HOW TO MAKE £1,000 BEFORE CHRISTMAS

HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON HOLIDAY

MAKE £1,000 BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Jasmine Birtles

Top money making tips from across the internet and beyond!

So, you’ve found a great deal for your trip to Paris, the Pirenees or Papua New Guinea and you’re all excited to go.

Christmas is a costly time of year but you don’t have to let it beat you. We’ve got a host of ways that you can make moneyserious money - before the big day.

Now what do you do when you’re away to save yourself some pennies and also make the pounds, euros and go further?

This eBook has lots of tips and ideas to cut your costs when you’re away and also protect the money and items that you have while you’re away.

There’s everything here from making money on cashback sites, doing competitions, being a Santa, making seasonal cakes and sweets and even renting out rooms to bring in the bacon.

You can also get all of this information on my wonderful website, , which has thousands of money- saving and money- making articles and a free newsletter too.

These ideas are not just for Christmas either. There’s loads here that will help you make more money throughout the year. So get reading and get earning!

HOW TO MAKE MONEY DOING YOUR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING

To start earning cashback on your Christmas shopping, all you need to do is visit Quidco and find the retailer you wish to shop with. Then click through and purchase as you usually would and watch as your cashback tracks into your account. The cashback you earn is simply the commission that Quidco receives from the retailer for referring you to their website. Instead of keeping this commission, Quidco pop this money into your account for you to withdraw at your own leisure. This can be paid straight into your bank account, via PayPal or as an Amazon voucher.

1. Shopping for cosmetics and fragrances

Cut the costs of your beauty buys with these simple tips. The average Brit spends over £1,000 shopping online each year, this may seem unsurprising depending how much time you spend e-browsing yourself but for us it seemed like quite a large portion of our hard earned wages!

The good news is, we’ve found a handy way to help save on the little things that can really add up. To help savvy shoppers out there buying Christmas presents such as cosmetics, fragrances and toiletries, cashback sites like Quidco deliver even more than easy price comparison. You can browse 4,300+ retailers easily online, all of whom will be offering you a percentage of your purchase value back. We’ve compiled a few favourites below.

BOOTS

One of the most renowned high street stores to pick up your health and beauty products. Boots offer some amazing deals, all of which Quidco sweeten by offering up to 6% cashback on!

An extra tip here, try to bulk buy your beauty products. You’ll need then eventually

and the more you buy, the more you save. Think of all those points, the 3 for 2’s and of course the added bonus of cashback!

THE BODY SHOP

An excellent crowd pleaser that will allow you to pick up natural, affordable products at the click of a button online. On top of their awesome offers such as free delivery on orders over £25, The Body Shop currently offer up to 7% cashback on your purchase with Quidco!

HOLLAND & BARRETT

Where you’ll often find the 1p sale. They offer the perfect excuse to buy in bulk and pick up double the health and beauty products for essentially no extra cost. They also happen to thrown in up to 12% cashback through Quidco.

If you need a little more convincing, how about £10 cashback bonus on your first purchase through Quidco? This sign up offer is only available for a short amount of time, so check your Christmas list, make up bag and bathroom cabinet quick. Any beauty essentials you may need in the next week could be made £10 cheaper by purchasing via Quidco!

Sign

2. Groceries, clothing & homewares

Everyday life at Christmas can be expensive. From groceries and utilities to clothing and homewares, we’ve all felt the pinch at this time of year. Quidco, the UK’s no.1 cashback site has been helping people earn cashback every time they shop for a decade.

With one simple life hack you could be saving up to £250 per year just by shopping as you usually would. To show you how Quidco can help with the little to the large expenses in life, check out our list of the best ways you can save money when you shop through Quidco.

3. Dress well, for less this Christmas

If you want a whole wardrobe update, or just that special one off piece there are hundreds of fashion retailers to choose from on Quidco. Earn cashback when you shop with retailers such as M&S and Boohoo, French Connection or ASDA George.

You can also take advantage of cashback on the high street with Debenhams, River Island and Reiss all offering up to 5% cashback when you shop in-store

4. Shopping for the little ones

Children can be expensive especially at Christmas time. With toys, nappies, food, clothes and groceries to buy the costs can quickly pile up.

