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37 Home Based Jobs You Can Do While Working From Home

37 Home Based Jobs You Can Do While Working From Home

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Including work from home jobs for mums, part time home based jobs and admin work from home.

There are lots of ways to earn money as a mum, regardless of if you’re looking to supplement your existing income or looking to start bringing money in after maternity leave.

And no, we aren’t talking about small change here, these are real home based opportunities for mums.

With the UK currently not showing any signs of following the Scandinavian countries in their approach to flexible working, many of us working mums have to turn away from traditional employment and find jobs working from home.

The good thing about the internet is that there is never a shortage of home based jobs for mums who want to bring in an income.

No matter your skill, there will be a home based job for you; you just need to go out and find them.

If you are looking for more home working ideas then have a look at:

101 Genuine Work From Home Jobs in the UK – This gives you loads of work from home ideas. Not all of them need experience and can all be done around the kids.

31 Work From Home Jobs for Mums – These are great work from home jobs that all mums can do. These can be done part-time or around the kids.

21 Online Work From Home Ideas – These give you online work from home ideas that could boost your income.

17 Ways to Make Money Online in the UK – These give you quick and easy ways to make money from home.

7 Typing Jobs From Home That All Mums Could Do – These are great typing jobs that any mum can do from home around the kids.

Money Saving Printables

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Genuine home based jobs in the UK

Many stay at home mums fear being scammed while working mums don’t want the hassle of declaring their extra income to HMRC.

But if you’re willing to jump through a few hoops and do a bit of research, then permanent home based working can be amazing and offer flexible hours.

If you decide to do any of these freelance then there may be a few outlays at the start but nothing compared to a normal bricks store. The top 5 things you’ll need to go freelance are:

A domain name

This is your www. name that people will search for. Try and think of a name that matches your business or that you think your customers will be searching for. Have a look on social media and Google to check that no one else has it. You can check and purchase domains easily using a site like TSO, who we buy ALL our domains from.

If you use our link here to TSO and buy a domain then you can get 10% off using our code S4SM10%OFF

Web hosting

These are the people that will host your website on their server. You want a company you can trust. We’ve used many over the years but TSO Host are a good place to start when you need your online store hosting*. You get 10% with TSO Host by using our code S4SM10%OFF.

A website

We use WordPress because it’s the easiest platform to use and gives you total freedom. There are so many YouTube videos on how to start out if you are unsure but just pick and theme and get playing with it. There are many ways you can earn income if you familiarize yourself with this platform. Read this article on how to make money with WordPress to get a better idea.

Social media

Set up Facebook, Twitter and Instagram first then think if you need Pinterest and Snap Chat.

Email campaign provider

This is a great way to keep your customers involved with what’s going on and to let them know of any new services or products you are selling. Set it up early even if you don’t plan to email anyone. We use Mailerlite as they have great customer service and easy to build email templates. (Remember to check the ISO website for GDPR guidelines.)

Then depending on which business below you decide to do will come with a few more costs.

Work from home jobs in the UK

Please don’t let fear put you off!

If you like the sound of home based working but are unsure how to keep track of your time or even how to invoice, then have a look at The Virtual Assistant Essential Tool Kit.

This is the ultimate spreadsheet pack for your home based role. You don’t have to be a Virtual Assistant, any data entry, social media or admin based role would work.

This has been made for mums who have never worked in a data entry role before but who would like to start working from home.

This is a tool kit for virtual assistants who want to plan their time better.

This value-pack 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.

So what are you waiting for?

Take the plunge and watch how you spend less time invoicing and more time getting clients.

£4.99Add to cart

Home based jobs in the UK with no experience

So if you have always wanted to have a home based job but are unsure on what you can do, then here are 35 jobs you can do while working from home on your computer. These are all legit and can be done anytime night or day.

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!

For a walkthrough on how to start a blog and make money, I’d suggest looking at Emma Drew’s tutorial or at her Turn Your Dreams into Reality Course*, which is a great resource for all bloggers who want to make their blog their full time job.

You can also read about how we set up our blog here, which also gives you a step by step account.

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

Bulb*: They help people to save money on their energy bills

Emma Drew’s Turn Your Dream into Money*: A blogging course to get you up and running

Selling Your Own Products

Completely home based, selling your own products can be very profitable, especially if you source your products from overseas.

