Saturday 31 May 2008

make a baby for money

Or at least help to make one. Sperm and Egg donation is perfectly legal in the UK, and it gives you the nice warm feeling of helping childless couples.

Its obviously much easier donating as a man than as a woman, but the money is considerably lower. Around £280 is normal for one cycle from a woman, although it does involve an operation. There is also the possibility that either man or woman will be located as the donor by the child in the future under current legislation.

As payment is not high, it is more a case of earning money whilst benefitting others, or in the case of men, earning money for what you do everyday anyway :)

If you are interested, get in touch with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

Friday 30 May 2008

tell the world your secrets for money

Its fun taking pleasure from others peoples misery. We all do it, that's why we read newspapers and magazines. Schadenfreude the clever Germans call it.

So if you have had a divorce, lost your hair, found out your mum was actually your sister etc etc sell it to a magazine. 'Coffee break' magazines such as Take a Break and Chat buy stories direct through their website. You don't even have to write it, just give them the basic details and they will format it in their own style. If it's a really good story, sell it to the tabloids. Depending on the story involved, a simple human life story can fetch from £200-£2000.

This is of course assuming you don't mind your life being plastered all over the country and your mum knowing what actually happened with Pablo, the Puerto Rican street dancer. Ahh, memories.

Thursday 29 May 2008

free £5 of money (no honestly)

It's a sad fact of life that whatever we do we have to spend the money we make. So you might as well earn some money while you are spending it. There are numerous cashback sites on the internet, however I have only used one and works great Cashbackshopper pays you a percentage as long as you buy goods and products from their affilliates through their website.

They have a huge number of big name stores to choose from, so its worth checking out. Whats more they will give you £5 just for signing up!

Wednesday 28 May 2008

Become Ray Mears to save Money

I like Ray Mears. I like Bear Grylls too. All that camping and being one with Nature and all that, takes me back to my scouting days. Although Bear is much more of an action man that Ray, I much prefer Ray because he's always eating. Considering he forages for his food, he's quite a portly fellow. So there must be something to be said for it.

So instead of going to your local Supermarket, take advantage of all the free food around you. Summer and Spring are a great time for fruits and berries growing wild. An excellent book which I can fully recommend is Food for Free by Richard Mabey. Its full of practical of advice of whats in season, where to find it, and how to cook it if necessary. If you want to take advantage of the various mushrooms and fungi, it is well worth buying a specialist book which identifies them as you do not want to end up dead because you decided to save 50p.

The beach is a great place too. Mussels, whelks, cockles and seaweed. Make sure the sea is not near a sewer pipe though.

Or if you really want your food from the supermarket, but don't want to pay for it, then join the Freegans. They manage to procure Supermarket produce for no cost whatsoever through a variety of surreptitious means. Well, they go through the bins actually but you get the idea.

Tuesday 27 May 2008

Call people to save money

An increasing number of companies and utilities are using a variety of 08 telephone numbers instead of the normal numbers beginning with 01 or 02. These numbers (0870, 0845 , 0844 etc) usually charge more than the normal landline. Even if you have inclusive calls on your tariff, mostly these 08** number are not included.

So next time you have to call them go to say-no-to-0870. You can either type in the Company name, or type in the 08** number and it will in most cases give you an alternative to use which will be considerably cheaper or free if you are on inclusive calls. Then you can call them, happy in the knowledge your call is either cheaper or free.

If you have no friends, why not call up one of the Customer Service representatives and pretend they are your best mate, you can keep on chatting for as long as you want. They will think they are earning money by keeping you on the phone, and you will have someone to talk to for a bit. Aw.

Monday 26 May 2008

live in someone elses house for money

I really like holidays. Its not so much going to some exotic location that I like, its just staying somewhere different instead of my home. Change is good as a rest so they say. So why not live in someone elses house and get paid for the privilege?

Housesitting is not a new idea, but it is becoming more popular. Mr & Mrs Smith go away for their holidays, and you go and live in their house whilst they are away to water plants, feed the cat and generally deter any unsavoury characters who want to take their heirlooms.