However, there are plenty of ways to be rewarded when shopping. Retailers like Toys R Us, Kiddicare, Early Learning Centre and Mothercare all offer cashback when you shop online with Quidco.

5. Get rewards for the home

On Quidco retailers such as B&Q and Wilkos offering up to 4% cashback for all your DIY needs. And notonthehighstreet.com and House of Fraser have some great home décor ideas and all with brilliant cashback offers.

6. Christmas holiday breaks

You can save money on a last minute city break, a long relaxing Christmas family holiday or even your dream honeymoon with Quidco. The travel retailers on site range from easyJet and lastminute.com to Mr & Mrs Smith and Marriot Hotels. No matter what your holiday plans this Christmas, Quidco will have something for you.

Join Today >> Quidco will credit your account with a £10 bonus when you make your first purchase if you sign up today.

SELL HAMPERS, SWEETS, DECORATIONS, CAKES AND MORE

We have a very popular article on MoneyMagpie which gives you loads of information on how to make your own Christmas hampers to sell or give away this festive season. Take a look here. It’s the sort of thing you could earn decent money from if you make enough and keep the costs down. Only do this if you’re a creative sort though, as the better they look, the more likely they are to sell and more you can sell them for!

Hampers

You can make hampers out of anything but traditionally they’re in wicker baskets or trays. The trays are the cheapest and, in some ways, easiest. You can get them at pound shops or on eBay. You could use other things too like plant pots, nice, large boxes that you spray or decorate, old watering-cans that you have sprayed a nice colour or anything else that your fancy takes to.

You will need stuffing and that’s easy if you have access to straw or you have a shredder as you can shred colourful paper and use that. Otherwise, look on eBay for shredded cellophane or tissue paper.

The actual items you put in your hampers can be anything from food you make (see here for ideas and the certificate you need to sell homemade goods at markets) to cheap smellies you get from the market or pound shop to tins, jars and packets you can pick up at the supermarket.

Decorations

You will need cellophane to wrap the whole thing in which you can get through eBay or Amazon for a good price. Either that or speak to your local florist and see if you can buy from their wholesalers.

You will also need ribbons (use ones you have collected from presents in the past to

start with) and all sorts of other decorations which could include baubles (they could go inside the hamper too), holly and ivy from the hedgerows, tinsel, tissue paper flowers, plastic Father Christmases and more. Let your imagination go wild! There are lots of ideas on Pinterest. Just put ‘Christmas hampers’ into the search bar and see what you find.

PRICING AND SELLING

The amount you charge should, of course, be enough to give you a decent profit. Ideally you should be able to charge at least twice the cost of putting the hamper together. But it shouldn’t be more than people could get in the shops.

Initially you should try selling these at car boot sales and local markets. You may have to put a lower price on them at car boot sales as people going there are expecting a bargain, but if you take pictures of similar, highly-priced hampers and put those next to the ones you’re selling, they will see what a bargain they’re getting.

If this becomes something that’s very popular with locals you could then try selling them to shops in your town that take local items. You will make less of a profit but at least someone else is doing the selling for you.

Chapter 3

MAKE £100 A DAY AS A TV EXTRA

To make £1,000 before Christmas you only need around ten days of this kind of work (maybe just a few weekends). It’s worth a go.

Yes you really can make £100 a day – and even more – by doing work as a walk-on for film and TV projects.

The majority of filming work happens around London but many cities like Cardiff, Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester have regular work as well.

We have a big article here showing you how to become a film or TV extra and how much money you can make at it.

On the whole you can expect to make around £100 a day at it. Often the day rates are less than that but there are loads of ways you get

extra money added on such as going over by an hour, using your own costume (maybe you have a wig or a nurse’s uniform or similar) and having to come in early to be made up and put in special clothes. Working overnight or travelling a long way can also add on cash.

On the whole you get this kind of work through agencies but be careful here. There are some bogus ones (as there seem to be in all aspects of media work, particularly modelling) so check our article to find out some pukka ones and how to check out agencies you come across on the web.

