Side Income Options To Help You Out Over The Festive Period

Presents, decorations, meals out, and festive events quickly add up and make Christmas one of the most expensive times of the year! If you’re struggling with an overstretched budget during the holiday season, then here are some side income options to make a bit of extra cash to help you fund the perfect Christmas. 

Rent a spare room on Airbnb 

Renting out a spare room on Airbnb can be a fantastic way to generate an additional income. According to which.co.uk, renting out a room for just 36 nights a year earns the average Airbnb host around £3,100. What’s more, you can earn up to £7,500 tax-free if you are renting a spare room in your home under the Government’s Rent a Room scheme.

Becoming a host on Airbnb is super easy. Once you have set up an account, you can upload photos and advertise your property to prospective guests. Many Airbnb hosts get great enjoyment from the opportunity to host people from all around the world and meet fellow travellers.

Make sure you inform your insurers before you start renting a room on Airbnb, or you risk your home insurance becoming invalid. Some insurers won’t cover you if you’re renting a room, so you may need to consider changing to a new policy to ensure that you’re covered in the event of theft or damage. 

Start your own gardening business

If you enjoy gardening and love spending time outdoors, then why not try to make some money from your hobby? There are several ways that you can make money from gardening. This includes selling homegrown fruit and vegetables, maintaining people’s gardens, selling bouquets of fresh flowers, or renting a section of your garden as allotments.

If you have skills in the garden, then you could consider offering gardening classes as there are many people interested in developing their gardening skills and knowledge. You could offer lessons from home, or ask your local community centre if they would be interested in advertising your classes at their venue.

If you are serious about growing a long-term gardening business, then you will need to invest in some key gardening tools and equipment. According to experts at Mowers Online three essential pieces of garden machinery are a lawnmower, scarifier, and a blower. They add – “These three tools will make tasks quicker and easier, they are also worthy purchases that will give you years of service on the garden.”

Set up an online blog 

Starting a blog can be a great way to make some extra cash if you enjoy writing – it could even turn into a full-time business over time! Setting up a successful blog takes hard work and dedication, but it has the potential to earn you a fantastic income.

Before you start blogging, you need to think carefully about the topic and focus on your articles. It is important to choose a niche that you’re passionate about. This could be fashion, beauty, fitness, cooking, finance, or the environment. Choosing a topic that interests you will make you far more motivated to write informative and engaging content that your readers will enjoy.

Fortunately, setting up a blog is now super easy with the help of blogging platforms like WordPress. This platform is completely free to use, fully flexible, and offers excellent security. Once you have a blog set up, you need to start posting interesting content to build a regular flow of visitors to your site. Over time, you should have the opportunity to add advertising arrangements and affiliate deals which will start making you money. 

Offer makeup and hair services 

Makeup artists and hairdressers are in high demand over the party season! If you love experimenting with different makeup and hairstyles and often get complimented on your techniques, then you may be able to start making money from your beauty skills.

You should start by offering to do free makeovers on your family and friends. Take photographs and use these to showcase your skills and attract customers. You can set up a free business account on Facebook and Instagram to advertise your services. Over time, you may find yourself getting plenty of repeat customers and referrals to keep you busy and earn you a great side income. 

Final thoughts

Christmas is a magical time of the year and you shouldn’t let money stress get in the way of festive fun. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to earn a bit of extra cash to cover additional expenses over the holiday season. Try some of the above suggestions to create a side income and help you save for the perfect Christmas. 

You can also download the Emma app to get your finances in order. You can connect all your bank accounts to help you track expenses, identify areas of improvement, find wasteful subscriptions and even switch energy providers.

So what are you waiting for?

This is a guest article written in collaboration with Ruby Clarkson.