Are you looking at making some extra money – either as a side income or as income all on its own? Well, there are plenty of ways you can go about it. Let’s take a look at easy ways to make £1,000 a month in the UK.
Is making £1,000 extra a month possible?
£1,000 per month sounds like quite a lot of money, doesn’t it? And it would probably take quite a bit of effort to reach that much. But take a pause and think. Most months that works out at just over £33 per day. And if you have a few spare hours, this should easily be achievable.
And then think what you could do with all that money – an extra £12,000 per year.
Getting started
Now, the majority of methods that I suggest below can be completed by anybody. And you can earn straight away. In some cases, it may take you a few weeks to find the most efficient ways to earn, but don’t worry, it will soon come to you.
The trick is to diversify your income. If you work on lots of ways to make money, you’ll find out which methods you enjoy the most and the biggest earners. Plus, you’re less likely to get bored.
Of course, the more time you have to dedicate to earning extra, the better. But you don’t need to dedicate 40 hours every week to it, and in some cases, it can be far less.
Fast ways to make £1,000 a month
So, which methods can you use to help you reach your goal so you can get to grips quickly?
Survey sites
Surveys are an underrated way to make extra money. Because they don’t pay huge amounts, people often ignore them as a potential earner. But they have one big advantage compared to many other opportunities. You can complete them at any time, anywhere and often when you’re doing something else. How many other ways can you make money when you’re watching TV?
On average, surveys pay between 50 pence and £1. This does depend on the survey site and how much time you have. But try not to look at how much an individual survey pays and look at the bigger picture. You can earn almost constantly with minimal effort.
Some of my favourite sites include:
There are plenty of survey panels you can join and you can see my top UK survey sites.
But once you’ve got to grips with your favourite sites, you can expect to earn between £200 and £400 monthly.
Focus groups and interviews
In some ways, this is similar to surveys as a way to earn – they both want your opinions. But the difference here is that rather than just filling out some questionnaires online, you will need to be interviewed. This can be in a one-on-one session or with a group of others.
Although this may sound daunting, it’s actually quite easy. There are no right or wrong answers, they just want your opinions.
Sessions can last anywhere between 15 minutes to 2 hours. And most companies reward you quite handsomely for your time. On average, expect to earn around £50 per hour.
The downside compared to surveys is that interviews can be harder to come by. Some weeks, you may have several lined up and not have any for another month.
Some sites worth looking at include:
For more sites, take a look at my post on the best focus groups and interview sites.
On average, expect to earn £100 per month.
Matched betting
Now, this is a way to make quite a decent sum each month with little effort. If you’ve never heard of it before, matched betting is different from gambling. Instead of placing your money on a result and hoping for the best, you make use of the bookmaker’s free offers and cover every eventuality. That way, you’re guaranteed to win.
When you start your matched betting career, it’s possible to make over £1,000 per month. However, offers will slow down, and your income will drop. But, it’s still a way to make extra – all tax-free.
Find out more – all you need to know about matched betting.
Or, you can take a look at joining Outplayed.com. They offer a 14-day free trial where you can earn up to £750.
Earn £200 per month.
Make the most of joining bonuses and referral schemes
If you’re a regular user of social media platforms, then I’m sure you’ve seen companies offer sign-up bonuses if you take up new services with them. Sometimes, you have to spend quite a bit of money before you receive your bonus, but not always. In some cases, just parting with £1 can earn you as much as £20.
Some of the best ways to do this are through stocks and shares trading companies. They usually pay you a bonus or give you a free share just for spending a minimal amount. But please remember when investing that the value of your stocks can go down as well as up.
For free shares, visit:
Although a free share may not appeal to you, it can be worth up to £100. Take a look at my full list of sites offering free shares and how you claim them.
Now, you may think that once you’ve joined, that’s the end of the earning potential. Wrong! If you refer other people, you can claim the bonus again. And again. Your earnings are potentially limitless. Well, limited to the number of people you share your code with.
