Rent your way to a fortune!

Rachel Robson gives you the lowdown on six novel ways you can earn some extra money...

If you're in a full time job, finding ways to earn a bit of extra cash can seem impossible. After all, the last thing many of us feel like doing when we get home from a long day at work is going off to a second job.

So if you're feeling a little skint, how can you make some extra money on the side without having to put in much effort?

Well, the answer lies in renting. Here are six things you can rent out to help boost your income!

Rent a room

When I mention the word 'renting', the first thing that probably springs to mind is renting out a spare room. And if you are lucky enough to have a spare room and you don't mind someone else living in your home, this can work out to be a very nice little money earner.

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. You don't even have to be a homeowner to qualify for the scheme - however, if you rent your home, you should check your lease first to ensure it allows you to take in a lodger.

That said, even if you have a mortgage, it's worth checking with your mortgage lender to make sure it will agree to you taking in a lodger.

If you fancy advertising your spare room, good websites to check out include Easyroommate,  Gumtree, and MondaytoFriday (this is a great website if you don't want your lodger around at weekends). And to find out more about the scheme, make sure you read Rent A Room scheme: tax-free cash from your spare room.

Rent your driveway

If you don't have a car, and you've got a driveway going spare, don't waste it - rent it! Websites such as YourParkingSpace, ParkLet and ParkatmyHouse are well worth checking out as these match motorists looking for parking with homeowners who have a driveway to spare.

Just bear in mind you're more likely to profit from this if you live in a prime location, such as in a big city, or near a tube or train station, or a sporting venue. For example, a parking space in Islington, London, could get you as much as £250 per month, according to ParkLet. 

If you live in the middle of the countryside and rarely see a car go past, however, it's more likely to be a waste of time.

Rent your garden

If you're not a fan of gardening and your garden is simply a burden, why not see whether it's of use to someone else?

If you fancy doing this, make sure you take a look at Spareground which allows you to easily post an advertisement for your garden - whether you've got a small garden you think will make a great allotment for someone, or you own a larger bit of land perfect for keeping chickens!

Spareground is completely free to join and if anyone is interested in your advertisement, he/she can contact you through the website. You can download a guide to getting started here.

Rent your storage space

Similarly, Spareground is worth a browse if you've got any kind of storage space going spare. This could be anything from a spare loft, an attic, a garage, a spare cupboard, or even just a spare room if you'd prefer it to be used for storage instead of a human!

You may be surprised at how much interest you get too. For many people living in cities such as London, storage space in flats can be minimal (believe me, I know!) - so if you've got some space going spare, what are you waiting for?

Rent out your clothes (or anything else for that matter)!

But what happens if you don't have a spare garage, room, driveway or garden to rent out? Well, don't despair because you can also rent out anything from clothes, to laptops, to aircrafts through RentNotBuy.

All you have to do is sign up to the website for free, place your advertisement for whatever it is you have to rent, state how much you want to charge, and wait for the offers to come flooding in!

Rent out your home

Finally, if you're really serious about renting, you could consider renting out your home temporarily. Okay, so strictly speaking, this is actually called home swapping, and you're not likely to earn any money from it. However, it will save you money if you're planning a holiday in the near future.

In a nutshell, home swapping means that if you're hoping to jet off somewhere for a week or two, instead of having to fork out for pricey accommodation, you can simply swap your home with someone else's.

So you'll rent out someone's home abroad (for free), and in exchange, he/she will rent out yours - also for free. 

If you're interested, all you need to do is sign up to a home swapping website such as UKHolidaySwapShop, Intervac, Homelink, Homebase Holidays, or Geenee. And don't forget to read Property Swap Shop to find out more.

If you would like further advice on how to boost your income, lovemoney.com can help! First, adopt this goal: Make some extra money. Next, watch this video: How to save when you've got no money. Finally, why not have a wander over to Q&A and ask other lovemoney.com members for advice?

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