3 ridiculously easy ways to make some extra money today

Strapped for cash? Making a little bit of extra money has never been easier.

Edward Sheldon, CFA ❯

Based in London, Edward is a CFA-qualified investment analyst/writer who has clients all over the world. Before launching his own investment writing business in 2017, he spent 15 years working in private wealth management and institutional asset management. Edward takes an active approach to investing, managing his own individual stock portfolio. He likes to invest in high-quality companies that are poised to benefit from powerful long-term trends, and capable of generating market-beating returns. You can find more of his views, along with his portfolio holdings, at topshelfinvestments.substack.com

Published 4 May, 2019 10:00 am BST

The content of this article was relevant at the time of publishing. Circumstances change continuously and caution should therefore be exercised when relying upon any content contained within this article.

When investing, your capital is at risk. The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you put in.

The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to be, nor does it constitute, any form of personal advice. Investments in a currency other than sterling are exposed to currency exchange risk. Currency exchange rates are constantly changing, which may affect the value of the investment in sterling terms. You could lose money in sterling even if the stock price rises in the currency of origin. Stocks listed on overseas exchanges may be subject to additional dealing and exchange rate charges, and may have other tax implications, and may not provide the same, or any, regulatory protection as in the UK.

You’re reading a free article with opinions that may differ from The Motley Fool’s Premium Investing Services. Become a Motley Fool member today to get instant access to our top analyst recommendations, in-depth research, investing resources, and more. Learn More.

A little extra cash in your pocket. Who wouldn’t want that? In today’s financial environment, in which decent pay rises are often hard to obtain, I’m sure that most people would be pretty happy to pick up a little bit of extra money.

The good news is it’s never been easier to do so. Here’s a look at three good ways to pick up some extra income today.

The internet

Technology has come a long way over the last decade and there is now a broad range of innovative websites that enable those in the UK to generate some extra money without a lot of effort. Here are a few examples:

Should you invest £1,000 in Abrdn right now?

When investing expert Mark Rogers has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for nearly a decade has provided thousands of paying members with top stock recommendations from the UK and US markets. And right now, Mark thinks there are 6 standout stocks that investors should consider buying. Want to see if Abrdn made the list?

See the 6 stocks

Airbnb: allows you to rent out your house or a spare room
Drivy: enables you to rent out your car when you don’t need it
Fat Llama: allows you to rent out just about anything including bikes, tools, sporting equipment, cameras, and musical instruments
Your Parking Space: enables you to rent out your parking space
eBay: allows you to sell things you no longer need

These are just a few examples, but you get the idea. If you’re willing to use your initiative, there’s a ton of money to be made online.

Part-time work

It’s also never been easier to pick up some (enjoyable) part-time work if you have some spare time. For example, if you enjoy writing, there are plenty of websites such as Upwork, Peopleperhour, and Freelancer which could help you bring in some extra cash. The demand for content these days is enormous.

Enjoy driving? You could sign up with Uber and become a taxi driver in your spare time. Love dogs? With DogBuddy you make a £1,500 a month looking after them. If gardening or handyman work is your speciality, Task Rabbit may have a job for you. Again, with a little bit of initiative, you could make a small fortune.

Dividend stocks

Finally, one really easy to way to generate some passive income (and one that I’m a big fan of myself) is investing in dividend stocks. These are stocks that pay out a proportion of their profits, in cash, to shareholders on a regular basis.

Right now, it’s super easy to build a solid income stream with dividend stocks as the dividend yields on a lot of FTSE 100 stocks are high. For example, Lloyds shares currently offer a forward-looking dividend yield of 5.6%, meaning that a £1,000 investment could bring in around £56 in cash every year. Similarly, oil giant Royal Dutch Shell currently offers a dividend yield of 5.8%, meaning a £1,000 investment could bring in nearly £60 cash per year.

Of course, it’s important to be aware of the risks here. Stocks rise and fall in value, meaning you might not get back what you put in. Dividends are also not guaranteed. However, when you consider how easy it is to build up a passive income stream through dividend stocks, I think they are definitely worth considering if you’re looking for extra money.