We could all do with finding ways to get cash quick, but what are the best ways to make money? In this post I am going to be sharing popular side hustles for making money in the UK.
You may also like this article: How to make more money as a freelance translator
Make money from matched betting
Matched betting is my favourite side hustle for 2019 because the earnings are tax free! It's also great for those that are looking to make cash quick.
That's write, everything you earn from matched betting is classed as gambling winnings by the UK Government, meaning there is no tax to pay.
Despite the name, matched betting is not gambling, but rather is a way to make some serious guaranteed profit by utilising the free bet offers that bookmakers offer.
Even The Guardian have written about matched betting. I earned £12,000 completely tax free within my first 12 months of matched betting, and I continue to earn money every month.
You can see all my previous matched betting income below. Please note that from January 2017 I have been focusing on growing my business with a provable income, with a lot less time to dedicate to matched betting:
- Month 1 earnings – £1,430
- Month 2 earnings – £1,619
- Month 3 earnings (including a Q&A) – £849
- October 2015 earnings – £1,105 (Remember that month 3 also overlaps into October 2015 as I switched to reporting it per calendar month.)
- November 2015 earnings– £915
- December 2015 earnings – £1,347
- January 2016 earnings – £777
- February 2016 earnings – £393 (on holiday for 2 weeks)
- March 2016 earnings - £701.64
- April 2016 earnings - £622.36
- May 2016 earnings - £1,019.16
- June 2016 earnings - £447.18 (away for a week)
- July 2016 earnings - £689.52
- August 2016 earnings - £491.86
- September 2016 earnings - £279.29
- October 2016 earnings - £691.85
- November 2016 earnings - £773.74
- December 2016 - £0.00 (took a break)
- January 2017 - £473.43
- February 2017 - £514.97
- March 2017 - £214.12
- April 2017 - £394.76
- May 2017 - £481.25
- June 2017 - £249.68
- July 2017 - £158.73
- August 2017 - £301.58
- September 2017 - £427.61
- October 2017 - £203.83 (away for 2 weeks)
- November 2017 - £45.84 (away for most of the month)
- December 2017 - £187.24
- January 2018 - £349.54
- February 2018 - £223.39
- March 2018 - £493.01
- April 2018 - £189.31
- May 2018 - took a break
- June 2018 - took a break
- July 2018 - £139.32
- August 2018 - £301.65
- September 2018 - £121.94 (on holiday)
- October 2018 - £328.51
- November 2018 - £459.31
- December 2018 - £258.45
- January 2019 - £148.37
- February 2019 - £199.84
- March 2019 - £579.54
- April onwards - paused for a mortgage application
For a quick start guide to matched betting, sign up to my mailing list below and receive a FREE monthly matched betting calendar to help you keep track of important sporting events. You will also receive tips and tricks on how to make the most of your new income stream.
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Once you have confirmed your subscription your free monthly matched betting calendar will be emailed to you.
Don't forget to join the matched betting Facebook group here.
Start a blog
Blogging is a hobby that many people have been able to monetise, sometimes being able to leave their full time job to blog (that’s what I did!). Blogging is great, whether you want to write about something you are passionate about as a hobby, or you are looking to make some extra money.
Some bloggers are making serious cash from their blogs. Check out how bloggers make their money to find out exactly how bloggers earn money, or see how my business made over £100,000 in 2018.
If all of this sounds good and you aren’t put off by hard work (this stuff doesn’t happen overnight) then you might want to consider making your own blog and seeing how you can successfully monetise it. There are 5 steps to earning money from blogging:
- Decide what to blog about
- Build your blog – here’s my full tutorial for creating a WordPress website
- Create useful, awesome and amazing content
- Get visitors to your blog
- Start monetising your blog
Despite the fact that it takes time, you will find that opportunities to present themselves fairly quickly, so you could make some quick cash by setting up your own blog.
Complete offers with OhMyDosh
OhMyDosh has created a fantastic way for people to make money online.
If you like entering competitions, taking out free trials and offers to make money then you will love OhMyDosh.
Click here to read more about OhMyDosh.
Mystery shopping
Mystery shopping is a tool used by companies to evaluate their quality of service they are providing to their customers. Imagine a store knowing that a regional manager would be visiting the store – the store would be on “best behaviour” and the manager wouldn’t know where the store is failing and where they are excelling.
Related: How to become a mystery shopper.
Companies employ outside mystery shopping agencies to recruit mystery shoppers to carry out assignments. These shoppers will act like a normal customer and look at certain aspects of the service they receive. The shopper then completes a report after the assignment and receives a payment for doing so. Mystery shopping is a great way to not only make cash quick, but a way to enjoy meals out at restaurants completely free!
Click here to read more about mystery shopping and find out the companies I love working for.
eBay reselling
eBay reselling it becoming more and more popular and it a great way to make money in 2019.
eBay reselling involves buying items at a cheap price (usually from charity shops, car boot sales and auctions) to then sell on eBay for a higher price.
This is a business that you can start with very little money – £10 is more than enough to get you started. Check out my 17 tried and tested tips for selling on eBay.
The reselling community is huge too, with many resellers sharing their advice on YouTube, Instagram and in Facebook groups, completely free!
Fulfilled by Amazon
If you don't want to hold stock in your home then selling on Amazon via Fulfilled by Amazon could be the side hustle for you.
All you need to do is find items to sell on Amazon, label them and send them to Amazon. Amazon then take care of everything else like sending the item to the buyer.
The great thing about selling on Amazon is that each item has a ranking which helps you to predict how quickly it will sell. This means you can almost guarantee when an item will sell, and that helps you decide whether to buy it to resell.
Take in a lodger
If you have a spare room and you don't mind the thought of living with a stranger for awhile then taking in a lodger could be a great way to make some extra money. What's more, the amount that you can earn tax-free from letting out your spare room is a massive £7,500 per year! Read more about how you can earn up to £7,500 tax free by renting out your spare room.
Earn Cashback
Earning cashback is a great way to earn money back from your usual spending.
Cashback is something that I think everyone should be doing, even if they aren’t necessarily looking to make extra income online. Cashback is where you get a percentage of your purchase back as a reward for either going through a cashback website, registering your debit and credit cards on a cashback website for offline purchases or using a special cashback card. Cashback works because the retailer gives the cashback website a kick back for sending you to the retailer, and the cashback websites share some of this with you.
Over the years I have made over £2,000 in cashback.
You can sign up to Quidco or sign up to TopCashBack to get cashback, and enter TopCashBack Summer Treats 2019.
100 legit ways to get cash quick
If you are inspired to start a side hustle in 2019 then you might like 100 legit ways to make extra money.

2 responses
Hey Emma,
This is a great compilation of making money online 🙂
One tip I could add is to refer your friends/family members to the services you use and earn referral income – for example, Airbnb pays £23 for each completed booking, Booking.com pays £15.
It adds up over time and I have taken a few free vacations using Airbnb referral income 😉
That’s awesome thanks for the tip 🙂