15 side hustle ideas to boost your savings

If you’re struggling to save during the current cost of living crisis, you’re not alone. Many are finding it more difficult to find room in their budget, with 39% of Brits reporting that they would not be able to save money in the next 12 months (ONS).

When you’re finding it hard to build up that rainy day fund, you might just find yourself wishing there was a way to pocket some extra income. That’s where we want to help. Today we’re sharing fifteen ideas for side hustles in the UK to help you top up your savings, or, if necessary, at least help you preserve the funds you’ve already deposited.

1. Pet sitting

If you love animals, then looking after them when their owners are busy is a great way to combine a passion with some extra income. Whether you prefer to look after animals in other people’s homes, become a dog walker or even host pets in your own home, there are a few flexible options to make it work for you.

Depending on what you want to offer, you may need to satisfy some requirements to start pet sitting. There are no requirements to become a visiting sitter or dog walker — it can be as simple as signing up with an agency or placing an advert, but you will need to gain an animal boarding licence if you want to sit pets in your home.

2. Completing surveys

Do you like sharing your opinion? Then becoming a survey completionist might be just the ticket for you. There are paid survey sites out there that will pay you for responding to their survey, which can be a nice way to earn some extra money from home.

While payment per survey can be low, once you get through a few of them it can quickly add up to something useful. And because there are dozens of reliable sites out there, you will never be waiting for the next relevant survey to come around. Millennial Money has an in-depth list of survey sites to get you started.

3. Making deliveries

If you don’t mind driving or getting about on your bike, you could make some extra money making deliveries. While home deliveries peaked during the pandemic, there is still a huge demand for delivery people to drop off food and packages on the doorstep.

There are also ever increasing options for those who want to do this job flexibly on their own schedule. Most delivery services, from Amazon Flex to Uber Eats, now offer “deliver as you go” opportunities, so you can dip in and out as much as you like.

It’s worth mentioning that you may be expected to use your own vehicle and become a “self-employed driver” with the service — two things you’ll need to be comfortable with.

4. Online tutoring

From helping younger kids excel or catch up with school work to helping a non-native speaker perfect their English, there is lots of room to share your knowledge as an online tutor. As you can set your own rates, it can be quite a lucrative side hustle, especially if you can build up a base of dedicated students to teach.

Your classes don’t even have to be academic, either. If you’ve got some expertise in a hobby or skill, there’s likely people who’d love to get some guidance. Whether you’re covering cookery, karate or coding, there could be an audience out there for you.

There are a few ways into this side hustle, like going solo and advertising your services on social media, signing up with an agency or joining a marketplace like FindTutors.

5. Being creative

Sticking with skills — if you’ve got a creative or artistic outlet, you might be able to turn that hobby into your side hustle. You could be skilled in the likes of crafts, art, baking, writing or photography, all of which can be turned into income. And, who knows, you may be able to turn your passion into your day job!

Depending on how you’re planning to sell your skill you might look at different options to get the word out there. For instance, arts and crafts can be sold in-person at craft fairs and online, but you might want to make sure you have a website where people can contact you if they want to hire you for a project or commission.

6. Rent out your driveway

This one may sound a little bit odd, but hear us out! If you live in an area where parking is in high demand, such as near a transport hub or city centre, and you don’t use your driveway or designated parking space, you may be able to rent it out. While this means that you’ll have a stranger’s car near your home, they’ll pay you for the privilege.

Having smartphones makes this type of transaction very easy. You just need to list your space on a popular parking site, and then sit back and wait. It’s a low effort, high payoff side hustle — provided you’re situated in the right spot, of course. Head over to Money Saving Expert’s guide to renting out your drive to find out how to get set up.

7. Translation

Are you multilingual? You may be able to put your language skills to use by offering your services as a translator. There are lots of opportunities for someone skilled in languages to make some money, such as businesses looking for website or product translation or those who need their writing switched over for a foreign audience.

We recommend having a look at this article from MoneyMagpie, which has a nice list of marketplaces through which you can offer your services.

8. Selling unwanted items

It’s easy to think that belongings you don’t want anymore won’t be worth much, but you might be surprised at what other people will buy. Clothes, books, video games, films and music, electronics, furniture, accessories and sporting goods are just some of the items that are popular for resale. It’s worth having a clear out to see what you have lying around that could earn you some money.