Most will charge you something for registering and photos but it shouldn’t be much if they’re a genuine operation.

MAKE MONEY DOING SEASONAL WORK

1. Be a Christmas postie

The Christmas post is huge with all the cards and presents being delivered, so Royal Mail always needs extra help in the run-up to the big day. They have a mix of full and part time indoor sorting positions on early, late and night shifts available from early November through until 23rd December at a number of sites across the UK.

If you look at their website here you will see PAGES of vacancies in all parts of the UK. These jobs do go fairly quickly so it’s a good idea to apply for them now to be in with a chance.

Rates vary from £7.20-£10.50 an hour depending what you are doing and where you are doing it.

2. Make money pet sitting and pet boarding this Christmas

If you love animals, pet sitting and pet boarding can be an easy and fun way to make money during the Christmas holidays. As over 50% of British families own a pet and many of them go away at Christmas without their animals, there’s a lot of money to be made. Pet sitters ensure that the animals are fed, given water or any medication they require and they also clean up litter or cages and play with the animals.

In most cases, pet sitters only visit during the day but owners may arrange for minders to be house sitters as well through sites like Trusted Housesitters. This is if they don’t want their pets or home left unoccupied (see our article on house sitting here).

Pet sitters usually charge per pet, per hour but weekly rates or discounts for multiple pets can be put in place. Rates tend to range from around £6 per visit up to £15. So this means that you could make between £12 and £30 a day for a couple of visits to one house. If you did three or four homes you could make up to £120 a day.

Pet boarding is a popular alternative to kennels. Many owners don’t like putting their animals in kennels for a long time – it’s like leaving your children in a hotel or a school while you go on holiday. Very often the pets are unhappy and feel unloved.

Not only that but doggy day-care is expensive. Basic kennels can cost at least £50 a day, sometimes adding up to more than the cost of your own holiday!

Rates again vary but for example Animal Aunts pay £54 for a basic overnight stay with either one dog or two cats. Some boarders increase their prices at busy times such as the Christmas holiday. So, if you have three extra animals in your home you could make around £160 a day (minus the agency fee). Not bad money!

3. Work in retail – get money and discounts!

Working in shops over the Christmas and New Year period has the double benefit of paying you an hourly rate and giving you access to staff discounts in some cases. Here are some big brands that are actively looking for seasonal help in store…

DEBENHAMS

Debenhams gets very, very busy in the runup to Christmas, particularly when they have their flash sales.

They need extra people to help for a few months, not just on the shop floor but also to help in their restaurants over the particularly busy Christmas and New Year period. Find out what’s on offer here.

MARKS AND SPENCER

Marks has seasonal jobs every year and you can find out here what’s on offer and how to apply.

They even have examples of people who have gone on to have full-time, permanent jobs with them after doing the temporary Christmas work.

TOYS R US

Toys ‘R’ Us are looking to recruit 1500 people for the run-up to Christmas in their stores and National Distribution Centre.

They want part-time new recruits to be involved in service, sales, cashiering, replenishment and internet orders. If you’re interested you can visit your local store and pick up an Application Form. You can also find more at Toys R Us Recruitment.

Adrian Wurr, Toys ‘R’ Us’ Training and Development Manager says “We want special individuals with friendly and outgoing personalities who enjoy being busy”.

They also say that retail experience, whilst not essential, would be helpful and an appreciation of parents’ and children’s needs will be especially valued. Flexibility is essential as shifts may vary throughout the week.

AMAZON

Amazon is mega-busy in the run-up to Christmas and need a lot of extra people in their distribution centres – an extra 19,000 in fact!. The majority of these roles be in the company’s warehouses and customer service centres across the country.

Amazon has eight distribution centres: in Doncaster, Dunfermline, Gourock, Hemel Hempstead, Milton Keynes, Peterborough, Rugeley and Swansea Bay.

Click here to find out what Amazon jobs are available, select the vacancy you’re interested in and then apply.

ARGOS

Argos are looking for over 10,000 seasonal workers to help with the Christmas rush. They say “customer advisors and stock assistants are being sought to support over 840 Argos stores to meet customer demand for toys, home products, video games, technology, sports and other popular Christmas gifts. The number includes Fast Track drivers who will need great customer service skills to support Argos’ store to customer door distribution service.”

Everyone will have a minimum of ten hours work per week (or six for weekend staff). Initial contracts are around three to four months, but some roles could become permanent at the end of the season. See their website for details.

4. Be a Santa Claus

High street shops and supermarkets will still be taking on extra staff in other areas than just serving customers. Big stores, shopping centres and even outdoor Council-run areas look for Santa's for their kids’ grottos and also elves to help Santa.

So as you can see from our article there’s always a demand for Santas and elves. If you’re good at performing, have some experience entertaining kids and, importantly, have a DBS check then you could make money as either a Santa or elf.

5. Run a Christmas disco, up to £1,000 per day!

Now if you do this one right you could make £1,000 in one go!

It doesn’t work for everyone. You need a few things:

• a nice cheap venue that’s easy for people to get to – ideally with a cash bar

• a DJ who doesn’t cost too much or your own set of music and a way to play it

• lots of friends and contacts in the area and on social media

• an ability to sell and get other people enthusiastic

Not everyone has all of those elements but even if you have just two of them you could make a go of it.

If it does work you could do it again near Valentine’s Day, around Easter and at other key dates in the year.

GETTING STARTED

If you’re going to make money out of this you will need to know what your costs are to start with so that you know how many tickets you need to sell in order to break even and then start making a profit.

Find a venue that will either

• charge you nothing – just benefitting from the bar takings

• or will work on a percentage of the ticket sales plus percentage of the bar takings

• or will simply charge you a low one-off rate.

Church halls are often good for this or an upper room in a local pub. Make sure they’re happy with music being played (they should be on the whole).

Sometimes you’re more likely to get the venue – and get it at a good price – if you pick a less attractive day of the week like Tuesday or Wednesday. The only problem there is that it will be harder to get the punters in as they have work the next day. See what’s possible with your friends before agreeing to something like that.

Then work out the cost of advertising – if you’re not going to just use word of mouth and social media. Also the cost of food if you’re going to offer that – either as part of the ticket price or as an extra paid-for item. There’s the cost of the DJ if you’re paying for that plus decorations (you want to make it look Christmassy) and possibly even door security if you’re doing this in a city or somewhere a bit vulnerable.

SELLING TICKETS

event to what the majority ask for:

• if might be worth doing a 70’s and 80’s disco if your friends are generally older

• Maybe go for a family disco on a Sunday afternoon if many of your friends have kids. You could include party games and even have someone dress up as Santa to make it fun for everyone.

• Make sure it’s up-to-date and playing only the latest music if most of your friends are students or in their 20s

Pick a high price for the tickets then offer special deals (half price, 25% off) to those who buy well in advance or buy several at a time.

Get onto social media – Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and more – and plug the event every day. Get your friends to plug it for you (even offer them a free ticket if they bring in 5 punters or something like that).

RUNNING THE EVENT

If you have a family, get them all involved in running the event. You need as much free help as you can get.

It’s all in the planning and preparation so run it like a military operation and you will have fewer problems on the night.

Cover all eventualities. Look into insurance –the venue itself may have enough insurance to cover you but it’s important that you are covered in case of disaster (there are lots of issues that could come up on the day).

It’s worth gauging interest in this idea with friends and family before you even start on the project. If there’s little interest then it’s going to be hard to sell tickets to them and anyone else.

However, if there’s a bit of a spark, and they make suggestions, then listen and tailor the

Be the host/hostess with the most/mostess on the night. These events can be made or broken by the personalities who are making people feel welcome, including everyone and making guests feel loved and happy. Even if the music is dodgy, the games fall apart and the food isn’t the best, if people feel loved, they will come again.

BRILLIANT MONEY MAKING SITES

Here is our list of favourite money making sites from online surveys and cashback sites to competitions and selling online. Do one or two of these in the run-up to Christmas and you’re well on your way to making that glorious £1,000!

1. Rent out your space for cash

Got a spare bedroom you don’t use? Take a look at Spareroom.co.uk, where it’s free to advertise rooms to let. There’s loads of great advice for would-be landlords on the site, too.

