There are more ways to make extra money than ever before, both online and offline. That's great, but knowing where to invest your time can be tricky.
Use this list and discover new ideas to make money online and from home. Earn cash from walking, recycling, reviewing music, and even searching the web.
We'll update this page with fresh ways to make money fast, so go ahead and bookmark it.
Top ways to make money online and offline
These are the best ways to start making extra money today.
No-risk matched betting
Hands down the quickest way to make a lot of money from home. Lots of students have genuinely made £100s from this technique. It's completely legal, risk-free, and tax-free, and anyone over 18 in the UK can do it. (Not in the UK? Skip to no. 2).
Matched betting works by taking advantage of free bets offered by betting sites and 'matching' them at a betting exchange. This removes the risk as you are betting both for and against an outcome.
You can then squeeze out the free bet, which can be as much as £100. Multiply this by all the betting sites there are, and you can quite easily be in profit by a few hundred pounds.
We walk you through how to make your first £13 profit (using a real example) in this gem of a guide to matched betting. If you know of any better way to make £40 an hour sitting at home, please let us know!
Online paid surveys
A popular way for people to make money online is to fill out online surveys in their spare time. Research companies are always recruiting new members worldwide to answer surveys and test new products.
For a few minutes of form filling, you can quickly make a couple of quid which is paid as cash or rewards. You can bag up to £3 ($5) for some surveys!
A few good ones to try are Branded Surveys, Swagbucks, Toluna, Pinecone, LifePoints, OnePoll, i-Say, Opinion Outpost, YouGov, Prizerebel, Marketagent, InboxPounds, Valued Opinions, The Opinion Panel, Mingle, Opinion Bureau, Maru Voice, Panel Base, Y Live, Survey Junkie.
Searching the web
Interested in how to make money fast by doing what you already do online? This has to be one of the easiest methods of making money online.
Qmee.com rewards you for searching on Google, Bing, Yahoo, Amazon, and eBay. Install a simple browser extension and sponsored results will show alongside your normal search results.
Online market trading
Investing in the stock market isn't necessarily an easy way to make money, but it can be lucrative if you learn to do it properly. By the same token, you may suffer significant losses if you don't take it seriously.
Today there is no need to fund the yachts of Wolf of Wall Street style stock brokers. You can do it all yourself with the help of online market trading platforms.
Having spent many hours researching this new opportunity, I've been using the popular platform eToro.com.
eToro has over 20 million users worldwide and offers free practice accounts. They featured in the BBC Two documentary "Traders: Millions by the Minute" and sponsor several Premier League football clubs.
eToro trading
One of the best things on eToro is the CopyTrader feature. This lets you see, follow, and copy the investments of other top-performing traders.
Follow George's complete guide to trading on eToro to learn more. $50 is a good amount to maximize the learning curve by trying out different markets. If nothing else, you'll learn a great deal about various investments and industries.
Please be aware that all trading involves risk. eToro is a multi-asset platform that offers real asset ownership and high-risk leveraged 'CFD' products. 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. This content is not financial or investment advice.
Start your own website
Interested in generating passive income? You need a website. It's the way to make money while you sleep.
Starting a website with Bluehost takes less than 20 minutes, costs hardly anything, and can be done by an 82-year-old.
It only takes a bit of plugging on social media to get your first visitors, and there are plenty of ways to monetize your site.
Save the Student is just one example of a successful website. Started at university by Owen Burek, it has since grown to serve over 1 million visitors a month.
Read Owen's step-by-step guide on how to create a website in 20 minutes from home. It's really one of the best assets you can have.
Review websites & apps
Well, it seems like you're pretty nifty with a web browser. So perhaps it's time to turn pro and browse websites as a paid and fun job!
Introducing UserTesting - a platform that pays everyday people to review all kinds of websites. Each review takes around 20 minutes and bags you $10 (£6.50) via Paypal.
'Get Paid To' sites
Similar to making money from online surveys, GPT sites reward you in cash and vouchers for completing various offers or activities online.
The most popular sites today are Toluna, Swagbucks, and InboxPounds.
Publish a Kindle eBook
If students are good at anything, it's researching and writing. With the Kindle store, anyone can publish an eBook and make money on Amazon.
The Kindle app is now available on any device so your global market is huge!
List your book for £1.49 - £6.99 and you earn 70% of the sale. Considering Amazon is the ultimate selling machine (and remember, people, are looking to spend), that is a fantastic deal.
kindle ebooks
The key to success with eBooks is to create value, and write non-fiction. Bundling information you have researched and compiled on a common problem (eg. 'secrets' to finding a job) and then presenting it in an easy-to-digest format (an eBook) justifies someone spending a few quid on it.
Have a professional cover designed so it stands out (browse these).
Once your eBook is live on the Kindle store, it's important to get some reviews so it shows up higher in results. Encourage readers to leave an honest review at the end of your book.
The best thing about this lucrative idea is that once you've invested the time (say 20 hours), you'll earn a passive income for years to come!
For more tips see our guide on making money from eBooks.
Affiliate marketing
If you have a social media following or a website, you can start making money immediately by promoting all sorts of companies, products, services, and offers online.