It does take a bit more work than a bricks store, but without the overheads, you can receive a more higher profit.

Start by researching the products you want to buy and see if there is a market for it. Think about where you will store the items and how much will it cost to ship them.

Reselling

Reselling on sites like eBay or Facebay is becoming more popular. You can start by just selling your kids outgrown clothes or toys then start buying products in to sell.

You can search your products cheaply from car boot sales, charity shops and auctions.

It’s best to start by looking at the marketplace sites and seeing what sales for what.

You could also look at pallets returns UK. This is when you buy a pallet of returns from a major reseller and then sell on the contents for profit. Some of the items may be great and some may not.

Photography

There’s so much you can do if you are a photographer.

You can either sell your photos online with a licensing agreement or show your services.

Both make good money, but the first one can make you passive income while the second you will need to actively find clients.

Selling handmade

If you’re creative, then sites like Etsy are for you. They focus on everything handmade and it’s very easy to set up and get started.

Work from home entry jobs

Child-minder

Registering as a childminder is a great work from home entry job that anyone can do. You can look after your own kids while looking after others, all from your own home.

The downside is that there is a lot of admin and after hours work needed, but it does mean that you can work for yourself and pick your own days and hours.

Dog Walker

Ok, so not at home all the time, but you can take the kids with you and earn anything from £6-£10 an hour.

You can start by registering your self as a dog walking company at Nards.

Iron

This is a great way to work from home as a mum around the kids and still make money.

You can advertise via Facebook and by just telling your family and spreading the word.

Tutoring

Tutoring is a great work from home job for mums who want to supplement their income part time.

You don’t need to be in the same room as your student’s ether. Using technology like Skype, you can connect to people all around the world.

Wages are good as a tutor, but you do need to stand out. Think about what you can offer as a tutor and what students could be seeking.

Have a look at Online ELAT tutor for what tutors have to offer.

Admin Work From Home

Office from home set up

Becoming a 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 specialise in something. Have you got marketing experience? Social media knowledge? Are you organised? Most Virtual Assistant can earn up to £25 an hour.

It’s really simple to become a Virtual Assistant, and set up takes about half an hour.

My 5 top tips for setting up as a Virtual Assistant are:

– Set up a Facebook page and ask everyone and anyone you’ve worked with to leave you a 5-star review. It is mega cringe, but it’s those reviews that will give you a leg up and give you something to link to when a client asks for references.

– Set up a separate email address so you can track potential clients emails quickly.
Shout about your business to everyone and share it in all the Facebook groups, especially in Facebay and business groups.

– Set up a spreadsheet divided by month with the client name on the top and the number of hours you do every day. That way when it comes to invoicing you can just copy and paste the information over.

– Have an invoice spreadsheet ready for when you declare. It can be as simple as date, client name and the amount so when you need to declare, you have a final amount without having to find all last years invoices.

Read more about how to set up a virtual assistance business here

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

You can also find work on local Facebay or Gumtree sites, and while they might not be the best paid, it means you can build up a portfolio for yourself to show other clients.

Proofreader

If you have great attention to detail then being a proofreader is for you.

You can pick up gigs on sites like:

People Per Hour

Upwork

Fiverr

They aren’t paid great to start with, but once you have a few under your belt and you start to have a small portfolio you can then raise your prices.

You can also look for jobs on Facebay groups.

Transcribing

Transcribing is a great work from home job for mums who like typing.

You can do it around the kids and at any time. If you’re a fast typist, then you can make some really good money.

Jobs Working From Home on Computer

Data Entry Jobs

These jobs involve anything that means inputting data, so look for roles likeCustomer Service Agent, Data Administrator and Data Processor.

Home Travel Agent

Pretty much what it says on the tin. You would work from home setting up appointments, arranging travel, doing anything a high street agent would do but at home.

Social Media Manager

We all know that social media is creating more work from home opportunities than ever.

This role can be done on a freelance level or as a employee. Many businesses still can’t get to grips with all the different platforms and this is where you can fill in the gaps.

To get work, it’s best to start pitching. Have a look at the companies you would love to work for. What should they be doing that they aren’t? What could you do better?

Marketing Manager

Again, this can be quite open but you could look for jobs that involve pay-per-click advertising or brand development. All calls can be done over Skype and the role is so big, that there is scope to go anyway you like.

Stock Trader

If you have the head for numbers, then trading stocks at home is for you.