You can advertise yourself locally, or there are agencies such as homesitters which can point you in the right direction for work.

Pay tends to be around £10 per day, but you do get to pretend you are someone else for 2 weeks. You might be lucky and end up in swish place in Mayfair. Invite your friends round and tell them how you made money millions on hedge funds, and this is just a temporary pad until your chalet is built in Switzerland.

Or you might end up in some dirty hovel.

Sunday 25 May 2008

get a foreigner for money

Instead of complaining about the levels of immigration in the UK, accept there's nothing you can do about it and start taking their money.

I'm not talking about renting rooms out on long-term lets to Eastern Europeans working in your local vegetable factory; however if you are comfortable with that then ok. A slightly more reserved approach could be to rent out your spare room to visiting foreign students coming here to improve their English. Usually they are in the UK for only a term, so at most you would be looking at 10 weeks.

You will need to have a specific room and provide them with breakfast and dinner. You can expect to receive between £100-£200 per week depending on circumstances.

Contact your local colleges/universities.

Saturday 24 May 2008

rummage through dirty clothes for money

Everyone has heard of the fiasco that is/was Terminal 5 at Heathrow. You had to feel sorry for all those unfortunate people going on holiday and then having all their luggage lost. Well, after you have stopped feeling sorry for them, cheer yourself up by buying their lost luggage and having a nice rummage through it. Greasbys auction off BA's lost luggage weekly. Although be warned. All the camcorders, jewellery and ipods etc are removed and auctioned off separately, although you can still bid on them.

Then the fun begins. All the nice suitcases together with their contents are auctioned off to the highest bidder. You cannot see what is in the suitcases, so its a bit like Christmas. Only with dirty pants.

When you have the suitcase, you can then sell it and all its contents on ebay or car boots etc.

Or you could wear it yourself. Pervert.

Friday 23 May 2008

sell your hair for money

If you are bored with your current locks, fancy a change and want to make some cash, wigsuk will buy your hair from you. There are certain provisos, i.e. has to be at least 6 inches long and have no chemical treatments on it. But as long as you meet these conditions they will consider it. For this you will receive around £3 per ounce. Now, I don't really know how much hair weighs, but I don't believe you can make a living doing this. But, if you were going to remove it anyway you might as well be paid.

Once they receive and pay for your lovely hair, they will then treat it, dye it and turn it into wigs for other people to put on their heads. Lovely.

Alternatively, just go to your local hairdressing college and let the students work on you for free, You save the price of a hair cut, which is probably more than you would receive for selling your hair. And you don't have to wonder everytime you see that dubious fella in Sainsburys wearing a syrup, whether thats part of you he's touching with his manky scalp.

Thursday 22 May 2008

pretend to be a criminal for money

13 years ago I was on my way home one Saturday afternoon after watching my local football team, when I was approached by a Policeman. He politely asked could I pop into the Police Station as they were short for their identity parade and I would be paid for the privilege. So doing my bit as an upstanding citizen I went along, stood in a line, wasn't picked out and left with £10 in my pocket. They took my name and called me back 3 times for different parades getting paid each time.

These days due to 'technology' and 'progress' its all done by digital video, and you get paid a one off fee for your image which they will reuse should they need it. But it is still easy money to be made. Just contact your local police station and offer your services. Apparently it hasn't gone up much since I last did it, with the current rate seemingly around £15.

I guess you could always return in disguise and pretend to be someone else in order to be paid again, but I would not recommend it.


Wednesday 21 May 2008

sell your holiday snaps for money

The advent of digital cameras has made it possible for anyone to make money being a photographer. There is no time waiting expectantly for the film to be developed to see how they turned out. If you can see Auntie Mabel's head you just delete it and start again. Plus you can take unlimited photos and it doesn't cost you a penny.

Believe it or not people will buy your photos. Whatever they are of. Even Auntie Mabel. Just join an online photo agency, upload the pictures you want to sell, give them search tags (so people can find them) and wait for them to be sold. Obviously the more exact your search terms the more likely the pictures are to be sold.

Payment varies widely from a fixed price to percentage depending on the agency. There are hundreds online so I will not make any recommendations. Most are free to register, so there's nothing to lose.

