IF you’re feeling strapped for cash after a costly Christmas, you may be desperately searching for ways to boost your bank balance.
The good news is, there are plenty of simple ways to earn some additional income.
And why not take advantage of apps that help you earn money in your spare time?
With the cost of living crisis continuing to bite, we look at more than a dozen money-making apps that can help you boost your income by thousands of pounds in 2024.
Shepper is a market research and data collection platform.
It lists thousands of simple tasks on its platform like checking promotions and monitoring stock levels in your local supermarket.
This includes carrying out jobs at local supermarkets and takeaway restaurants.
Your findings are then logged on the app.
Tasks take anywhere from five to 45 minutes, depending on the complexity.
Users can earn up to £22 per hour completing market research tasks in their community.
We spoke to one savvy saver who boosts his income by £200 a month just by using this app.
Customers can make a purchase from a store through TopCashback and then earn money back after.
You can shop at a range of stores, including Very, Argos, Selfridges, John Lewis, Wilko and New Look.
The cashback can either be turned into a gift card to use at a participating retailer or transferred into your bank account.
While transferring to your bank account might be easier, if you get your points transferred onto a gift card.
This way TopCashback will increase the value (but only slightly).
Mum-of-two Sarah Ryman, 48 has made £2,200 using TopCashback – and she said it took just a few clicks of her keyboard.
JamDoughnut is another cashback site where shoppers can earn up to 20% back from their purchases which is paid into a “wallet” on your account.
You can choose whether to receive your money in gift vouchers, or you can transfer the cash into your bank account.
There’s a 30p charge each time you withdraw money.
The app also runs regular competitions, including a daily £10 giveaway for 10 users.
Graham Leydon, 31 told The Sun how he made earned £350 using JamDoughnut which has helped him pay for two holidays.
With BeMyEye, you earn money when you hit the high street by taking photos of how certain products are displayed in-store, or by speaking to shop staff.
You are essentially getting paid to be the “eyes” in store.
You can earn up to £12 per task, though many pay between £4 and £6. Can be one of the busier tasking apps.
This app is similar to BeMyEye, and also pays you for taking snaps of shop displays, counting products on a shelf, or offering feedback on a product.
You can expect to earn £4-£8 per task.
Roamler pays you for carrying out market research tasks, such as seeing which teas are on sale in a supermarket, or photographing menus in restaurants.
Pay is typically around £2-£5 per task, though some can pay more. Note that you may need to be invited to join.
MobEye also involves you checking stock levels and retail promotions in store and sending photos of your findings.
Pay can be around £2 per task.
Users complete surveys through Attapoll and earn money in return.
However, there is usually eligibility criteria for each survey so shoppers won’t be able to take part in them all.
Criteria might depend on where you live, how old you are, what you do as a job and whether you are single or have children.
This is a video and survey app that pays people to record themselves reviewing a brand or service.
You can earn 25p per 15-second recording and then withdraw your earnings once they reach £10.
Qmee is another app that pays users to take part in surveys.
You earn cash when you complete a survey and can withdraw it into your bank account without having to build up to a minimum amount first.
Airtime Rewards is a cashback app that gives you cash rewards when you shop.
It can be used by people on pay-as-you-go and monthly contracts and works with most major mobile phone networks.
You connect your credit card through the app and earn cashback which you can use to pay your next phone bill.
While you won’t get cash directly into your bank account, users can save money on their bills.
SnapMyEats allows users to answer a survey after they’ve purchased something from a participating retailer.
They’ll need to take a picture of their receipt, upload it and answer five questions about their purchase.
They’ll then be able to earn credits each month which they can turn into vouchers for brands like Amazon.
The app uses your location to suggest where you need to go to take part but brands include Costa Coffee, Uber Eats and Amazon.
SnapMyEats uses the receipts for market research purposes.
Amazon Shopper is an invitation-only programme where customers can earn monthly rewards by sharing receipts from purchases made that aren’t from Amazon.co.uk.
If you’re keen to join, you can sign up to a waiting list and Amazon will invite you to become a member if there’s availability and you qualify.
The maximum amount of money you can earn a month is £5 and to get that you’ll need to submit 10 receipts.
The money is added to your Amazon credit so if you’re a regular Amazon shopper you could end up saving £30 a year on purchases.
Gener8 is slightly different and allows people to earn rewards when they share their data.
Gener8 can be linked to your internet browser and track what you do – all anonymously and with your permission.
Users get points added to their accounts.
You won’t be able to transfer the rewards as cash into your bank account but you can make purchases within the Gener8 app.
Depending on how many points you’ve saved up, you could use them to buy things such as a Nintendo Switch or an IKEA gift card.
Of course, if you’re worried about data sharing then do think about whether this one is for you.
It’s always worth getting in touch with Gener8 first to ask any questions you might have on what it does with your data.
If you’re earning extra income, it’s important to bear in mind that everyone is allowed to earn up to £1,000 a year from a side hustle.
If you earn more than that in a year, you’ll have to fill out a self-assessment tax return to declare that income and pay income tax on it.
You must do this whether you’re self-employed or earn a salary or wages from a company.
You can also join our new Sun Money Facebook group to share stories and tips and engage with the consumer team and other group members.