There are many options available for selling your items. Online marketplaces like Vinted, eBay and Depop open your items up to a large audience, while selling locally on the likes of Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and Craigslist can also work well.

9. Blogging and social media

If you’re all about helping others and sharing information and ideas, then why not start a blog or social media channel, or even both?

It can take quite a bit of work to build up an audience or readership, but once you do, you may be able to monetise your content and get paid. Social platforms usually have their own way for you to earn, but you can place paid ads or affiliate links within your blog to get something back for your work.

10. Sports or fitness coaching

Are you a talented sports person or have some fitness knowledge you wouldn’t mind sharing with paying customers? Then you might be able to provide sports or fitness coaching to others and turn your keep fit routine into your side hustle.

There are as many options within this space as there are sports or activities that people want instruction on. You could be a personal trainer to help general fitness, a football coach for a local team or even a yoga instructor to help people find their zen. There’s even opportunities in this space that don’t involve teaching, like refereeing.

11. Babysitting

Babysitting is a nice way to make some extra money while giving hard working parents the night off. While occasionally watching a friend or loved one’s kids can be done on a casual basis, you may need to do some preparation if you want to do it as a business.

In the UK, you need to register with Ofsted if you’ll be looking after children under eight for more than two hours a day in your own home and you’ll be paid for it. Technically, this is known as childminding, which is considered to be different to babysitting.

If you are just aiming to babysit children between the hours of 6pm–2am or you’re a family friend looking after the kids for less than three hours per day, you don’t need to register as a childminder. Visit this gov.uk guidance for more information.

12. Being a virtual assistant

A virtual assistant is a freelancer who hires out their services to a company or client all while working fully remotely. Someone may hire you for a variety of admin tasks or you could be asked to focus on a particular area, like social media management, manning a virtual reception desk or data entry.

There are a few ways to find work as a virtual assistant. You could go full freelance and set yourself up as a virtual assistant for hire so that companies come to you. Or, you could try applying directly to a company if they are advertising. An easy route for finding work is to sign up with a reputable virtual assistant agency and they’ll place you.

13. Product testing

If you’re passionate about trying the latest products, then you may wish to consider a side hustle as a product tester. In this role, you’ll be receiving products or testing out services from companies and then be providing them with feedback or writing public reviews. Some of these jobs are paid, but many offer products to keep.

How to get started? Check out Save the Student’s list of websites offering product testing opportunities — there’s plenty to choose from!

14. Take to the road

One of the most convenient ways to earn a side hustle is to become a driver for an app taxi company like Uber, Ola or Bolt. If you’ve got a car and you’re willing to ferry your passengers around town, you could add some extra income to your monthly earnings.

The real beauty of these companies is that you can pick up work whenever suits you, so it’s possible to plan your shifts around existing work commitments. Obviously, some of these companies aren’t without their controversies, so be sure to do your research first.

15. Rent out your spare room

Should you have some spare space in your home, then you might want to supplement your income by renting it out. You could choose to let out your room on a short term basis for guests, or you could choose to offer it to longer term lodgers.

Whether you want to become a host or a landlord, there’s likely to be some up front costs to making your space appealing. However, once you’re up and running, this can be quite a lucrative side hustle to boost your savings.

Paying tax on your side hustle in the UK

If you take up a side hustle that adds to the income from your day job, you may need to pay extra Income Tax. It’s worth noting that this is more likely to impact you if you are employed, rather than self-employed, as you’ll already self-assess for tax.

You get a tax free trading allowance that will cover the first £1,000 generated from any self-employed side hustle income, but you’ll need to pay Income Tax on anything over that if your day job’s salary already exceeds your Personal Allowance for Income Tax.

Head to the UK Government’s advice for Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances and Working for Yourself to get in-depth information and next steps.

Maximising your side hustle income

We hope you’ve been inspired to kick off a side hustle for yourself. These ideas are quite varied and are good options if you want to boost the money you’re able to save or stop yourself from dipping into your existing savings.

If you want to make sure you’re maximising any extra income for your savings, it’s a good idea to find an account that works for you and pays a decent interest rate. This way, you’ll be able to access your fund when you need it, while it grows in your account.

Feel free to check out our savings products, including our Instant Saver and Fixed Saver. If you need a hand in choosing an account, read our guide to choosing the right one.