Well apart from Auntie Mabel's privacy.

Tuesday 20 May 2008

have people in your garden for money

If you have a garden and can't be bothered to do anything with it, rent it out as an allotment to people who like growing their own vegetables.

Just fence off as much or as little as you want to rent, stick an advert in the local paper and wait. Trust me, someone somewhere will want it. Then let them grow as many organic products as they want.

Income will not be great. Here in Lincolnshire where I live, the local council charges just £17 for an allotment for a year, although this will vary from area to area. Having said that I'm sure your tenant will not mind/miss/notice the odd cauliflower disappearing. Even if he does mention it, just look him in the eye, shake your head and say 'bl**dy rabbits'.

Or if your garden is that big you dont care people using it, sell it off as a building plot. You should make more than £17.

Monday 19 May 2008

wait in your house for money

If you find yourself spending most of your time at home due to looking after the children, homeworking or just generally like sitting in your armchair, offer yourself as a parcel delivery host.

Just offer yourself up to neighbours and friends as the local drop off point for any mail/internet orders they make. Make some leaflets on your computer, advertise in the local press or knock on doors and wait for the money to roll in. It might make a little time to build up, but if you can build a good reputation (and resist the urge to look into their letters/parcels) it should take-off.

Although your customers will be thankful for not having to give up a days pay to stay at home, don't expect them to pay you an equivalent of their days wages; maybe £1 for a letter to £2 for a parcel. But if you were going to be sitting at home anyway, its all nice cash.

Sunday 18 May 2008

use your knowledge for money

Over the years you accumulate a lot of trivial facts in your head. It's never usually anything useful, but its stored there for that day when one day you might despereately need to know something.

So put that knowledge for use by earning cash by working for a text question service. Clients text a premium rate number answering any question they want, and expect the answer within 10 minutes. You then respond with the answer and get paid for using your head.

Obviously there are times when you will not know the answer and so will have to do some research online, in encyclopedia's etc. Once answered your reply is stored and can be reused later. If the question has been answered by someone else before, you receive a choice of answers to use, and still get paid as does the orginal answer creator.

If you don't know the answer you can push it back for someone else to think about. The 3 big UK (Texperts, ANSA & AQA ) companies pay between 10-30p per answer. You can fit it in whenever you have spare time

Saturday 17 May 2008

give away your mobile for money

If you're fed up with being constantly hassled by your mobile phone, just give it away and get some cash for it. Alternatively you might just have some old phones lying around the house doing nothing.

Envirofone buy your old mobiles from you, for either cash or Argos vouchers. Simply go to their website, put in your phone details and they will tell you what they will give for it. You can them send them your mobile in the post and wait for the payment. I got rid of my old Nokia (£9.96) and my Blackberry (£7.92!) and they paid up. Mind you it did take them 6 weeks but the money came in the end.

Just make sure you clear out all the photos/videos/messages before you send them in!

Friday 16 May 2008

have someone park on your drive for money

I'm heavily in Formula 1 racing and go every year to Silverstone to watch the British Grand Prix. I dont't know if you have every been, but you can access the circuit via the village of Silverstone itself. These sassy residents don't miss a trick and rent out their drive for people wanting to park and then walk into the circuit. Not only that but they also allow people to put tents in their gardens and charge everyone a nice fee for the privilege.

Now I'm not advocating turning your garden into a camp site, as this would contravene all manner of local authority planning rules, but there is nothing to stop you renting out your unused drive or garage space. Obviously location is of prime importance: city centres and being near venues such as football stadiums can command a premium. You can advertise on the web, or in the local newspaper; and there is also a website called parkatmyhouse which finds and advertises spaces for rent.


You could even offer to valet their car whilst it is at your house for extra cash ;-)

Thursday 15 May 2008

have a party for gifts and money


Well kind of a party anyway, if your idea of a party is having friends/neighbours/people off the street into your house, drinking your wine and buying stuff of some woman/bloke whom you've never met before.

Apparently hosting sale parties which were so popular in the 1970's are 'back with a bang...with young professionals finding out new and exciting ways to socialise' (or so it says on one of the websites).

