If you’re like most people who have a regular job, chances are that you have trouble making your hard-earned cash last until the end of the month. It’s a case of more month than money for most of us; in other words, our money runs out long before we make it to the next paycheck.

But what can you do about this? It's likely that you and your family have made some cutbacks, but if you want to enjoy your life outside of work then you can’t be too ruthless - otherwise, you’ll have nothing to look forward to when you have some free time.

Here are some tips for making an additional income in your spare time. Some are quick to implement, others take a bit more time and effort. But if you stick with them, you should see more cash flowing in regularly.

Imagine if you could pull in an extra $500 a month, just for writing a few articles? Maybe this money would pay for a much-needed holiday. Or help pay off your debts. You may even find something that will allow you to replace your current salary and work for yourself! Wouldn’t that be great? So, here’s the first idea on the list. 

Blogging

Blogging is a fun way to express yourself, and it can be very lucrative. But if you think you’re not very good at writing, don’t worry — you don’t have to be the next Stephen King. Blogs are very informal, just write as if you were having a conversation with a friend sitting next to you.  

You don’t need to write pages and pages of content either. Images of your chosen subject will complement your text, depending on the subject of your blog. Think cookery, travel, or DIY.

You Don’t Need to Spend Hours On It

Blogging is something that you can do in your spare time . Ideal if you have a full-time job. You don’t even need to be an expert in your chosen subject, you just need to be passionate about it. If you choose something you love then you will never be short of inspiration. Think about your hobbies and interests. The chances are good that if you are passionate about something, thousands of other people are too.

You Don’t Need Any Technical Knowledge

All you need is a computer or tablet, internet access, and somewhere quiet to write. There are various platforms available that handle all the technical aspects of setting up your blog. Some of the most popular are WordPress, blogger, and Tumblr. Have a look around and find one that's the best fit for you.

Driving Traffic to Your Blog

Obviously, you need people to see your blog, so you need to drive traffic to it. But don’t be scared, it’s not as hard as you might think. And it shouldn’t cost you a lot of money either. 

There are various ways you can drive traffic to your blog. You can write guest posts on blogs in your niche, join online forums and put the URL of your blog in the signature line. Article directories such as ezinearticles.com are good for getting exposure for your content. Signing up is free and you just need to place a link to your blog in the resource box. 

Social media is a great place for sharing your content and sites like Facebook and Twitter have huge amounts of traffic. If your blog is about a subject such as food or travel then you could try posting on Pinterest or Instagram.

Monetizing Your Blog

 

So, how can you make money from blogging? One way to do this is to use Google AdSense.

AdSense works by placing small ads on your blog, on subjects that are related to your niche. Whenever someone clicks on the ad, you get a share of the fee paid by the advertiser. You don’t need to sell anything, so this is a pretty easy way to earn extra cash. 

You can also put banner ads on your blog, but be careful. Too many ads and flashing signs can confuse your audience and they will leave your page. 

You can place links on your blog to an affiliate’s site. If a visitor buys something from the merchant, you receive a commission for every purchase made. Commissions can be very generous, with some merchants paying 75% or more. 

Do some research online and find something that resonates with you, then start promoting. 

Before you know it, your little hobby could be making you a very healthy second income!

Affiliate Marketing

This is something I touched on briefly before but here I want to go into a bit more detail. 

So, what is affiliate marketing?

An affiliate is someone who promotes products or services for a vendor in return for a commission. Sometimes a vendor has a good product but doesn't have the time to promote it. In this case, having a team of affiliates who will do all the promoting for them is a sensible idea. All the vendor has to do is pay a commission to the affiliates and it's a win-win. 

If you don't have a product or service of your own then affiliate marketing is an ideal way to earn money, and there is no limit to the number of products that you can promote. 

A good place to start on your affiliate journey is ClickBank. Their marketplace has thousands of products to promote and vendors offer some generous commissions. You can often earn a recurring income each month on some products without doing any extra work. 

Choose a subject that you're interested in, or have some knowledge of. This will make promoting it easier. ClickBank has a training program too so that you can learn more about how to be a successful affiliate. 

There are lots of other places where you can go to promote other people's products. This means you should always have a steady flow of work coming in, although you do have to do some legwork to keep things going. This is a really good way to make a second income - or to replace your current salary! 

Set Up a Dog Walking Business

If you love dogs and have some free time on your hands why not set yourself up as a dog walker? Many dog owners love their pets but don't have time to take them for proper walks due to work commitments. 

Also, elderly people may no longer be able to walk their dogs because of health issues. They would appreciate someone trustworthy who could take their four-legged friend out for a run-around every day!

If this appeals to you then maybe start by putting an ad online, offering your services for a small fee. Or you could visit a neighbour and ask if they need anyone to exercise their dog. You might be surprised at how many dog owners would appreciate such a service.

You could scale up your business after a while by offering pet-sitting services; people who are out at work all day feel guilty about leaving their dog alone for hours. Or you could offer a pop-in service where you would go and check on the dog and feed him. Then maybe record a short video and send it to the owner, so that they can see their dog is happy and cared for. 

As dog walking is an outdoor activity, you have to be willing to go out in all weathers, even in the snow. You also need to be quite fit if you're going to be walking several dogs a day. 

You won't need much in the way of equipment, just some sturdy walking boots or wellingtons. A car would be useful to transport your charges to the park. Towels for drying wet coats and muddy paws, a doggy first aid kit, and bottles of water. 

And don't forget the doggy treats!

For more details on how to start your own dog walking business click here.

There are many more ways that you can earn money from home. Check out this guy, he has loads of good ideas and none cost a lot of money to set up. 

https://nottaughtatschool.co.uk/