You can earn a yearly tax-free income of up to £7,500 from letting a room, so this is one of the best ways of making money almost from nothing!

Or if you’re in an area that gets a lot of tourists or business visitors you could certainly make £1,000 before Christmas by renting a room or your whole home (even better) on Airbnb.com

2. Earn cash designing T-shirts

Fancy yourself as a fashion guru? Then why not try your hand at designing your own Tshirt? It’s creative, fun, and if your creation proves popular with others, you can make money from your hobby.

The Threadless website lets you submit your own designs (or slogans), which are scored and commented on by visitors. If your design is well received and selected for print, you could be in line for £1,500. Threadless has paid out millions to artists all over the world who have submitted their designs. Read “12 unusual creative ways to make money”

3. Get paid to listen to music

If you love your music, sign up to Slicethepie.com for free and get paid to listen to and review music by unsigned bands.

This isn’t necessarily a big money earner as you’ll only get 1-2p per review at the beginning, but as you get a better ranking there is potential to make more and more cash.

Not only is it a good way to make a few extra quid but you could get to hear the next big thing before anyone else.

4. Find money in dormant bank accounts

Mylostaccount.org.uk is a free online service that will search through bank and building society records for you to see if you have any money lying around in a forgotten account.

Official figures state that up to £850m of our own money is lying in inactive current, savings and building society accounts, so it’s definitely worth checking.

Always give as many details as possible, including maiden names and previous addresses, in order to increase your chances of finding a lost account.

5. Make money doing online surveys

If you have some free time this Christmas, why not fill in a few online surveys and earn some money? It’s simple, effective and you could win cash prizes every now and then.

Be warned!

There are a lot of sharks in the business and you have to be careful what you sign up for. Some even have the cheek to try to get you to pay to join – ignore these companies. As a rule of thumb, the more lucrative or tempting it sounds, the more likely it is to be a waste of time. You certainly shouldn’t have to pay to join.

Once you’ve signed up to them, some companies might also send you marketing emails – a lot of them! If you don’t fancy receiving these we recommend that you set up a separate email account just for your online surveys. This way your personal account will be left alone, and all your survey-related emails will be kept in one place.

OUR RECOMMENDED ONLINE SURVEYS

Here are the sites offering online surveys we approve of. They’ve all received a thumbs-up from online survey users, but if for any reason these paid surveys fail to impress you then please do let us know. And always remember: never pay to join an online survey site…

• Nielsen Online Panel

• InboxPounds

• Toluna

• PanelBase

• The OpinionPanel Community

• Swagbucks

• MySurvey

Step 1: Register with several companies

You can sign up to as many survey companies as you wish. A full list of genuine ones is below.

Remember: You won’t qualify for every survey. Survey companies are after a ‘sample group’, which means they only look for a particular number of people within a specific age range or area, or who use a certain product. However, it’s a good bit of extra pocket money. One of our readers earns about £50 a month plus a regular supply of products to test.

Step 2: Check your inbox in your free time

Most surveys are sent to you via email at random times. Surveys can take anywhere from 10 to 45 minutes to complete. When you receive the email it will tell you roughly how long the survey will take and give you a link to a new window where it’ll begin.

Also, get free goodies to test out for Toluna. They have loads of products they need to have tested so if you sign up for the testing side you can get new things every month. Right now, for example, they’re getting people to test out Garnier Hand Cream and pots of caviar…yes seriously! So you can see the kind of things you could get to try for nothing.

Click here to join up now and get all these great freebies.

MobileXpression provides one of the easiest ways possible to make money. All you have to do is download their software onto your phone/tablet and you’ll immediately start earning points you can redeem for a reward. In fact, you will get a £5 Amazon gift card just for having the software on your phone for a week!

6. Rent your drive out for cash

Use your drive or your garage to make money for you. Justpark covers the whole UK and you can put your space on the site for anyone coming to your area to park in – for cash! If you live near a train station, your space could be very attractive to commuters. Read our article for more tips

7. Recycle your mobile for cash

Never throw away old mobile phones. Recycle them instead for easy money. Go to the MoneyMagpie mobile recycling service –simply enter the make and model of your phone and then see which recycling company will give you the most for it.

