My Top 5 Favourite Side Hustles
I regularly look for ways to earn extra money on the side. In fact, on Bee Money Savvy you’ll be able to find 100’s of side hustle ideas from taking part in market research, to blogging, mystery shopping and online admin tasks. I’ve tried almost every side hustle there is, earned lots of extra money and enjoyed some more than others.
A side hustle is a way of earning extra income in addition to a full-time job, often done outside of regular working hours. It is typically a small business or freelance work that can be done on a flexible schedule and often from home.
My 5 Favourite Side Hustles
In this post I share the details of my top five favourite side hustles, along with how much money I’ve managed to earn from each of them.
My Top 5 Favourite Side Hustles
Side Hustle Basics
A side hustle is a job you do in addition to your primary job to earn extra income. The most common side hustles include some element of freelance work or an extra part-time role. The internet also offers lots of opportunities to earn extra money alongside your current employment.
An important consideration when it comes to side hustles is the tax implications. Anyone can earn up to £1,000 extra income each financial tax year without having to pay tax on this income (this is called your trading allowance). However, if your side hustle income exceeds this limit then you will have to register for self-assessment and let HRMC know.
You also need to consider how you will receive payments for your side hustle. Unlike setting up your own business, you generally do not need infrastructure like credit card payment systems. However, you will need a way to accept payment for your services, and for this you will probably need a PayPal account or similar.
There are lots of ways that you can earn money on the side. The best way to find what opportunity is going to work best for you is by reflecting on your skills, interests, time availability, and income expectations. I’m quite computer savvy and have a lot of time to spare (due to my main employment being part-time), this is likely to be reflected in my favourite side hustles.
Blogging
Out of all of my side hustles blogging is my favourite! Last year I earned £10,000 from blogging (and related writing work). I created beemoneysavvy.com in 2017. I spend around 20 hours a week maintaining, promoting and updating my blogs.
Creating and earning money blogging requires a certain amount of effort. To create a profitable blog you will need to initially invest some money to purchase a domain name and hosting package. A domain and host will cost anything between £20-£120. beemoneysavvy.com is hosted with Lyrical Host – this costs me £100 yearly. However, I comfortably earn this back within a month of blogging.
If you would like to buy hosting from Lyrical Host use code “BEEMONEYSAVVY” for a 10% discount!
Each month I publish an income report detailing the ways in which I earn money from my blog. Find my monthly blogging income reports here.
Mystery Shopping
While it’s not my biggest earner I really enjoy mystery shopping. The mystery shopping that I’ve completed has involved applying for a certain ‘assignment’, going to the specified shop/restaurant on a scheduled date and time, buying a specific product, and then reviewing my experience with an online questionnaire. Payment usually includes reimbursement of a product (e.g meal out), plus a small fee (usually £5-£10).
I tend to do most of my mystery shopping with a company called Market Force. They have a selection of visits available at well known retailers such as Five Guys, Turtle Bay, Greggs, and William Hill.
Market Research
Taking part in market research is an easy way to earn some extra money. I’ve been anything up to paid £120 cash for a 1 hour market research study or £230 for a 6-week diary study. For these studies you’re often asked questions about a particular topic. I’ve been asked to review a mobile phone app, talk about booking a holiday, and answer questions about banking.
In my experience the researchers are always super friendly and the payment is always really good. Additionally, there are no right or wrong answers, the researchers just want you to be honest about your experience and share your opinion openly.
Social Media Evaluation
A Social Media Evaluator (SME) provides feedback on ads, news feeds, and search results on social media platforms. I worked as a SME with a company called Appen on a year long contact back in 2018-19. During that time I worked an hour a day to review 30 ads displayed on a popular social media website. I was paid roughly £10 per hour and would receive payment (between £280-£310) on the 14th of every month.
The social media evaluation work that I did was pretty easy. It’s also fairly well-paid and could be done at a time that suited me. During my 12 months of working as a SME I earned over £3,300 from this side hustle.
Affiliate Marketing/Referral Programmes
Every month I earn extra money by referring my friends, family and followers to various services. Lots of companies offer an affiliate or referral programme where you can earn a reward for inviting someone to sign up. Here are some of the referral programmes that I regularly earn money from:
Updated list of the latest free money and referral programmes
I’ve earned £1000’s from various referral programmes every year. To increase my earnings I make sure to invite all my family and promote these sign up offers on my blog and social media.
More Side Hustle Ideas
The Best Side Hustles to Earn Money
How I Earned £1000 From Home In 1 Month
Do you side hustle like me? Which are your favourite side hustles? I’d love to know what clever and effortless ways you’ve found of making money. Let me know in the comments below.
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