8 easy ways to create additional income streams today!
It’s everybody’s dream to have additional income streams in place to boost their monthly earnings. When it comes to money, no one wants to do a 9 to 5 forever! Investing your hard-earned cash is one way to achieve this, but is it possible to earn money with little or no cash to spare? Well, the answer to that question is yes you can!
Here are a just few ideas to get you started…
1- Switching your bank account
Many banks now offer a cash incentive to people to switch their account to a different bank. Many people never consider switching their bank account. They might think it’s time-consuming or that they’re under some kind of obligation to their bank to stay put. But both of these statements are untrue! Switching has never been easier and many banks offer cash incentives to switch. For example, at the time of writing this article HSBC and First Direct are trying to entice customers with lucrative cash injections. However, a person must agree to deposit at least £1000 a month to qualify. Some savvy customers switch banks every 6 months for exactly this reason!
2- Interest from a Savings Account
There are many different types of savings accounts that can earn different rates of interest. So, it is essential to shop around if you have a sum of money that you want to save. As well as offering different percentages for the many different savings accounts, banks also compete with each other to tempt customers to save with their bank. Interest rates can differ greatly depending on the amount of time that you are willing to tie up your lump sum without touching it. It’s a good idea to utilise comparison sites like ‘Which’ or ‘Money Supermarket’ to find the best option.
3- Cashback or Rewards Credit Cards
A Rewards Credit Card is a card that offers incentives such as paying back a percentage of what has been spent to the card holder. These schemes are designed to encourage the use of the card. The cardholder receives such things as frequent flyer miles, points that can be traded for goods or cash rewards in return. Many people ask “which credit card is the best?” or “which one will give me the most rewards?” The answer to this is that it is different for every individual. If someone travels a lot, then a card that offers frequent flyer miles can be very useful. Also, new cards are being created all the time and the various providers are continuously offering different incentives which appeal to different customers. So it makes sense to work out what matters to you before choosing a card.
4- Cashback Websites
Cashback websites can be an excellent way to receive cash back on your purchases when paying for goods or products through their sites. There are two main cash-back websites: ‘Quidco’ and ‘TopCashback’. So, before buying anything, it’s worth checking if you can get cashback by using one of these sites. Membership to these sites is usually free for a basic membership but there is a yearly charge for premium membership.
To make the most of the sites, there are several things that can be helpful. For example, each site offers a cash incentive if you refer a friend. Cash is also paid out by completing surveys/entering competitions or getting quotes for services through the websites. The sites are also becoming more integrated. With ‘Quidco’, you can buy an item on the high street and upload your receipt to get instant cash-back!
5- Create an E product
If you are particularly talented or have a lot of knowledge about any particular subject, you could use your skills to create an information product and sell it online in the form of an E-book, an information guide or even create your own course! Start by doing some research online to see what subjects are selling. Your information product could be on any topic. However, if your subject isn’t the most popular, don’t be discouraged. Even niche topics can sell very well online!
6- Write a Kindle book
Amazon has a KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) program where anyone can create a book or information guide and sell it on their site. This has become a very popular way to earn a passive income as self-publishers can earn between 35% – 70% royalties. Although you will have to write the book and come up with a front cover design, it still costs you nothing to self-publish with them. Just imagine if your book sales took off!
7- Sell your own photos
Are you any good at taking photographs? Or just really enjoy photography? Well you can sell your photos to hundreds of different sites online as stock photos! One of your photos can be sold to many different sites so it can be a good way to make a passive income whilst also doing something that you enjoy. It’s worth noting that each site has its own terms and conditions so make sure you read the fine print before you submit your photos.
8- Sell your unwanted stuff
These days there is a huge demand for us to reuse and recycle as much as we can, so a great way to earn a passive income is to sell your unwanted clothes or other items on sites such as eBay and Vinted.
The apps for these sites have made it easier than ever to list an item and it only takes a matter of minutes to upload a few pictures and set your price. Vinted has fixed prices for customers to buy your unwanted clothing etc. and doesn’t charge you any selling fees to sell on their platform. eBay is slightly different in that it doesn’t charge you to upload an item but charges you a small fee if your item sells. However, eBay does have the added advantage of allowing buyers to bid for your items in an auction style listing. This can be more appealing to some bargain hunting buyers who prefer to try their luck in bidding.
Conclusion
These are just a few simple ideas that anyone can start doing right now.
The key point to remember is that it’s a lot less risky to have a number of small income streams as opposed to just one single large source of income. This is because if you lose one stream, you have back-up streams to support you in the meantime. This reduces the overall risk to you and your family.
We hope these tips will get you well on the way to creating a ‘side hustle’ of your own and bringing in that passive income. Good luck and stay tuned for more simple ideas to create substantial additional streams of income in our next article.
References:
