Make money in your tea-break

Looking to make some money fast? Here are seven ways to put your tea-break to good use!

Here at lovemoney.com HQ, we’re a little partial to the odd cuppa and a biscuit. And after a recent discussion, we started to wonder how we could put our tea-breaks to good use and make some money.

So here are seven top ways to make money on your tea-break! (Bear in mind these ideas are only suitable for those of you who have access to a computer during your tea-break.)

Use a cashback website

Making a purchase online is easy, and it’s far quicker than tackling the high street! But the really great thing about buying online is that you can earn money back. And that's all thanks to nifty websites known as cashback websites.

All you have to do is sign up to one of these websites - such as Quidco, TopCashback, or GreasyPalm - and then make your purchase through your chosen website. Simply find the merchant you want to buy from and click on the link to the merchant’s website. Your purchase will then be tracked, and you’ll receive money back. Easy!

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  Rachel Robson takes a look at a great way to earn cash back when shopping online

  Cash in on cashback websites.

Open a current account

Believe it or not, you can actually get paid for switching current accounts! It doesn’t take long to apply for a current account either – so it’s an easy task for your tea-break!

The First Direct 1st Account will reward you with £100 just for opening the account. And if you’re not happy with the service you receive, you’ll be given another £100 if you decide to leave! However, as First Direct is renowned for its excellent customer service, it’s unlikely you’ll want to abandon the bank.

Just bear in mind you’ll need to pay £1,500 into the account each month.

Alternatively, the Halifax Reward Account will give you £5 each month you pay £1,000 into the account – whether you’re in credit or overdrawn.

Sell your junk                                               

It doesn’t take long to post on websites such as eBay and Amazon Marketplace. So if you know you have a lot of stuff at home you no longer need, why not sell it? Whether it’s clothes, shoes, furniture, or sports equipment, if you don’t need it, see if someone else wants it!

Simply post what you want to sell during your tea-break, and wait for the bids to come in. Next time you look, you could have a nice little sum of money coming your way! Read Why ebay is better than Amazon.

Recycle your mobile phone

If you’ve got an old mobile phone sitting in a drawer gathering dust, get it out and get rid of it. There are a range of mobile recycling websites that will be more than happy to take your old mobile off your hands and pay you for it.

Prices can vary a fair bit from website to website, so it's a good idea to check out comparison websites such as sellmymobile.com and mobilephonerecycling.co.uk. Simply type in the make and model of your phone and see where you can get the best deal.

Once you've chosen a deal, place your phone in the freepost envelope sent to you by the company, send it off, and wait for the cash! You can read more about this in Turn your old mobile phone into cash.

Of course, it's worth also checking whether you'll get even more money by simply selling your mobile on eBay.

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Complete a survey

You can easily carry out a 10 minute survey online during your tea-break. Admittedly you may not earn vast sums of money for doing so, but if you’ve got 10 minutes to spare, you may as well earn a little extra cash!

There are numerous websites out there which will pay you for completing their surveys – although some will take longer than 10 minutes, so make sure you only start surveys you know you will have time to finish. Good websites to look at include YouGov, Panelbase and Toluna. You can usually earn between 50p and £10 per survey.

Just make sure you sign up to a registration-free website, and try to avoid signing up for American websites as you’re likely to need an American bank account.

Rent it out

If you have a spare room in your house, why not rent it out and earn some money in the process? Thanks to the government's Rent a Room scheme, you can let out a room to a lodger and receive the first £4,250 tax-free for the 2009-2010 tax year.

And even if you don’t have a spare room, you can easily rent out your garden, shed, driveway, or storage space by simply placing an advert on a website such as Spareground and Parkatmyhouse.com. It won’t take long to post an advert, so sit back and relax and wait for the offers to come through!

What’s more, you can also rent out anything from clothes, to handbags, to laptops on the fabulous website RentNotBuy. Find out more in Rent your way to a fortune.

Sell your photos

If you’re an avid photographer, why not see whether you can sell your photos to stock photography websites. These websites will pay both amateur and professional photographers for their pics. Take a look at Alamy, where you’ll get 60% of each sale, or Fotolia or PictureNation to find out more.

Good luck!

More: Top tips to slash your weekly food bills | The tastiest egg costs £1.69!