Seven surprising ways to make money

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Most of us would like to have a bit more cash in our pocket. But, aside from taking on a second job or selling your belongings on eBay, it can be hard to come up with ways to boost your income. Here are seven unusual ways to make some extra cash.

Get paid for your old car
In years gone by, a clapped-out car was a drain on your resources rather than a money-spinner. But the soaring price of scrap metal means there are now companies willing to come to your house to collect your old banger and they’ll pay you a decent sum for it too.
Companies such as RewardRecycling.co.uk or CarTakeBack.com will pay you upwards of £100 for your broken-down car. How much you will make depends on what car you have and whereabouts you are in the country. For example, CarTakeBack.com will pay £160 for a 1999 Renault Megane Scenic in Glasgow, but only £115 for a 2001 VW Golf GTI Turbo in Bristol.
If you do decide to sell your car for scrap make sure you get a Certificate of Destruction from the scrap firm and fill out section three of your V5C certificate and send it to the DVLA. This all proves the car is destroyed and no longer your responsibility.

Sell your hair
A booming demand for wigs and hair extensions means your hair could make you some extra cash. There are many companies that will pay you for your hair. All you do is put it into a ponytail, cut it off and post it to them.
Prices vary depending on the length and health of your hair. For example, Hairharvest.co.uk pays up to £60 for hair that is 12 inches in length or up to £200 for really long (19 inches or longer) locks.

Become a Model
You don’t have to look like Kate Moss to earn cash as a model. There’s demand for all sorts of people for adverts or corporate appearances, from those with impressive tattoos or piercings to people who simply have an interesting face. SpiritModels.co.uk represents alternative models.
Also, there are ample opportunities for you if you think you could be a plus-size, older or pregnant model, or if you want to launch your child or pet as a model.

Double dip your cashback
Many of us now earn cashback when we shop. Whether it is from cashback credit cards, loyalty cards or cashback websites, there is plenty of extra cash out there for you to grab. But take the time to be a little bit savvier and you can double or even triple your cashback with very little effort.
All you need to do is use more than one cashback method at once. So, if you have the American Express Platinum Cashback credit card you can get 5% cashback on purchases (1.25% after the first three months). But, if you buy things via a cashback website, such as Quidco or TopCashBack, you could earn even more. Right now, book a holiday with Expedia via Quidco and you could get 5% cashback. Pay with your Amex and that’s 10% cashback.
Sometimes you can even triple your rewards. For example, shop at Tesco’s clothing arm, Florence & Fred, via Quidco and pay with your Amex and you’ll get 5% cashback from Amex, 5% cashback from Quidco and you can earn Tesco Clubcard points too.

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Sell your snaps
You don’t have to be David Bailey to make some cash from your photos. If you are relatively good with a camera – no cut-off heads or blurred lines – then you can upload your efforts to a photo agency like iStockphoto.com or Alamy.com.
Just register with the website, upload your photos then wait for people to buy them. There is constant demand for digital photos from corporate websites to magazines – to make the most cash, take photographs that will be popular with anyone trying to illustrate a story. So think about what you’ve seen online and take photos accordingly. For example, anyone running an accountancy firm or financial website will be on the hunt for pictures of people counting money.

Get paid to listen to music
Earning cash in return for listening to music is a really easy way to make a little extra money. Slicethepie.com pays people to review songs from unknown artists. You listen to music, write a short review of it and then get your cash.
How much you earn depends on the star rating Slicethepie.com gives your review – this is affected by how close your rating of the music is to the average score that track gets; how detailed your review is; how active you are on the site; and your ability to recommend artists that go on to be successful. Depending on your rating you can earn up to 25p a song – it’s not much but can quickly rack up.

Move your direct debits
Most of us have all our direct debits set up to pay everyone from the landlord to the gasman at the start of the month just after our wages have arrived in our bank account. But if you moved all those direct debits to the last day before you get paid, and use a current account that pays a decent rate of interest, you can earn some interest each month before you pay all your bills.
For example, if you have Nationwide’s FlexDirect current account you have an interest rate of 5%. Pay all your bills just after you get paid and that could be over £1,000 that isn’t earning you any interest. Move your bills to the end of the month and that money sits in your account earning interest for a month. So by the end of the year you would have earned an extra £50 interest.