Are you facing a mountain of debt, and aren't sure what to do?
You're not alone - debt is crippling the British financial system, and with the recent developments with the COVID pandemic, things are looking quite bleak for everyone. With millions out of work and jobs hard to come by, debt is, unfortunately, something we may all need to live with going forward.
1. Moving Forward
Just because the rest of society is crippling under debt, it doesn't mean you have to. If you want to become debt-free, it will take a lot of hard work and perseverance, but you can do it. You can get out of debt and be more in control of your personal finances, and you'll feel better and a stronger person for it.
As the saying goes, "money in the bank is freedom" and with these debt-free ideas, we hope you'll be able to make that extra income or extra money to pay off your debts and become completely debt-free as soon as possible.
2. Sell on Stock Websites
If you have a smartphone, you can sell stock photography and stock videography easily. The best advice is to take pictures and video of everything you possibly can and get it up. Stock is more about numbers than it is about particular aiming for quality, and the most mundane normal things sell too.
A huge tip for stock videography particularly is diversity. If you have a diverse group of friends who don't mind being on video or photos, get them to sign a release form and begin taking pictures and video of them in all kinds of situations. This way, your photos and videos will be much more requested than photos and videos without people or with a non-diverse group of people.
3. Sell Homemade Cakes or Food
Everyone loves a good homemade cake or homemade jar of jam! Selling your homemade preserves and baking can be a great way to raise a few pounds in the short term, but with the right marketing and advertising, you could make it more of a permanent opportunity.
To begin with, why not go yo your local farmers market or second-hand sale and see if they would let you have a stall. Even church get-togethers could be a great place to sell your homemade baking and preserves!
4. Rent Out Your Parking Space
There are so many people making extra money in the world by renting out their driveways and parking space it's almost funny to think about!
In reality, it makes perfect sense. Parking in cities is usually incredibly expensive, and so is getting public transport into cities. In both of those circumstances, commuters are looking for a better way to save a few pounds a day.
If you own your home and you're allowed as part of your lease to rent out your space, you may as well make some money from it!
5. Move to a Cheaper Town or City
This one could be a bit drastic, but if you're living in a really expensive area and there isn't much keeping you there, why don't you move?
If you own your home, you can immediately clear some of your debts by downsizing and buying a smaller home, but even if you rent, moving to a cheaper town or city could mean your rent is much cheaper, not to mention the cost of food, living, and transport too.
6. Become a Tutor
Have you got a skill or an educational background that's in demand? A great way to raise an extra income is to share that skill by becoming a tutor.
Tutors are needed in every area, from foreign languages to musical instruments, and even academic subjects like English and Maths. Tutors can earn a really good income and feel the satisfaction of helping the next generation to succeed!
7. Become a Coach
The role of coaching falls into roughly two categories: sports coaching and life coaching, we'll quickly explore each one below, but for both, you'll probably need some qualifications.
There are a few charities that can help you with your business coaching. In addition, many sports have their own charities and may be able to help you with your coaching certification for use in life.
Video Game Coach
Just like a sports coach, video game coaches help players to be the best they can be at a particular game. Playing video games competitively can be very lucrative.
Sports Coach
Getting paid to coach kids to play football or hockey or any other sport is really rewarding, and the higher you move up, the more you'll get paid.
Dating Coach
The dating coach industry is absolutely booming, even though these COVID times. Check out Matthew Hussey on YouTube for inspiration.
Life Coach
Life coaching covers so many avenues, including helping at-risk teens, helping Young People into work or further education, even helping offenders in prison. Coaching is a great way to give back, and it's a great way to earn money to pay off your debts.
Business Coach
Business coaching is one of the best paying of all of the coaching niches. Sometimes called executive coaching, or coaching in the workplace, many top companies are employing coaches across the spectrum to help their workforce to achieve their potential and become better employees.
Business coaches can be very well paid, they may be employed completely by the company as an on-site coach, or they may be contracted out on a freelance basis.
8. Sell Your Crafts
One word: Etsy. Three words: Get on Etsy!
Selling your homemade wonders is a great way to raise a few pounds and get out of the mountain of debt you find yourself in. Of course, the downside may be in buying materials, but there are actually a few ways around that.
If you can make a prototype, you can take payment up-front (and use it to buy materials) or stick to digital products like digital downloads of patterns or print outs that users can buy.
9. Teach Your Language
If you speak English, you're already onto a winner in this department. There are hundreds of counties across the world that employ native English speakers to teach their students.
If you fancy a year travelling around China or Malaysia, Thailand, or many other countries that need English tuition, this could be a great way of getting your trip paid for.
If you don't want to leave home turf, there are lots of teaching online opportunities around too, but be warned you'll need to work to your students' schedules which could mean teaching in the early hours for you.
10. Become a Voice-over Artist
Do you have a particularly interesting voice? Has it got an accent that is high in demand, or maybe you just speak with a very clear and even tone without being too monotonous or too excitable?
The world of the voice-over artist is expanding, with more and more people listening to audiobooks and podcasts, why not consider joining the ranks? It doesn't take much; you can set up as a freelancer with not much more than a decent condenser microphone and portable pop up sound booth.
11. How To Stay Out Of Debt
The truth of the matter is that modern life is expensive and even worse, modern life is set up for you to spend more money than you have coming in.
No matter how you ended up in debt, it's important to make a plan to get out of debt and a plan to never get into debt again. That's not so easy to say when we're staring at the new iPhone, or that brand new car on finance sounds like such a great idea, but the best way to stay out of debt is to avoid it altogether, don't fall for the marketing spin and try to live within your means.
Some ideas of how to stay out of debt in the future include:
- Buy second hand where you can, this includes furniture, electronics, clothes
- Only buy big things in the sale, like Black Friday or Boxing Day sales
- Avoid impulse buying at all costs
- Make a family budget and stick to it rigidly
- Buy last year's model of your electronics
If you're struggling with debt, it may be worth speaking with a debt counsellor to understand why your spending is out of control and work on some healthy coping mechanisms to rein it in and begin enjoying life again.
We hope your ideas gave you some interesting insights into how you can make some extra money to pay off those debts quicker, and maybe they will even lead to a successful side hustle for you or replace your full-time income with something you really enjoy!