Earnings really depend on how many people you share your link with, but let’s go with a conservative £60 per month.
And if you have a mortgage, take a look at Sprive. New users get £5 when they join.
Mystery shopping
Companies are keen to know how they perform when it comes to customer service and to do so, they hire mystery shoppers. Their role is to share their experiences when buying a product or receiving a service. The bulk of the work comes from restaurants and supermarkets.
As a mystery shopper, you’re not tied into a contract so you can work as much or as little as you like. So it’s another decent way to make a small income each week. I say small, but it really does depend on the size of the tasks that you take on.
There are some simple mystery shopping jobs that can take just 10 minutes and pay a few pounds – something you can do during your weekly shop. Or, there are longer tasks that can take several hours but will pay £150+. These may involve you applying for a service and recording a conversation.
How many jobs there are available to you does depend on where you’re located. If you live closer to a city, more shops will look for mystery shoppers. But if you want to make a decent earning from it, it’s best to sign up for as many sites as possible.
For small tasks from your phone
- Streetbees (use the code 7850SP when joining)
- BeMyEye (£1 for joining using the code wvq9p3)
If you fancy trying some bigger tasks
But if this work appeals to you, then take a look at my full list of mystery shopping sites and some tips to get you started.
Expect to earn £160 per month.
Use cashback sites
This is a bit of a mixture between earning and saving. If you’ve never used a cashback site before, where have you been? Using them is simple. Before you buy something from your chosen retailer, click on a link from a cashback site first. You will then earn a certain percentage back on your purchase.
But this doesn’t have to be used just for general shopping. When it comes to switching utilities such as broadband or your mobile phone contract, you can often earn over £150 back just by using a cashback site first.
Two of the most popular sites are
Or take a look at my full list of the best cashback sites.
There are also cashback apps that you can link to your debit or credit card. This allows you to automatically earn if you’re shopping online or in-store.
- Airtime Rewards (use the code 8YXY4BLK for a £1 bonus)
Take a look at the best cashback apps.
Expect to earn £30 per month.
Scan your receipts
Information is king in the online world and companies are keen to know how much you spend and what you buy. The easiest way for them to do this is by taking a look at your receipts. And in return for photos of your receipts, you’ll be awarded either cash or Amazon vouchers.
Just download the receipt app to your phone and start scanning. Some of the best apps include
There are also receipt apps that will give you discounts on certain items at supermarkets. Just buy one of the items listed on the app, scan the receipt and you’ll receive money back within a few days.
Take a look at
You can see my whole list of receipt scanning apps.
Expect to earn around £15 per month.
How to make £1,000 a month from part-time work
If none of the above methods to make money appeal to you (why not?!) and you want something more substantial to sink your teeth into, then there are other options that might take your fancy. These aren’t always as easy to get into but have the potential to earn quite a bit more money.
Work as an extra
If you want to do something a little different from the norm, with the chance to appear in a movie or on TV and meet some stars, then working as an extra could be for you!
You will need to join a casting agency first, and they will contact you when suitable roles are available. The good thing is, even if you don’t consider yourself good-looking or talented, it doesn’t really matter. In most cases, you’re just a face in the crowd.
Work can pay quite well and averages around £100 per day. The downside is, you can’t guarantee how often you can work. Some months, you may be called upon several times, whilst others, not at all.
Take a look at more details about working as an extra.
Write a blog
This is certainly something for the longer term but has the potential to be a big earner. And how you make your money from your blog is up to you.
You can rely on adverts for your income or you can add affiliate links to products you like. So every time somebody clicks on an item and buys it, you earn a certain percentage. Or, you can write sponsored posts. For a fee, you write a review about a product or service. And if you really want to diversify, you can do all three.
The beauty of blogging is that you can write one post, bringing you an income for many years. Plus, you don’t need to be technically minded. Over the last few years, the software has come along leaps and bounds, and almost anyone can build a website.
