even just start with a Facebook page.
The good thing about blogging is that you can start for free and earn money in a load of different ways like advertising, through sponsored posts (this is where a brand asks a blogger to write about their branded products), affiliates (where someone buys something after a blogger has written about them), products and courses.
You can start a blog really quickly and easily but will need a domain name, host and website which you can sort yourself quickly. We use WordPress to build Savings 4 Savvy Mums and TSO Host for our domain name. They also offer hosting too and with our code S4SM10%OFF you can get 10% off.*
Don’t forget to sign up to a email marketing provider. Many offer you a free service till you hit a certain amount of subscribers. This is a great way to keep all your readers involved in what you’re working on. We use Mailerlite as they offer a great customer service and are very easy to use!
This is the only Blogging Toolkit you will ever need.
It includes:
Everything you need to start your blogging journey in the right way!
This has 15 value-packed templates which includes:
- SEO Checklist
- SEO Cheatsheet
- 100 Blog Post Ideas
- Blog Post Title Ideas
- Blog Post Creation Checklist
- Weekly Content Planner (Excel)
- Income Tracker (Excel)
- Accounts Spreadsheet (Excel)
- Invoice Template (Word)
- Affiliates Spreadsheet (Excel)
- Blog Stats Spreadsheet (Excel)
- Blog Post Analysis (Excel)
- Lead Magnet Ideas
- 17 Must Have Post Ideas
- How to Jump Start Your Mailing List Booklet
The Blogging Toolkit can help you start blogging by suggesting what to write and get you ahead on your SEO journey which can help you gain more free views quickly. We have also included an Accounts Spreadsheet and Affiliate Sheet which helps you keep track of your earnings.
Find out more here about the Blogging Toolkit.
Is it really an easy way to make money online?
Yes, it is. It can take about six months to start earning money though as you need enough content on the blog to start getting readers. Your domain authority, which a lot of companies use to assess your website’s worth also needs time to grow. Easy rating: 4/10.
Freelance Writing
The internet needs writers and you could be paid to be one of them. Anything goes from game scriptwriters to e-book writers to academic writing.
Many companies pay per word or per article, and pay will depend on your experience and writing abilities.
There’s companies out there that will help you find work as well, but do take a commission on what you earn.
These are sites like:
People Per Hour*
Upwork
Fiverr*
Is it really an easy way to make money online?
Yes but you do need the skills to be able to do this one. You’ll need to be a creative thinker with great English skills and know-how to write. Easy rating: 3/10.
Teach online
If you have a skill then you can earn money online. Are you good at baking? Do you speak a language? Whatever skill you have, you can use it to teach online.
You can even teach English online to students who need help. You don’t need much to start, just a laptop and a camera, and you can start to earn online.
Have a look at Lingoda and iTalki if you like the sound of teaching English online.
Is it really an easy way to make money online?
Yes but you do have to jump through some hoops if you want to teach English online. You need to pass a few tests and then try and find clients. If you are selling your skills online yourself then you do need to start finding an audience to sell your skills. Easy rating: 3/10.
Related Posts:
- How to Sell Online: This is the 2021 Guide to Selling Online
- 31 Work From Home Jobs for Mums
- How to Make Money Online for Beginners
Dropshipping
Drop shipping is a great way of earning money on eBay or Amazon without having your own products. You sell other peoples products but for a mark-up so you make a profit.
A great example of this on the high street are stores like Argos and John Lewis who sell other brands.
To get started in dropshipping and to be successful, you’ll need:
- A tracking program that tells eBay when the product is in stock or out of stock. We use Hustle Got Real that pulls our listings if they suddenly go out of stock. They track major UK brands so you don’t have to. Hustle Got Real takes away all the pain of droppshipping and pretty much manages the listings themselves.
- An eBay or Amazon Store. We started on eBay just as a private seller. It currently costs 36p to insert a listing so make sure you work out when it’s cheaper to switch to a store.
- Time. Again this isn’t a get rich quick scheme but is a great way to make money as a passive income. You need to be on your eBay or Amazon store every day even if you only list one product. They reward you for being active!
Read more about how dropshipping works here
Is it really an easy way to make money online?
Yes but this one takes time, money and dedication. You need to either be selling your own product which takes time or selling others which means you need to be working out the profit of each sell. Easy rating: 2/10.
Laura x
If you enjoyed this post and would like some more money making ideas from home, including ways to freelance, start a blog or even earn from your phone, then head over to my making money section here on Savings 4 Savvy Mums where you’ll find over 30 money making posts dedicated to helping you earn more from home and become more financially stable as a family. There’s also tips in my Money Saving Mums Facebook group. You could also pop over and follow my money making Pinterest boards for lots more ways you can earn money from home; Money Making Mums and Working from Home Jobs for Mums.
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