Ten ways to make money in your lunch hour!

In times such as these we could all do with a few extra pennies in our bank accounts. So if you need to make some money but don’t reckon you have the time to do it, these quick and easy tips might provide you with some inspiration…

1) Online surveys

Many marketing firms will pay you to complete an online survey. These surveys can take between 10 minutes and half an hour and you’ll usually earn between 50p and £10 (if you're really lucky) per survey. You can sign up at numerous sites such as YouGov, Panelbase and Toluna.

Make sure you sign up to a registration-free website and avoid signing up to American websites as you’ll probably need an American bank account. It’s also worth opening an email account specifically for registration purposes as you’re likely to receive a lot of mail once your email address is out there!

2) Social networking

Yuwie is a social networking site that pays you – yes, really! The site allows you to do whatever you do with all other networking sites, but you’ll earn money at the same time through a share of the advertising revenue.

How much you get paid depends on how many page views you rack up. You get a page view every time someone looks at your blog/video/profile and every time you add content to your profile – such as pictures. So the more content you have and the more often you use Yuwie, the more page views you’ll get, and the more money you’ll receive. 

What’s more, you’ll also be paid for your referrals activity. In other words, if you invite friends to join you’ll make money off their activity too.

3) Blogging

If you love a good rant or just enjoy writing, setting up your own blog can also be a good way to make some money. If you join a free programme such as Google Adsense, you can earn commission from advertising banners on the side of your blog. Every time a user clicks on one of these adverts, you’ll earn some cash!

4) Sell your photos

If you’re a keen photographer, it’s worth seeing if you can sell your photos to stock photography websites. These websites will pay both amateur and professional photographers for their pics. Websites worth a look include Alamy, where you’ll get 60% of each sale, Fotolia and PictureNation.

5) Use a cashback website

Rather than heading out to the high street on your lunch break, why not do a spot of shopping online? If you make any purchases, make sure you use a cashback website such as Quidco, TopCashback or GreasyPalm. These websites will pay you money every time you do your online shopping via their links. It’s that simple! To find out more about which cashback sites offer the best deals, read The best way to shop online.

6) Sell stuff!

Got a cupboard full of old clothes and other items you no longer need? Why not sell them on eBay or Amazon Marketplace? It’s quick, it’s easy and you don’t have to go to much trouble! Just watch your bids stack up and the money come in – cha-ching! You can read more about this in Why eBay is better than Amazon.

7) Switch your current account

Yes, believe it or not, switching your current account during your lunchbreak can make you money! By simply switching to the First Direct 1st Account, you’ll be given £100 – just like that!  What’s more, you’ll be given another £100 if you decide to leave after six months. That said, First Direct is well known for its excellent customer service, so it’s highly likely you’ll want to stay put.

On the downside, you will need to pay £1,500 into the account each month and you won’t receive any interest on the money you keep in the account.

Alternatively, you could go for the Santander Preferred Current Account. If you pay in £1,000 a month and have at least two direct debits or standing orders set up on the account, you'll also receive £100 in cash!

Finally, consider sticking any savings you've got in a current account. You can earn as much as 5%, and still have instant access to your money.

Take a look at this table:

8) Rent whatever you can spare!

If you have a spare driveway, shed, room, storage space, why not rent it out and make some money from it? Great websites to use are Spareground and Parkatmyhouse.com.

And even if you don’t have any spare space to rent out, you can still pocket some extra cash by renting out anything from handbags, to kitchen gadgets, to boats! Just have a browse on Rentnotbuy. Easy!

9) Complain

We Brits are good at whinging. But when it comes to complaining, we’re not so on the ball. Whether it’s train delays or shoddy customer service, if there’s something that’s made you grumble, it’s worth taking the time to write a formal complaint.

Make sure you’re assertive, but don’t come across as aggressive, and you never know, you might be rewarded for your efforts. Quite often you’ll receive money back or vouchers to use against your next purchase, and this is well worth it – believe me, I’ve done it! Read more on how to complain.

10) Do the grocery shop!

This won’t necessarily make you money, but it will certainly help you to save money. By buying your food online, you’re less likely to be tempted by unnecessary items you spot in the supermarket aisle, helping to keep the total cost of your trolley down.

What’s more, if you use the fabulous mysupermarket.co.uk, you’ll be able to track how much your shopping would cost at each of the UK's four major supermarkets (Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda, and Ocado/Waitrose). You can then buy your entire trolley of goods from the one you choose.

So there you have it – ten top ways to make money in your lunch hour. So what are you waiting for?

This is a classic article that has been updated for 2011.