Unemployment really can be hard. It takes forever to find a job these days, it can affect mental health, self-worth and most obviously … our financial situation.
Bills occur every month even when you have no income! The world doesn’t pause to give you time to take stock. At times like this it can feel like you are being swallowed up.
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, MoneyMagpie is here to look at the following ways to make money when you’re unemployed.
Register for Universal Credit with the DWP
First thing first: you should register for Universal Credit. This is there if you are not earning enough. Universal Credit is a payment for people who are looking for work or on a low income.
Earning any kind of income may affect any unemployment benefits you might be receiving and should be taken into consideration.
Permitted Work
For example, whilst claiming Employment and Support Allowance you may be allowed to do some limited work, which is known as ‘Permitted Work.’
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 £12,570 per year.
When trading or making an income from property, you are permitted a tax-free allowance of £1,000 per year.
Give Blood
Depending on your age, location and health, you may be able to earn some money by giving blood. Some plasma banks offer a fixed rate per pint of blood.
Discover more ways you can make money with your body.
Get into Completing Surveys
It is possible to make money, or at the very least earn vouchers, completing online surveys. The trick of getting decent rewards is knowing where to go.
Some of our favourites are:
Branded Surveys
Swagbucks
Nielsen Online Panel
InboxPounds
Read MoneyMagpie’s full article about online surveys here.
Rent Things Out
You might not have a property portfolio to enjoy the lifestyle of a landlord with multiple properties, but you might be sitting on something that will generate some revenue in rent.
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.
Sell Items Online
Selling unwanted items on the likes of eBay and 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.
Car Boot Sale
If selling online doesn’t tickle your fancy, you could always join the sellers who congregate at car boot sales across the country in the early hours of a Saturday or Sunday morning.
Get up in the attic, dust down those trinkets that haven’t seen the light of day in years, and display them with pride at a forthcoming car boot sale. You never know what you’ll find! The money you generate from items that were gathering dust at home could be enough to take care of your groceries for the whole month
Read MoneyMagpie’s article about car boot sales here.
