How to make money when you’re unemployed – MoneyMagpie

Web Admin


1st Aug 2024

Reading Time: 7 minutes

Unemployment sucks. It takes forever to find a job these days! Being unemployed affects our mental health, self-worth – and financial situation. Bills occur every month even when you have no income!

The good news is that there are ways to make money whilst unemployed! This buys you a bit more time to search and land a role suited to your background. There’s no need to panic and grab the first opportunity that comes your way!

If this situation sounds familiar and you are in desperate need for a quick cash fix as the job search continues, take a look at the following ways to make money when you’re unemployed.

Amazon is a great way to earn some money whilst you’re out of work. You need not be a technical whizz or a digital maestro either, as selling on large e-commerce sites is pretty straightforward.

Set up an account, take some photos of the items you want to sell, then list them on sites like eBay and let the cash roll in!

If you don’t have any items to sell, try visiting local charity shops or car boot sales and purchasing some bargain items. You can sell these for more on auction sites like eBay! It can be a fun, rewarding and easy way to generate an income whilst you’re looking for work.

Before you take the plunge, research what sells well online and how much profit is in different items. If, for example, second-hand designer clothes and accessories tend to sell for substantial price tags, you’ll know what to look out for as you browse the car boot sales on a Sunday morning.

Find out more about making money selling online.

 

Read our whole article about car boot sales here.

 

A spare room, for example, in your home could potentially be turned into a monthly source of income.

Though it’s not just property that you can rent out – the more creative you are with prospective items to rent, the better. You may have read about the lady who turned her designer handbag addiction into a lucrative business. She rented her Prada, Burberry and the rest of her £40,000 designer handbag collection to punters keen to be seen with a designer handbag by their side for a night!

There really are all kinds of things you can rent out including your driveway, your home as a film set and many more things.

 

Crowdology, which pays hard cash via PayPal as soon as you reach the £4 withdrawal threshold. Also good are LifePoints, which has an abundance of surveys and enables participants to withdraw funds when their balance reaches £3, and Inbox Pounds, which pays £1 just for signing up.

Ever wanted to have your say on products BEFORE they hit the market? By completing Pinecone Research’s online studies, your opinions will directly influence tomorrow’s products today, and you get rewarded.

Read our full article about online surveys here. 

 

can make as much as £2,000 per year – not bad while you’re looking for a ‘real’ job!

Find out more about becoming a mystery shopper here. 

 

Find out more about how you could make money taking part in paid clinical trials. 

 

Discover more ways you can make money with your body.

 

Find out more about making money blogging here.

 

Find out more about making money dog walking here. 

 

Permitted Work is geared towards enabling claimants to maybe gain new skills and test your own capacity for certain types of work.

Talk to your Job Centre for more advice about permitted work.

Job Seeker’s Allowance

Job Seeker’s Allowance is available for those who are available to work but currently work on average less than 16 hours per week. You’re paid through the Universal Credit system. The amount you get depends on whether you work at all or have other income from pensions or investments.

To be eligible for Income-based Job Seeker’s Allowance, you must work less than 16 hours per week on average. If you have a partner, they must work less than 24 hours per week on average. You mustn’t have savings over £16,000. Any savings over £6,000 will affect how much JSA you’ll get. If you own a property you don’t live in, you won’t be eligible for benefits.

Visit the Government website to see how any money you earn whilst you are unemployed my affect the benefits you might be receiving.

Registering as self-employed

When earning an income independently, it is important that you register with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) as self-employed. You will then need to fill out an annual self-assessment form each year. This determines how much tax and national insurance contributions you may owe. The current threshold that you can earn and not pay any tax on is £12,500 per year.

When trading or making an income from property, you are permitted a tax-free allowance of £1,000 per year.

For more information about working for yourself and registering for self-employment visit the Gov.uk website.