Money making tips: Mum shares hobby which ‘brings in extra cash’ amid rising bills | Personal Finance | Finance
As bills continue to rise, many people will be looking at ways to supplement their income. There are many different apps people can use to help turn their hobbies into some extra cash.
Express.co.uk spoke exclusively to Meredith, 45, on how she used the app Fiverr to make an extra £300 each month.
Meredith’s husband already used Fiverr quite a lot for graphic design and other projects, so it was his suggestion which prompted her to undertake story critique to bring in extra income.
Fiverr is a global online marketplace for freelance services.
Meredith was able to connect businesses who were looking for freelance story critiques and offer her services.
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She used the skills she had built up over the past few years while pursuing her own career as a children’s author. Her love for books, and story telling meant story critiquing was perfect for her.
She said: “I already work part-time for his businesses as well as running the house and being around for the kids when they are home from school.
“We needed something that would fit in around this and therefore not require childcare.
“I was hesitant at first as I don’t have any official writing or editing credentials to my name, but when I looked at who was offering similar services on Fiverr I realised that I had more than enough skill and experience to be able to offer a good service to people.
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“On average I’m making like £300 a month.
“It was slightly reassuring to know there was something I could do to bring in a little extra cash to help cover some of our additional costs, and essentially by using my spare time.”
She explained the cost of living has “massively” put a lot of pressure on the family as their day to day costs have really gone up.
While Meredith found the app “a little tricky” to work out at first, it soon became very easy to use, and making extra cash alleviated her worries.
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The extra money has been able to go on groceries and things her kids need like clothes and shoes.
She also swapped some of her utility providers to get a better deal to try and save more money.
Already, Meredith’s family was living frugally, particularly with their energy use. As a result, there was nowhere to make further cutbacks, unless they stopped cooking or heating their home.
Meredith continued: “I have always shopped around to get the best prices for groceries.
“But I now do my main shop at Aldi because it’s cheaper, and we have dropped certain products we used to buy due to price.
“We also dropped several after-school activities to save money – although we realise we were lucky to have been able to afford them in the first place.
“We were never big on going out to restaurants or things like that, but we are even less likely to do this now as we have noticed how much more it costs to go out to eat or even for just a drink somewhere.
“Our mortgage rates are about to go up as is our council tax – again! If we are noticing the effects of this, I can’t imagine how hard it must be for people who were already in a difficult financial position.”
