Top 10 money making ideas

Make yourself some money by following the top ten money making ideas outlined below.

1. Earn more money

If you want to make more money an obvious solution is to ask your boss for a pay rise if you think you deserve one. An alternative to this is to go job hunting and to try and find another job that pays more money. When you go to resign your boss may offer to increase your wages in order to retain your services if he believes you are worth the extra money, if not you have got yourself more money by accepting your new job anyway. It is a win win situation.

If you are happy in your current job you could always ask for some overtime or to look for an additional part-time job to supplement your main income.

2. Start your own business

Everybody has at one point or another considered working for themselves. The main advantages are:

1) You decide your own hours. This allows you to work when you want or to play when you want rather than being forced to work the traditional 9-5;

2) You get to keep all the earnings as opposed to you working long hours to pay for your boss to go on several foreign holidays a year; and

3)The power of the internet means that even if you work from home as long as you have access to the internet you have access to a global market of billions;

However, having your own business also has the following disadvantages:

1) In reality you will actually work longer hours certainly at the beginning in order to get your business idea of the ground;

2) There is a risk of you giving up a decent job to start working from home only to find that your business never takes off. This could obviously lead to debt problems and is the complete opposite of what you wanted to happen. Be careful in the beginning to make sure you have sufficient funds to tide you over until your business is up and running;

3) You will have to become a jack of all trades, learning to market your business, be a salesman or saleswoman, negotiate purchases, prepare accounts amongst other things. However, bear in mind that several billion people in the world run their own businesses and very few of them are going to be a master of all areas of their business;

4) Your business will take up space in your home, if you set up some sort of e-business this might be no more than a desk and a computer but if you are buying and selling goods you are going to have to store these somewhere; and

5) Working from home will probably lead to a lot less interaction with colleagues, so if you like to talk a lot working on your own at home may not be for you.

For further information on starting a home business try the following businesslink, startups or bizhelp24.

3. Make money online through completing surveys

There are a number of online survey companies who are willing to pay you for your opinions. So what’s the catch I hear you thinking - well there isn’t one. The survey companies find it beneficial to perform the surveys online because they can target the correct audience, thanks to the information you enter when you register to join a survey site. This saves them time and money as otherwise they would have to pay someone to stand in a shopping centre, trying to find people who meet the criteria and then persuade them to participate. Online surveys are much more practical and cost efficient for the survey companies plus you can complete the surveys in your own time in your own home.

If participating in surveys sounds like an easy way for you to make money online then have a look at the list of free to join paid survey sites listed on 123money.

4. Make money using your credit card

There are numerous credit card companies who are so desperate to attract you as a customer that they are prepared to offer you 0% interest on either your purchases, balance transfers or sometimes even both.

If you have an outstanding balance then apply for one of these credit cards and then transfer your balance to it to save yourself money, as the interest charged by some credit card companies is ridiculously high. If you don’t have an outstanding balance then apply for one of these cards and start to make money.

Simply use your credit card to pay for your usual bills etc and pay off the minimal amount due on your credit card each month. Put the rest of the money you should have paid to clear your balance in a high interest savings account preferably a Cash ISA, as the money you make will therefore be tax free. You should be able to make 5% on the amount outstanding on your card.

Be careful to keep a note of when your interest free period ends as you will need to repay your balance in full by this date to avoid losing some of the interest you have earned by having to pay the credit card company interest on your borrowings from them.

There is nothing however to stop you simply applying for a 0% interest card from another credit card company just before your first deal ends and then transferring your balance from your old card to your new card. By repeating this process over and over again your credit card balances will increase but so should the money in your savings accounts and hence the money you are making.

Be careful however not to be tempted to spend instead of saving the money as you will not be making money if you do this nor will you have enough money available to repay your credit card debt should you ever be required to.

5. Make money by from online auctions or car boot sales

If like everybody else you have an attic, garage or cupboards full of old unused items then why not sell them to somebody who can use them. It might sound like a hassle or not worth the effort but you would be surprised to find how much some people are willing to pay on for products that are not wanted by their present owners.

So have a look at ebay and other online auction sites to get an idea of how much you can make and then simply list your unwanted items and wait and see how much you make. If you do not fancy selling your items online then find out where your local car boot sales are and go along and see what sorts of things people are buying and selling to see if you think it would be worthwhile.

Some enterprising individuals even buy things at car boot sales and sell them on ebay whilst others do the opposite and buy things on ebay to sell at car boot sales. The disadvantages of car boot sales are that you have to be there early if you are selling to set up your wares and early if you are buying to get a good look at all the best bargains. It also tends to rain a lot and get rather cold at car boot sales whilst online auctions are normally much warmer and dryer.

6. Make money from a website

If you have a hobby or interest that you would like to share with others you could make your own website and earn money from sponsor placing adds on your site. It sounds a bit complicated but in fact it is fairly easy as there are several programs available that allow you to build a website in a few minutes (literally) and it is even possible to do this for free. Once your website is built you just need to place some relevant ads which will allow you to make some money.

7. Make money from an used room in your house

As long as you own your own home you can make money by renting out a room to a lodger. As long as you do not make more than £4,250 a year the money you make will be tax free, under the government’s ‘Rent a Room Scheme’

8. Make money playing games

There are a variety of online games and lotteries that offer you the opportunity to win money and prizes depending on your skill or luck. In order to participate in most of these game you have to click a link to a sponsor which is how the game site make their money and they in turn offer some of this money to participants in order to reward them for playing and also to attract them to earn the game site more money by clicking on more sponsors links. As you do not have to pay anything to play these games they are free to play and if you are lucky or very skilful you can make yourself some money. Remember you have to be in it to win it!

9. Make money by allowing a film company to use your property

You can earn cash by allowing a film company to use your house. Useful sites include homestagers, hammer-film-locations and amazingspace. You can also try the press and tourism departments of your local council.

10. Make money from marriage

Why not find and marry a millionaire who is willing to make all your dreams come true!