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Paying bills is never fun, but it’s absolutely terrifying if you had to pinch pennies just to afford to keep your lights on. These days, it’s common to see people tightening their budget in order to make ends meet, but there comes a point when it’s physically impossible to tighten it any more. When this happens, you need to start looking into ways to supplement your income.

The obvious solution is to look for a second job, but this is not practical; even if you can fit a second job around ylour current schedule, you’re likely to burn out and you work will suffer as a result. The key is to work smarter, not harder. Find a way to make money passively, or at least with very little effort on your part. If you’re a smart saver, you might be able to loosen your belt a little bit.

Loans

A payday loan is the quickest way to get cash, and there are certainly some benefits; you can get accepted even with bad credit, you can apply for small amounts, and the applications are pretty straightforward. However, due to the high interest over such as short term, a payday loan should only be considered as a last resort. In the long run, paying the interest could cost you more money than you have right now.

However, there are other loans to consider. If you own your car, and you would prefer a longer repayment period, you might want to consider a Logbook loan. Unlike a payday loan, Logbook loans let you take out a loan by using your car as collateral against the value of the loan. Until your loan is fully repaid, the company will own your car. On the bright side, the lenders won’t assess your credit history and affordability; you just need to have a car under ten years old and a full MOT.

Get paid to write

If you have a great writing style, you can structure an article and try to pitch it to an online magazine or your local paper. You might only earn a small amount at first, but once you’ve built up a reputation you can start charging more for your articles. Alternatively, you can apply for a part-time position with a content writing company and write as many articles as you can in your spare time. All you need to make this possible is a laptop and a good internet connection. Do some research and find out if there are any freelance websites looking for writers.

 

Cashback

Isn’t it time your finances took care of you for a change? Cashback is a moneyback system available at individual retailers like Tesco and Boots, that award you ‘points’ whenever you spend money in their stores. More online retailers are adopting this system in the form of Nectar points, so every time you spend money at a specific store, you’ll get back a small proportion of what you spent. Eventually, you can collect enough points to spend money on things like groceries, clothes, or petrol. If you’re very patient, you could even use them to pay for your Christmas shopping.

Some credit cards are also adopting this rewards system, and you’ll qualify if you have a credit score of 720 or higher. The best rewards include 1 to 1.5 percent cashback on all purchases or up to 6 percent back in specific bonus categories, like dining, or at designated retailers. However, you should be careful to pay off the interest as soon as possible, or the cost will far outweigh the benefits. Set up a direct debit to pay the card off in full each month, so there's no interest cost, and you can earn hundreds back per year.

Complete online surveys

Online surveys are a quick and convenient way to make a bit of extra money, and they don’t take a lot of time away from your family or your work commitments. Dedicated survey takers can rake in around £200 a year. You won’t be making a lot of money right away, but this is another good way to save up for your Christmas expenses. Be careful, not all survey sites are created equal. Some are legit and pay a decent amount of money for your time, but others either take longer to pay the same amount, or they’re scams.

 

Clear out your clutter

The next time you’re trying to purge your belongings, check if you your old clothes and electronic devices are still in good condition. If so, you might want to hold off donating them and try and make a little extra money. You no longer need to organise a home clearance or carry boxes of books to a second-hand store. Simply create a profile and sell your things on eBay, Amazon, or on mobile phone recycling sites. If they don’t sell after a month, take them off your profile and donate them to charity. Even one sale is money in the bank.

 

Make YouTube videos

YouTube is an excellent site for earning money. When you upload your videos you can enable adverts and get paid each time somebody watches them. Over a billion people visiting YouTube every single month so finding viewers for your videos isn’t difficult. You can offer language lessons, tips on how to play an instrument, or a review of a movie you’ve recently seen. If you have a pet that’s particularly entertaining, you could try to make them famous and earn money from their antics.

 

Teach someone your skills

If you have a special skill, there might be someone out there willing to pay to learn from you. As a tutor, you could choose your own hours to fit around your family and other commitments, and you could charge what you feel is a fair price. Before you start advertising, however, be sure this is something you’d like to commit to, because you could be doing this for months at a time.

Chiino
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