You become the host for the party and provide the venue and drinks, nibbles etc. invite some friends round and a consultant from whichever company you choose comes round and sells their wares to your mates. In return you receive anything from discounts to free gifts to actual cash. I've listed a few examples below. I don't believe you could make a living from this (unless you have a remarkably large house and an indefinite number of friends) but I guess it could be a way to have fun and get something in return.

Tupperware: The Original party. Apparently people are still having Tupperware parties and getting excited about food storage. In return you receive free and discounted products.
Virgin Vie: My sister still does this one, so I can vouch for it. You receive 15% of any money taken over £80 to spend on Virgin Vie Products. Or do as my sister does and become a consultant/seller and you can make 25% on all party sales, plus you can sell from a brochure much like Avon.
Body Shop:50% off any Body Shop products you buy at the party plus a free makeover
Ann Summers: 10% of total sales to spend on Ann Summer 'things'

You could always just have a party and not sell anything, just charge people to come in. Or charge them for drinks (licence required)

Wednesday 14 May 2008

get famous for money

About 15 years ago, if you can remember back that far, I was on Central TV's Blockbusters. I didnt win, didn't even get a chance to do a Gold Run. But I did answer 9 questions which made me £45.

With the advent of reality TV, it is now easier than ever to make money by getting famous on shows such as Big Brother. Ok, you may only be remembered for a few weeks but you can milk it while you can.

If reality shows aren't your thing, then do as I did and go on a quiz show which always require contestants, and some pay big (more than £45 anyway).
Eggheads: You do have to be a bit clever to go on this one, and need some clever friends, but sometimes the prize fund is over £20k. Plus you have the bonus of putting one over them self satisfied twits. Website is here, closing date for applications is 1st July 2008.
Weakest Link: Upto £50k can be won. Write to FREEPOST, THE WEAKEST LINK
Deal Or No Deal: Forget what the bearded one says about systems, tactics, methods etc etc its all luck. Choose the right boxes. Or, if your really boring. Open the first 4 boxes, banker will offer you say £2k and then say DEAL and walk off. Not great TV but you are better off. Apply by going to the website.
Who Wants to be a Millionaire: If you take my advice and win this one, please remember me. To get on this programme you have to go through casting auditions, which are held from time to time.

Obviously they are others, but these are the big four which not only will make you money but also make you famous.



Tuesday 13 May 2008

be part of the democratic process for money

This is an excellent scheme which I have done over the past couple of years. All elections, local or national require poll clerks, to sit in the polling stations all day and check that the people who come in to vote are who they say they are and not some crazed person trying to topple the general fabric of our society.

Pay is generally good, this year my local council paid £90 for the day. Of course work is intermittent, but you know well in advance when the elections are going to be so if you have nothing better to do then why not? I took a whole load of work to do with me whilst I was sitting there, so I in effect got paid twice for the day.

It depends on the council, a but is usually open to anyone aged between 18-70. I applied in writing on spec., however sometimes councils do advertise in local press or in their newsletters.


Monday 12 May 2008

make yourself sick for money

I'm not really a gambler (I think if I have a bet 3 times a year thats about it), but when I have gambled and won I can remember the fantastic excitement I felt in knowing that I got some extra cash when I could just have easily lost it all. I suppose thats the fun.

So, if you like taking a gamble, why not put your health at risk and take part in clinical tests? Im not saying that they are intrinsically dangerous, but I guess they could be that's why they are called ''tests". Anyways, clinical tests and trials take place all the time and to be honest they are mostly safe. I can only remember that terrible story about 2 years ago when all those students heads expanded to exploding point. But apart from that nothing springs to mind.

Also all the tests aren't drug related. Some are just awareness tests, sleep deprivation etc, etc. Pay is between £60-£200 per day depending on the trials themselves, so they can be profitable if you have the spare time.

