Whatever income we have, most of us could use a little extra cash. You may be earning a set salary with no prospect for promotion. Even if you live comfortably, you already know what you would do if you had a little extra money in the bank. But sometimes it just takes a little creative thinking to get some extra cash coming in.

Many of us have the mindset that the only way to earn extra money is to get a better paid job. Of course, this is one way to do it. But a lot of us overlook some of the money-making methods that are right in front of us. There are actually plenty of everyday ways to earn money easily – you just have to know what to focus on. Here are some tips for getting more cash rolling in.

Do Surveys

Market research is big business, as every company needs to find out about consumers in order to sell them goods and services. There are a lot of websites out there that you can sign up to in order to take these surveys. As companies want honest opinions, they offer incentives for people to fill them out, which is often cash or vouchers. Sign up to a reputable survey site or two, and take a few surveys instead of watching television in the evenings!

Switch Bank Accounts

A lot of financial service providers, such as banks or credit card companies, offer incentives if you bring your business to them. This is mostly in the form of cashback, and can amount to a couple of hundred dollars every time you switch providers. Sometimes you have to keep the account for a fixed period, but even if you switch to a new account with a deal like this once a year, you’ll still have some extra dollars in the bank.

Get a Side Gig

We are well and truly in the age of freelancing and having additional, casual income streams. A lot of businesses need ad hoc support that they regularly outsource. This could be anything from basic administration and data entry, to part time virtual assistants. Search on local websites to see what kind of opportunities are out there. You might be surprised that there are a lot of casual jobs available for people who only have a few extra hours per week.

Rent Your Things

You’d be surprised to know that there are businesses out there simply to help you rent out your things to others who might need them. Home rental services such as Airbnb are well known – and this is a great option if you have a spare room, an annex or go away from home every now and again. Think about other things you could rent out too. Your garage, your car and even baby equipment you no longer use can be rented out for a fee.

Sell Your Clothes

Sometimes selling things can be more hassle than it’s worth. You go to the effort of taking photographs of everything, adding your listings to eBay or another listings website, and then you get no offers. This can be frustrating. However, one thing people often don’t think about selling is their clothes. Particularly if you have items of known brand names, clothes are often more likely to sell than other items. Kids clothes that are barely worn also sell well too. Consider putting together bundle bags of clothes of a certain size, as people love the ‘lucky dip’ idea of buying a bag of clothes.

Refer Friends

When you’re thinking about earning a little extra money, look at all the existing accounts you have. You may get a regular food delivery service, or have store cards at particular stores. Many businesses will offer you financial rewards if you refer a friend to open an account with them. Often this will be in a voucher or coupon format, but if you regularly use a store or service provider anyway, you will end up with extra money in the bank overall.

Enter Competitions

It might seem the element of chance is too high, but anyone who enters competitions regularly will tell you it’s a numbers game. Enter enough competitions, and sooner or later you will win. Seek out competitions to enter from many different sources. You’ll have a higher chance of winning smaller, more local competitions, compared to larger national competitions that are being heavily marketed. Don’t just enter competitions for things you want to win either, as you can always sell anything you win for cash if you want to.

Recycle

There are certain items that you can get paid money to recycle, and this is a great way of making extra money on the things you normally buy anyway. Look out for local recycling initiatives to find out exactly what you can get paid to recycle – it could be anything from glass bottles to printer cartridges.