Your job would be to buy and sell financial products like stocks and shares in order to get the best rewards for your clients, whether they’re individual people or huge corporations.

Experience in a similar financial capacity works if you need to enter at entry-level.

You can also start trading with just a small amount of your money, to show people what you can do.

If you would like to know how to start, then I’d suggest having a look at Dr Nikki Ramskill’s course, The Beginner’s Guide To Investing.

This course is perfect for mums who have no clue how to start investing, but who know numbers and would love to give it a try,

Work From Home Jobs For Mums

Cream background with laptop

Mystery Shopper

Mystery shopping is a great way to make money, but to 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 to 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.

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:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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!

If you are looking into getting into dropshipping then read our complete guide here.

Focus Groups

Taking part in focus groups is a great way to make extra money.

Focus groups allow companies to get an idea about how their potential customers will react to their new product or service and make any changes before it is released.

In order to get your valuable feedback, they will pay for your time. You can also complete focus groups online, so you can earn money from the comfort of your own home.

Test Websites

Testing websites is an easy way to make money that we can all do. WhatUsersDo will pay you £5 for every website you test. You will need to log in and record your voice answering some questions and speaking your thoughts aloud. Each test lasts around 20 minutes, and you get paid monthly.

Working Mums

If you’re just looking for a bit of extra money that you can do on the go, then this list is for you.

Mobile apps

There’s so many apps that can help you make money while you’re on your phone. Here’s a full list of money making apps that can help you make some money on the side.

Make Cash From Your Driveway

This applies to anything to do with your home really.

From loft or garage space to parking to rooms to even renting your home out as a film set.

Storemates is the best place to look at if you like the storage route, just remember to ask what’s in the boxes, as it may invalidate your own insurance. Oh, also remember you may have to pay tax, so remember to declare it on a self-assessment.

Just Park is a good site if you fancy letting out your drive. If you live near a train station, hospital or a city center, then you’re sure to earn a bob or two a month.

If you like the sound of your home being used in a film or on TV (plus, the major bragging rights, right?) then look into Lavish Locations  and Shoot Factory. You don’t need to have a manor house to apply, look at the Dursleys house in Harry Potter.

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 loose.

If you’re doing it correctly, you will never loose any money, but you do need to take your time and be really careful to avoid any mistakes. Using a company like Profit Accumulator means that you don’t have to work out the odds or be worried that you’re doing it all wrong.

Make sure you understand fully before you deposit any money. Follow our guide here to make your first £20 matched bet.

Read more about how matched betting works here

This is why we use Profit Accumulator when we are matched betting

Free Daily Draws

Did you know that your postcode can earn you money, for free? Alongside the FREE Postcode Lottery, there are tons of daily free lottery websites around. You simply register and check the website every day to see if you have won. The websites make their money from advertising, which means they can afford to pay out the winnings.

Online Surveys

A handy little earner that you can do on your laptop while watching TV. 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 I’ve used before but there are plenty floating about that payout in either vouchers or cold hard cash. Our favorites are:

OhMyDosh

OhMyDosh* is a survey site and cashback site combined. You can make money by answering their surveys which then goes into your account as credit. When you have reached the limit you can cash out!

Surveys can range from anything from watching videos to answering questions about what you last brought online.

Read more about what we think about OhMyDosh here

Swagbucks

We love Swagbucks! There are loads of tasks available and you can earn money from answering questions or watching videos. The surveys are short so you can do them on the move pretty easy. Payout is via PayPal or Amazon gift card.

These surveys are so easy to do and they tell you how long they will take too.

Read more about what we think about Swagbucks here.

Join Swagbucks for free here*.

YouGov

YouGov is a great place to answer questions on today’s problems. The surveys normally involve your view on large companies, the government or your local council. You only need 50 points to cash out which is £50.

They are really interesting surveys to complete and they do email you every time they have one to complete.

Use our link here to sign up free to YouGov*

Prolific Academic

Prolific Academic is an easy to use survey site that we’ve never had screen us out, which happens more than you’d think. You can reach the payment limit quite quickly while finding loads of different surveys that interest you.

The payment threshold is just £5 so you get paid really quickly too.

Join Prolific Academic here for free.*

Read about our favorite online survey sites here

Cashback Sites

Weirdly, not many of us use cashback sites, which is strange, as you can earn money back from just buying your normal day to day items. From grocery shopping to insurance to 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.