Sign up as a publisher on the Awin network. Check their offers blog or browse the merchant listings to find something you think your followers would be interested in. Then grab your affiliate link and share it.
If someone buys using your link you'll make a nice commission (can be within up to 90 days).
Learn more with our guide to affiliate marketing.
Mobile phone recycling
You can earn money and help the environment by recycling your old mobile phones and other unused devices. Ask your parents if they have any lying around too.
Head to our page on making money from old phones for the best companies to use and how to ensure you get all the cash quoted to you online.
Become a 'Clickworker'
The Clickworker.com concept is based on 'internet crowd-sourcing where businesses advertise specific, scalable tasks they need to complete quickly. And for us, it's an easy way to make money fast from home.
There are a variety of tasks, but most commonly they involve mindless data entry, web research or form filling.
You are paid in cash (via Paypal) for the work you choose to do.
Part-time job
A part-time job is the obvious first choice for students looking to supplement their student loan. It provides a steady flow of income and valuable work experience.
But good jobs are not always easy to find!
Start with our student job search. Then check local classifieds and your university careers service for vacancies.
It's also worth signing up with CV Library. This is a free service that matches your CV with suitable part-time jobs and career opportunities.
Read our guide to finding a part-time job for more tips.
Gigs on Fiverr
Fiverr is the world's largest marketplace for people to make money selling small services (known as 'gigs').
What you offer could be absolutely anything. From writing and translating, social media posting, playing pranks, and teaching to creating music, voiceovers, and short video clips for people around the world.
The default price is $5 (hence Fiverr), but you can attach extra services to gigs for more money. Earnings can quickly add up and there are thousands of people making a really good living from the site. The key is to get a system in place which minimizes the time spent on each gig.
There is another way to profit even more from Fiverr, for potentially far less work. How? By simply reselling gigs elsewhere.
For example, find a decent logo designer and then reply to jobs on Upwork or local classifieds. A $5 spend can easily become $50+, and it's repeatable! Just check with your designer that they are happy with this.
If you're not interested in selling, there's so much good stuff you can get done for yourself. Have a browse and get inspired!
Review music for money
If you love music, make it your business by reviewing unsigned bands and artists online for cash with Slicethepie.
Some users of the site claim to earn £40 a month. Not life-changing, though if it's something you enjoy then it shouldn't be hard work.
The money you earn will be paid in $US but anyone can sign up and review.
Make money whilst walking
Walking dogs isn't the only way to make money from getting those steps up. Paid-to-walk apps are now a thing.
Sweatcoin rewards you with PayPal credits, gift cards, and free stuff in return for steps. They share insights with health providers and insurers, but promise not to sell your personal data.
Maximize your earnings by using the app with local jobs that involve walking. Have a look at TaskRabbit which lists local paid tasks and errands in your area.
More traditional ideas to make money from being out and about include being a tour guide, distributing leaflets, or being a human billboard.
Whether you're already all about the step count or looking to exercise more, getting paid to walk is good motivation and a great way to make extra money.
Rent out your house for filming
TV and film producers are always on the hunt for houses to film in. A scene for Coronation Street was filmed in the student house one of the Save the Student editors lived in!
Not only can you make good money, but it's crazy seeing your own place on TV. Start by looking at Film Locations.
Rent out your body
If you are comfortable taking off your kit then why not try life modeling? Get paid to sit in the buff while budding artists capture you in frightening detail.
Have a look at RAM, an organization dedicated to life models.
You could also get involved in paid clinical drug trials, but be aware of the risks involved.
Never do anything you are not comfortable with, no matter how much money is offered.
Freelancing
Perhaps you enjoy writing, graphic design or managing social media accounts in your spare time.
There are endless freelance jobs that require certain skills or just time that someone else might not have.
Freelancing is very flexible and you can work from home for clients around the world with just an internet connection.
Sell your stories and videos
If you have an interesting story you could try selling it to the papers or a viral social media brand. You will need at least one photo and ideally a video.
One of the Save the Student team was unfortunate enough to have a pigeon smash through their window at university and sold the story to The Sun for a tidy £50.
Some national TV programs like You've Been Framed will also pay you up to £250 for funny footage. Or just publish it yourself on YouTube with ads...
Create YouTube videos
According to recent stats we now watch more videos on YouTube than searches on Google.
And with the YouTube Partner Program, you can profit from making and uploading videos. You will receive a percentage of the advertising revenue per 1,000 views.
Depending on how successful you are (virality, watch time, subscriber base, and topic) you can make a lot of money. There are plenty of examples every week of YouTubers making it their career.
Watch videos
If creating videos sounds like hard work, getting paid to watch videos online has to be one of the easiest ways to make money, ever.
WeAre8, Swagbucks, and InboxPounds are the most popular websites. They literally pay you to sit back and watch things like adverts and videos hoping to go viral.
If watching videos is your thing and you want to make money from home, head over to our full list of ways to make money from watching videos.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies
Update. We're increasingly being asked about how to make money from Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies). This isn't surprising given the hype and stories of kids making millions.
Please don't rush into buying Bitcoin to make money. It's really important to know what you're getting involved with. Read our Bitcoin guide which explains everything you need to know.
