13 hours ago
How to make £5k in extra cash for summer from earning from your sun lounger to getting paid to water plants
YOU can avoid the summer holiday pinch with these easy ways to earn extra money.
Most can be done from home and you can even involve your kids.
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You can currently earn £1,000 from side-hustles tax free, and this will rise to £3,000 from next April.
Here, Mel Hunter reports success stories and reveals how you can cash in by doing a few extra jobs.
Archie, 8, made £3k from a market stall
MAKE money with your kids — and teach them about managing finances at the same time.
Selling old toys, handmade crafts or even lemonade can be a fun way to earn money.
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Eight-year-old Archie from Market Harborough, Leics, has made more than £3,000 since setting up his own market stall, alongside regular traders 18 months ago.
He set up his first stall in Harborough Market in March last year, selling old toys.
Now he flogs games he and his friends no longer want to keep, too.
He uses his profits to buy jewellery, fidget toys, sweets and keyrings to resell.
Mum Jodie, 45, a digital marketing manager, says: 'He still does normal eight-year-old things, like spending time with friends and playing football, but alongside that he's beginning a profitable side hustle. It's amazing.'
Archie keeps track of his money via his GoHenry account, a financial app and card for kids.
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Cash in on demand for seasonal items
HAVE a clearout and flog in-demand seasonal items.
Online marketplace Gumtree says listings for items such as barbecues, lawnmowers, hoses, and garden furniture sets soar over summer.
We've spotted used lawnmowers for £20 and garden hose reels for £30.
Sell spring and summer clothes on sites like Vinted or Depop, and kids games on eBay.
Professional organiser Karen Powell, dubbed The Organising Lady, said: 'Wash, iron and display clothes on hangers, before taking pictures.
'With unwanted toys, put any unboxed bits in bags. Check you have all the pieces for kits or jigsaws. Mention any missing pieces when you list your item.'
Gather old tech, like phones and tablets, wipe them clear of your details by backing up your information, removing linked accounts and restoring factory settings, and sell on sites like Music Magpie.
A decent quality iPhone 14 can go for around £230.
Use meal vouchers in hols
FAMILIES spend an extra £300 on food over the summer, according to Iceland.
Save money by taking your free school meal vouchers to bigger Iceland stores.
Spend a minimum of £15 and get an extra £5 on your Iceland Bonus card.
Use apps like HyperJar, Cheddar and JamDoughnut to buy supermarket gift cards and earn cashback.
With Cheddar, buy a Tesco gift card worth any amount and get four per cent cashback.
So if you buy a card for £100, you get £4 back.
Do surveys on sun lounger
MAKE money from your sofa or sun lounger by taking part in surveys or online focus groups.
Companies like Angelfish Opinions, Saros or Research Opinions, can pay up to £100, often as an e-gift card.
Your views on brands and experiences are valuable, and can help shape the future.
At Angelfish Opinions, you can apply to be interviewed about eating out for a £70 e-gift card.
And check out competitions sites, such as Latest Free Stuff and Magic Freebies.
'I move into my van and rent my house for £5k'
RENT out your spare room, or even move out so others can move in, to make money.
This is what Suzy Greenwood does.
The PR manager, who also runs the Seaflowers guesthouse in Frogmore, Devon, makes around £5,000 from May to September by moving out of her home into a VW Caddy.
She rents out her one-bed home — an annex attached to the riverside guesthouse — on Airbnb and makes about £300 a weekend after fees.
Suzy, 39, said: 'Moving to the van means I can take advantage of the extra summer demand. I make about £300 a weekend after Airbnb fees and cleaning costs.
'Airbnb takes 20 per cent, so if I get a direct booking I split the benefit with guests, giving them a ten per cent discount.'
Want to rent out a spare room? The Government's Rent A Room scheme lets you earn up to £7,500 per year tax-free.
Or rent out your parking space with a platform such as YourParkingSpace or JustPark.
JustPark hosts make an average of £320 a year.
'I made £100 in a week doing small jobs locally'
YOU can be paid to water plants, mow the lawn or even look after pets.
Check local Facebook groups and apps like Nextdoor and Airtasker to find adverts for small jobs.
Airtasker reckons you could make up to £554 a month doing two gardening jobs a week.
Jo Atwell, 38, from Peterborough, uses the Nextdoor app and does cleaning, gardening and runs errands for her older neighbour, earning about £12 an hour.
She made £100 in her first week this summer, which will pay for a camping trip for her and daughter Reanna, 20.
Jo said: 'I want- ed to take Reanna camping in Scotland and it's now possible thanks to the money I've earned via Nextdoor.'
John Odiaka, 28, from Coventry, picks up seasonal work, doing removals and gardening via the casual jobs app Airtasker, which sees activity soar by nearly a third in the summer.
'At this time of year, I might do two or three jobs a day, earning up to £2,000 a month,' he said. Last summer, he made £5,000.
BEST FIRMS FOR HAGGLING
THE top firms to haggle with on bills have been revealed by MoneySaving Expert Martin Lewis – and you could save hundreds of pounds.
The money saving website asked 5,000 readers if they got a discount on bills after haggling.
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AA Breakdown ranked highest, with 87 per cent of customers negotiating better deals, followed by Virgin Media and RAC Breakdown, both at 84 per cent.
Meanwhile Hastings Direct came with a 77 per cent success rate, Admiral and TalkTalk with 75 per cent, AA Insurance at 74 per cent, Green Flag at 73 per cent, and Sky Mobile and NOW at 72 per cent.
The key to haggling success is knowing the market value of services and asking companies to match or beat it.
Martin said: 'Breakdown cover, broadband and TV, mobile, and car and home insurance providers are the fab four. With all of them, the important first step is to benchmark a realistic quote you can ask them to match or beat. The aim of haggling in these sectors is all about keeping the exact service you have (or bettering it) and paying less.
'There's no point if you're within contract – you're trapped. So wait until you're no longer locked in.'
Customers can make a note in their diary a month or two before a contract ends as you should be able to negotiate a good deal.
You can use comparison sites such as MoneySupermarket or Comparethemarket to check out cheaper options.
James Flanders
QUICKER MOBILE COMPO
MOBILE and broadband customers could resolve issues or get compensation more quickly under new rules being introduced by the telecoms regulator.
Currently, anyone who complains but doesn't get a response or isn't happy with the answer must wait eight weeks before they can take the issue to an ombudsman.
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However, Ofcom wants to reduce this time to six weeks and the change will come into play in April 2026.
Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, described the move as 'positive'. She said: 'Recent Which? research found eight in ten suffered a connection issue with their broadband provider in the year to January 2025.
'Providers need to up their game so problems are resolved as quickly as possible.'
Under current rules, if your supplier does not resolve the issue after eight weeks, you can take your case to one of two Alternative Dispute Resolution schemes.
Customers can escalate issues to either the Communications Ombudsman or the Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme.
Resolving an issue through the ombudsman can lead to a simple apology, or you could be entitled to some compensation.
If you are not happy with how your complaint has been resolved, you can switch providers.
Laura McGuire
