Looking for a side hustle?… 50 ways to boost your income by earning extra cash – without even leaving your home

WHETHER it's getting paid to watch telly or making money from shopping, there are loads of legit ways to earn extra cash from home. The rising cost of living remains an issue for millions of households across the UK - but with many of these ideas you don't even need to leave your sofa. Just like side hustle expert Dalston Johnson, 31, who earns an extra £200 a month carrying out mystery shopping and advert checks.

And John Hutchinson, 47, who has earned £1,500 through cashback. It's also important to be aware of tax rules if you start a side hustle, as you may be liable to pay tax if you make over £1,000 in profit during the tax year. Normally, you'd have to pay tax on any earnings over the personal allowance for basic tax-payers, which is £12,570 for the current tax year running from April 6, 2024 to April 5, 2025.

But what are the best ways to make this elusive extra cash? Here we reveal the 50 top picks.... 1. Get paid to watch TV. The Viewers put together research panels for broadcasters and programme makers so that they can get feedback on TV programmes before they hit the box. You can either attend face-to-face research groups, fill in surveys online or do both. You can earn between £40 and £70 for a discussion group and it's usually cash in hand.

2. Fill out online surveys. Online surveys are a quick and relatively easy way to get hold of extra cash. You can get paid up to £6 per survey - and it’s a great way to make money, according to both Emma Drew of Emmadrew.info and Francesca Mason, author of blog From Pennies to Pounds. There are lots of sites you can use, but these are the easiest to navigate: YouGov and Prolific. 3. Go mystery shopping.

What could be better than being paid to shop for nothing?. Some brands pay you to shop free of charge, and you can even do it online in some cases. You could make hundreds as well - we previously spoke to one dad who makes a whopping £1,500 a year from filling out online surveys and mystery shopping. Side hustle supremo Dalton Johnson revealed how he earns an extra £200 a month carrying out mystery shopping and advert checks through market research platform Shepper.

The 31-year-old told The Sun: "I downloaded the app in the middle of December 2022 after watching a YouTube video on ‘how to earn extra income.’. "I thought it sounded good, and decided to sign up as a ‘Shepherd.’ It was very simple to set up my account and get started.". 4. Complete easy tasks. One of the UK's largest reward sites, 20Cogs, gets you to complete 20 tasks over a period of a few weeks.

One savvy consumer made £180 in just a few short weeks. They can be things like questionnaires and signing up to offers. Conveniently, the questionnaires and offers can be cancelled at no cost. 5. Test products. Marketing companies, supermarkets and brands often send out products to consumers - either to test products or spread influence. Some will send you free items, while others will even pay you extra to test products on top of getting the items for free.

We previously put together a guide to becoming a tester and the brands that offer these schemes, including some major names like Tesco and Philips. 6. Snap photos of receipts. Some apps will give you cash or Amazon vouchers just for taking photos of receipts, and it doesn't matter what you buy. Receipt Hog will give you points that you can redeem for a £3 voucher once you've earned 1,000 of them.

Each receipt is only worth a few points but it quickly adds up if you snap every receipt you get. And it has surveys you can fill out for cash. 7. Snap a photo of a derelict house. This is a good way of making money while you're out getting your steps in. If you see a derelict house in London or elsewhere, you could earn yourself a quick buck. All you need to do is fill out the address and upload a picture of an abandoned home to YouSpotProperty.

If you're the first to find it, then you'll win a £20 voucher. Even better, you get 1% of the purchase price if YouSpotProperty helps bring the property back into use. So it could be quite the earner. 8. Become an Avon seller. Don't forget about Avon, just because the company's been around since 1886. Reps can earn up to 32% commission on orders that they place. We spoke to one 61-year-old woman, who makes £120,000 a year from selling Avon cosmetics and another who earns an extra £230 a month with her side hustle as an Avon Lady.

9. Clinical trials. Drug companies are often looking for people to test new medicines on. You could get paid to take part in clinical trials to help find treatments for ailments such as Crohn's Disease. There is obviously the risk of nasty side effects but companies like Trials4Us can pay £120 for every 24 hours you spend on a trial. 10. Get paid for music. Fancy yourself a music critic? Well, now you can be. Why not get paid for your honest opinion?.