Raid your drawers and check at the back of

the cupboard – you could make as little as £1 (for older or damaged phones) or as much as £400 (for newer, well-kept handsets).

8.

Freebies with online competitions

Entering competitions online is a great way to nab free prizes for very little effort. They’re usually fast and fun to enter, and your chances of winning are often much higher than you’d imagine. Right now there are lots of people out there snapping up all the prizes you could be winning, so as the saying goes, ‘you’ve got to be in it to win it’!

DON’T FORGET

There are amazing prizes to win with MoneyMagpie every week of the year! Signup to our weekly newsletter for the chance to win or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter. You can win anything from £100 vouchers for supermarkets and top websites through to personalised pens, dashcams, blenders and even holidays. It’s all COMPLETELY FREE so sign up now.

Online competitions are generally the easiest to enter. Since they’re geared towards generating traffic, all they really want is your email address which is easy to provide.

Tip 1: You MUST set up a separate email account to enter online competitions, or you’ll find your inbox clogged up with nasty spam.

Tip 2: Concentrate on reputable brands or companies. We have our very own competition page on MoneyMagpie which gives you the chance to win everything from gadgets to gift cards.

Tip 3: Never pay to enter an online competition. If you like browsing through competition sites, stick to ones which offer free entry like Free Postcode Lottery. This is a great little site which gives away £300 every day at noon to one of the postcodes on their list. There’s no catch, the only downside is that you have to check each day to see if your number has come up.

SLOGAN COMPETITIONS

Think you’ve got a bit of creative genius in you? Slogan competitions are terrific for the keen comper who’s ready and willing to put in a little more effort than simply typing in an email address or sending back a postcard. Companies love to use slogan competitions as a way to market their products at low costs and encourage consumers to think positively about what they’re selling.

Find out how to win at slogan competitions –and any other competition, in our article here

FANTASTIC PRIZE EXAMPLES – PREVIOUS MONEYMAGPIE COMPS

9. Make money from cashback sites

Getting rewarded for doing your shopping might sound too good to be true, but if you shop through a cashback site that’s exactly what you’ll get – a bit of money back on everything you buy. While cashback sites won’t make you a millionaire, if you use them on a regular basis it’s possible to make hundreds each year.

HOW CASHBACK SITES WORK

comparison site like Kelkoo to find out which retailer offers the cheapest deal, and then see if you can find that vendor on a cashback website.

CLEAR YOUR COOKIES

Tracking your path through to a retailer can be a tricky business, which is why some cashback can get lost. Cashback websites create something called a cookie – a tiny crumb of digital information that identifies you – and it is stored on your computer.

The problem is that lots of other websites do that too, which can confuse things. You know when you go onto Amazon and it immediately recommends certain items based on what you’ve purchased and viewed on their site before? That’s done with a cookie. So, to ensure you get the cashback you’re entitled to, make sure you clear your cookies and click through directly from the cashback site to make your purchase.

DON’T BE TEMPTED BY OFFERS OF PRODUCTS YOU DON’T NEED

Cashback sites are essentially shopping portals. Instead of going directly to a company’s website to buy whatever you need, you visit that site via a cashback website that then pays you.

Why? Because cashback sites have partnerships with all the retailers they list and will be paid by those retailers for directing people their way – and will then pass that money onto you.

You have to register as a member to use cashback sites, but it’s usually free. We recommend steering clear of any which ask you to pay for membership.

As a member you’ll get an account and will collect cashback each time you shop through the site. It can take some time to process, but it will eventually be put in your account. After you reach a certain threshold – which varies between different sites – you’ll be able to withdraw your money.

MAKE SURE YOU’RE GETTING THE CHEAPEST DEAL FIRST

Getting 5% cashback on a £150 camera is not a good deal if you can get the same camera for £75 elsewhere. Use a price

Earning cashback is great, but make sure you don’t end up buying things simply because you’re lured by the cashback deal. You’re not saving money if you end up spending it on things you wouldn’t have otherwise bought.