As long as you have a topic others would be interested in, you can make money from it. How much you can earn depends on the popularity of the topic. But there are plenty of bloggers that earn £1,000s every month.
Find out more about starting a blog.
Childminding
Ok, so having other people’s children around your house isn’t for everyone, but it’s ideal for parents who want to work from home and look after their own children.
Depending on where you live, you can usually charge between £4 and £5 per child. Although this doesn’t sound like much, if you have 3 or 4 children at one time, it turns into a good hourly wage.
You can take on as many or as few children as you like and fit them partially around your personal life. I say partially as you need to be quite flexible with the parents you work for.
And the major benefit of childminding is you don’t need to go through long training courses to qualify. Although you have to go through a longish registration process and deal with OFSTED, it’s not the hardest of careers to get into.
Take a look at how to become a childminder.
Become a delivery driver
If you’re looking for some fairly regular work but don’t want to be tied down to a long contract, then being a delivery driver might be just for you. And there are lots of options available.
If you fancy working more casually when it suits you most, then working for a company like Just Eat or Uber Eats could be ideal. Using an app, you can scroll through the jobs and accept what you think is most worthwhile.
Or, you could take a delivery job at your local takeaway restaurant. This will usually mean committing several hours of your time in the evenings.
But if you want something more permanent, you could work with a major delivery company like Amazon or Hermes. Although they employ freelance staff, they also have drivers on full-time contracts.
And don’t think you will always need a driving licence for delivery jobs. If you live in a city, plenty of companies need you to just have a bike.
See how to become a delivery driver.
But don’t forget, you will need to make sure you have the right insurance if you decide to deliver using your car.
Work as an exam invigilator
I’m sure the majority of us still have nightmares thinking back to the days of when we had to take exams at school. But why not turn that nightmare on its head and start earning from it?
As an invigilator, your job is to ensure the rules are followed during an exam. You don’t need any special qualifications, but you may have to be on your feet for several hours. Comfortable shoes are a must!
But bear in mind that the work depends on the time of year. Expect more jobs before and after Christmas and just before the summer holidays.
Find out more about becoming an invigilator.
Sell your talents
We all have things we’re good at and, equally, things we’re bad at. And we often take our talents for granted. But if you’re a dab hand at designing, good at translating or have a lovely speaking voice, then there’s probably a way to earn. In fact, on sites like Fiverr, you can sell almost any kind of talent you have.
Just create a job listing with your offer and the rates you charge. This could be just a few pounds up to however much you think you might be worth (or what people will be willing to pay).
What to do with your extra money?
So, once you have your extra £1,000 per month, what are your best options to do with it?
Clear your debt
It’s not an exciting option, but this is a vital thing to do. If you have any borrowings, the chances are that you are paying interest on it. That means you’re losing money. Clearing your debt should be a priority as not only will it save you money, but once it’s gone, you’ll have more disposable income each month.
Put money into a pension
The sad truth is, it’s looking more and more likely that a state pension alone won’t be enough if we want to live comfortably come retirement. So it’s important that we start saving as soon as we can. And one of the most efficient ways to do this is with a pension.
The big advantage to a pension is that the money you invest is usually not liable for tax. Put £100 in, and that’s £100 you can put towards retirement. If you took that as pay, you usually have to pay tax and National Insurance, roughly around 30%.
And if you have a company pension, the organisation will often match your contribution too.
Invest
Another non-glamorous option for your money. But if you don’t want to tie up your funds until you retire, investing can be a useful way to grow your money. Although it’s important to note that the value of your investment can go down as well as up, I have seen returns averaging 9% per year. Far more than any savings account.
And if you invest in a stocks and shares ISA, you can invest up to £20,000 per year, tax free. Take a look at my Fidelity review to find out more about my investments.
Buy something nice
Finally, treat yourself. It’s all very well sorting out your debts and planning for the future, but don’t forget about the here and now. Life would be very dull if you don’t treat yourself, so don’t forget to buy yourself something worthwhile.