Our favorite cashback sites are:

OhMyDosh* – OhMyDosh* is an easy to use cashback site that’s free to use. It’s not like a normal cashback site though. OhMyDosh gives you loads of ways you can make money including:

The refer a friend scheme. Refer your friends to OhMyDosh and earn yourself £5 for every sign up and your friend £1.

Competitions: Enter them for free and receive money.

Shop through them to earn the bigger rewards.

The best thing about OhMyDosh is that you only need to make £10 to “dosh out” and they pay out through your bank or through PayPal.

Quidco is a great way to save money. We’ve saved over £200 in the last few months and their site is really easy to use.

Use our link here and get a £10 cashback bonus when you make your first purchase on Quidco.

It’s free to join Quidco and they have access to over 4,000 retailers, and a lot of these are big household names.

As soon as you hit the threshold, cash it out. You never know what’s around the corner.

Read more about the best cashback sites here

Get Paid to Google

Nope, this isn’t a joke!

You can earn hard cash by searching the web with Qmee. Just download the add-on, which sits on your internet browser, and search like you would normally.

Qmee shows you extra results or adverts. All the extras you see have been paid for by companies who want extra eyeballs on their links, and Qmee gives you a cut for that.

It’s not loads, but at 7-15p a click, some being up to £1, for doing what you’d normally do anyway, it’s certainly worth a go!

Product Testing

Honest reviews are more important than ever.

Companies will send you free products to test and review and in some cases cash for your time. A good site to look at is Buzzoole.

Swagbucks* is another great site you can earn. While you shop online you can watch entertaining videos, search the web, answer surveys and find great deals that earn your points. These get turned into gift cards to your favorite retailers like Amazon and M&S or you can get the cash via Paypal (with fees.)*

Flog Your Old Stuff Online

When it comes to the internet, your old junk really is someone else’s gold.

Starting off on eBay is probably the easiest bet, and being protected by their guidelines and Paypal gives you the guarantee you really will see your money. This guide here by MSE is the best I’ve found so far.

Facebook is another fab place. There are hundreds of local Facebay and Babybay selling groups out there, all divided up by local area and object you are selling.

Facebook has also made it easier with its marketplace tool. It lets you discover, buy and sell items in your community and anyone or everyone near you or looking for that item will see.

Now let’s talk about traders

There are loads of these companies around. You know the ones, that shout about swapping your old stuff for a cheque in the post.

While these sites are easy to use and give you an instant quote for all your knick-knacks, they’re aren’t exactly fast to payout.

Remember to compare them all, never pay postage unless you HAVE to and make sure your items are packed well, so there is no excuse for them not to pay out.

The best ones to look out for are WeBuyBooks, who do, weirdly, take everything and CeX, who takes everything but books.

Price-wise, you’re looking at getting up to £1 for CDs, £1.50 for DVDs and £10 for some computer games, but this does vary.

Always shop around, and dip your head in and out of the high street chains too, as you never know when they might offer a better deal.

Get Paid To Watch TV

You can earn anything from £40-£70 just for watching TV for two hours and chatting about it. Online streaming is also available. Check out The Viewers site for more info.

Related Posts: 

Bank Switcher

Loads of banks pay for you to switch. Grabbing this deals could earn you a couple of hundred quid.

It’s really easy, legal, and the bank do everything, so you don’t have too. You can read more about earning money by switching your bank account here.

Enter Competitions

It goes without saying but you can get some pretty neat stuff through entering competitions. I’ve been lucky enough to win event tickets, hampers and a weekend away for two in a five-star hotel!

Think about it this way, there are so many online competitions out there that many people just glaze over. The more people that ignore them, the more chance you have of winning.

They are so easy to enter and normally all you have to do is give a quick like or comment on social media or type in your email address. I do so many now that I have a separate Gmail account for just competition entries!

The easiest place to find them all is on Money Saving Expert, where many Compers have already sniffed them out and posted them online. Win!

I really hope these tips help you to find a work from home opportunity that suits your lifestyle and your needs.

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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You shouldn’t notice any difference and the link will never negatively impact the product. The items we write about are NEVER dictated by these links. We aim to look at all products on the market. If it isn’t possible to get an affiliate link, then the link, or product is still included in the same way, just with a non-paying link.

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