MAKE A BIT EXTRA BY REFERING A FRIEND

Many cashback sites reward you for getting friends to use the site too. So if your friends fancy saving some money as well, point them towards these sites and make some extra money for yourself. Free Fivers pays you £5 when you sign up and another £5 once a referred friend has earned £25.

Our favourite cashback site is Quidco!

Whatever you’re looking to buy this Christmas we’re sure Quidco has a deal with your name on it.

They offer cashback with all your favourite brands including, Marks and Spencer, B&Q, Tesco, Amazon.co.uk, Debenhams, Expedia, Boots, Argos, BT, The Body Shop, ASOS, Waterstones, Sky and thousands more…

We’re not kidding; you could be earning hundreds and even thousands of pounds a year.

IT’S INCREDIBLY SIMPLE

• Browse the offers available on their site or search for a specific brand, product or service.

• When you want to redeem an offer, just click through to the retailer’s website via the link on their website and make your purchase

• Quidco tracks your visit and once the retailer has confirmed your sale, they pass on the cashback value.

EVEN YOUR FEEDBACK PAYS

Quidco Opinions is their way of rewarding you for your feedback about products and services. Simply register for an account, complete a personal profile detailing your likes, interests and the products that interest you and they’ll match you to relevant marketing and research surveys.

Your answers help businesses to make better decisions and in return they offer cash rewards for your time and attention.

10. Sell your stuff online

There are lots of ways you can sell online now – it’s not just eBay (although eBay is still the biggest and most successful!).

EBAY

eBay is a true treasure trove, and although there are restrictions on certain items, the

sky’s pretty much the limit. So even if you think some of the things you have lying around at the back of wardrobes, under beds or packed away in your loft are just junk, remember that one’s trash is another’s treasure.

Objects for sale on eBay should be in a fairly decent condition, simply because if they are broken or useless, you are less likely to sell them.

However, if something is beyond repair, think about selling parts that could be useful to someone else. Even small, seemingly useless things can sell for a good price on eBay; that He-Man figure you’ve had since you were small could be a collectors’ item and fetch a nice profit. Similarly, old magazines may go for far more than they are worth to you. Another way to check if your product could sell is to browse around on the site and see if there are other similar items listed that are selling well.

For example;

EBID

This is like eBay but cheaper. Admittedly it doesn’t have anything like the traffic of eBay but it’s worth a go if you’re fed-up of the constant charges with eBay.

LOCAL FACEBOOK GROUPS

There are local Facebook groups around the country where you can sell your stuff to people who live close to you and you don’t have to pay any selling fees. It’s also easier for people to get your things because they’re close. Sell children’s clothes, bikes, cars, furniture and more.

To find your local selling, swapping, buying groups on Facebook try searching the term “things for sale in (insert your town name)”. Look for groups with the highest number of members for a wider choice of things to buy and a larger sales potential network.

Computer, camera and video cables that you no longer have the actual machines to go with can be useful to others. This also goes for manuals, as often you can’t sell electrical equipment without a manual and so someone with the same model appliance and a lost manual could pay a lot for yours if they are thinking of selling it, or even if they just can’t work it. The basic rule is, if it’s in good condition pay the 25p or so to list it and take your chances.

Download our free eBook “10 Steps to Making Money on eBay. There you will find out

• how to register

• how to photograph and upload your items

• how to do the description for maximum sale price

•

fees you’re likely to have to pay

Don’t forget, though, that there are other ways to sell your stuff online. In fact, you can see in our articles and videos for our Clear Your Clutter Day (an annual event that happens every March) that there are lots of sites where you could sell different things.

GUMTREE

Again this is more of a local service where you can post anything you want to sell –even your house – and there’s no cost (well, apart from houses anyway).

AMAZON MARKETPLACE

Whatever Amazon sells, you could sell your version too. Amazon marketplace can be a good way to sell your old books, CDs and gadgets. You could sell clothes and toys but people tend to go to Amazon for new versions of those.

LAYERHOME

This is a specialist site for vintage furniture. They generally sell cool stuff from the 50s, 60s and 70s but if you have something you think would go well on the site, send them a photo.