Most Universities and University Hospitals require clients/patients/guinea pigs/twits at some time so it is worth searching for them and checking them out if you are interested. If you cannot be bothered searching you can click here which will take you to a list of UK locations. I cannot vouch for any of them as I'm too much of a coward to take a chance......but if you like a gamble, why not?! I mean come on, whats the worst that could happen? ;-)

Sunday 11 May 2008

vandalise your own car for money


If you are getting bored with that nice little family car on your drive, why not spruce it up by driving round with someone's advert on the side? Apparently companies will pay good money (upto £200 per month) for having the privilege of their brand on your car. I suppose if you've got Nike it would be quite cool, but if it was Big Dave's Fish Head Emporium it would be questionable.

Sites such as commotion, adsoncars and supercarads offer this service and they vary from hard cash to paying for your fuel. A lot depends on areas where you drive and the vehicle you have, but they might be worth looking at if your that way inclined.

I have not tried this method, although after seeing the above mock-up I am quite tempted!

Saturday 10 May 2008

look bored for money

Do you ever wish you had time to sit back, think, reflect on life and still get paid for it? If you do then you're a prime candidate to become an exam invigilator. You remember from school, the bloke that wasn' t the teacher who would make sure you weren't cheating whilst doing your French exam? Well if you ever dreamt of growing up and being him, now is your chance.

Although we are now into exam season, some schools and colleges are still looking for invigilators. Some advertise in the local press, others in school newspapers, and some on local council websites. If all those fail just get directly in touch with the school themselves.

You need no qualifications; just some spare time, a capacity to remain awake for a few hours (reading or listening to your mp3 player is not allowed) and you will have to have a CRB check. But that's it. Pay varies from around £7.00 - £15.00 per hour depending on location, school and age group.

Friday 9 May 2008

listen to music for money

Having watched X factor religiously over the years, I consider myself somewhat of an expert on music criticism. So what easier and better way to get paid than by listening to music?

Slice The Pie gives you just that opportunity. Basically you listen to music from unsigned bands and then review them. You have to listen to a minimum of 60 seconds, so it can be quite time consuming. The more you listen, the higher your own rating, and the more you get paid per track. It starts at 5p and builds up from there. Funds are collected in your Slice the Pie Account which can then be withdrawn via Paypal.

If that isn't enough fun for you, then you can become an entrepreneur and invest cash in the bands themselves. Could be risky, but you never know who you've discovered!

I have tested the site before posting to ensure it works, and I made a grand total of 10p! Long-term it may get monotonous, but I guess once you achieve the 25p per track level it could be quite profitable in your spare time.

Thursday 8 May 2008

write for money

We all have ideas, we all have opinions, we all have knowledge. And if we don't we can always search round google until we know the answer!

Helium is a fantastic site that I have been using myself for just over a month. Basically, there are 2 main elements. You can enter writing competitions for money, or hire yourself out as a freelance writer (as I have done). If you click on the 'Marketplace' link, it takes you to clients wishing to purchase articles about certain subjects. Typically they only require around 500 words so it doesn't take too long. You submit your article, and if they choose to use it, you get paid via Paypal. Its that easy. So far I've been paid for writing about newts (which I knew about), pavlova (which I didn't) and foot hygiene (well I wash my feet so I considered myself an expert).

Its brought it $70 (£35) so not bad for around 2 hours work. Of course your work might be rejected, but I think its worth having a go if your the writing type.

I have heard that writers:share do a similar scheme, paying for your opinions on certain subjects, although I have also heard that there have been some hiccups with payments. I have not used this site myself.

Welcome

Let me begin by telling you what this blog is not.

It is not a get-rich-quick scheme, it is not pyramid selling, it is not a ponzi scam. I am not going to post pictures of yachts and ferraris and tell you stories of how I made a million through little or no work and so can you if you follow my schemes.. blah...blah...blah

This site is ways that I have found to make a little more money on top of my salary, save a little bit of money, and generally be better off than I was.

This blog will be edited daily, giving you details of how you can supplement your own income. Some I will have used, others will be those I have heard are successful. Some will provide a constant income, others might just be a great money saving idea. Either way, what you can guarantee is there will be at least 365 money making/saving ideas here every year. Some will involve risk, some will involve no risk at all. But as I outlined at the beginning, no scams, no get-rich-quick.

Lets find that penny!