Find yourself with a few hours spare each evening or at the weekend, and want to try and earn a bit of extra money? Want to start saving away more money each month, and perhaps even start investing it for the future? Here are a few different ideas of things you could try – from getting a little bit of extra cash in your back pocket here and there, to fully preparing for the future by learning about (and getting involved in) the investment market.

Leveraging the internet

From blogging to graphic design, there’s a market for pretty much every skill online. Got a skill or passion that you think you could monetise? With platforms such as UpWork, Fiverr and Freelancer, you can quickly connect with those that need your talent, and start making money remotely. Working from home gives you the freedom to go at your own pace, and if you’re working two jobs you can simply scale up or down accordingly depending on how strenuous your daily routine is.

Tip – If you simply want to generate an instant bit of cash, perhaps to kickstart a savings account or put towards something short term like a holiday, consider having a clear-out in your home, and selling some of the stuff that you don’t need online. Again, with platforms such as eBay, Gumtree and even Facebook’s built-in marketplace feature, it’s never been easier.

Saving and investing your money

Once you’ve started to make a little bit of extra cash from your efforts and feel a little bit more financially stable each month, you might decide that you want to start putting your money into savings, or investing it to help out in later life (for family, retirement etc.). Currently, savings accounts are offering pretty low-interest rates as a reward for locking your money away, and so make sure that you’re getting the best rate possible if you decide to do this. Online banks, when trustworthy and reputable, tend to have the best rates for savings accounts due to their lesser overheads and desire to keep up with the competition.

Tip – Want to find out more about investment markets, but are unsure of where to start? Podcasts can be a great informal yet informative way of getting some insight into the sort of things you should be looking at. RWinvest, a property investment company, for example, offers a podcast in which their consultants run through some of the basics of that particular investment type, as an addition to their existing guides and videos on the property market that are featured on their website. The point is, the information is out there and has already been curated in easy-to-digest formats if you want to learn in an attempt to better yourself financially.

Getting out of the house

Able to drive and want to earn a little bit of extra money at your own leisure by using your car? Ride-faring apps like Uber, Lyft and Bolt have blown up in recent years, and are extremely popular amongst those that want to jump in and out of work throughout the day. Delivery services such as Uber and Deliveroo might also be a good option – again, they give you the option of working when you want to, and for some living in the city, it’s even an alternative way of getting exercise of an evening, while earning money in the process!

Apps like Uber work with a ranking system, where you’ll be rewarded for how well you complete a job, and how good your service is. It’s all done through the app, and you can even earn tips if you impress your different customers.