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Our readers often ask us how they can make money whilst stuck at home with the kids. Or what type of jobs there are that can be fitted in around school hours.

Well we have some good news – there are loads of ways for stay at home mums and dads to make some extra money using the skills and facilities they already have. Now the kids are back at school, there’s every reason to get money-making!

• Make money from your computer
  
• Make money from your home
  
• Make money from childcare
• Or why not try…

Making money from your computer

Online surveys

A handy little earner is completing online surveys in your spare time. You won’t necessarily make oodles of cash, but if you have 15-20 minutes to spare once or twice a week then why not spend that time making some money? Sign up online to the following survey sites, which pretty much pay you for giving your opinions.

• Toluna
  
• Lightspeed
• MySurvey

You can expect to earn between 50p and £2.50 for every survey you take part in; most sites send you a cheque once you’ve reached an amount such as £20 or £50. Take a look at our article on surveys for more info.

Cashback sites

If you’re looking to buy pretty much anything at all on the net, search for what you need from one of the cashback sites we list. They give you a percentage of what you spend back, and you can even get deals on online grocery shopping. Take a look at our article on cashback sites for more info, and have a flick through these sites to decide which ones you’re going to save money with.

• Quidco
• Ecashback

Virtual assistant (VA)

A virtual assistant is a self-employed person who carries out admin work for companies from their own home. This could involve making and taking phone calls, sending out emails, transcription and a wide range of office tasks. You’ll need to be really confident with computers because you won’t have anyone to help you out if things go pear-shaped, and you’ll also need a great telephone manner. Take a look at our article on how to become a VA and check out iceni-it.co.uk for further info on how to get started.

Another option for this type of work is becoming a medical secretary – but working from home! You can make extra money by transcribing medical notes in your spare time. Companies, such as Dict8, will pay you to write up medical notes and you’re paid on a ‘per line’ basis.

Competitions

Online competitions won’t make you a regular income, but they are a great way to bag yourself some goodies for very little effort. And they’re not as difficult to win as you might think, in fact most people never bother with them so your chances of winning are often pretty good. From cash prizes and exotic holidays to spa breaks and (our favourite) luxury food, online competitions tend to have cracking prizes up for grabs.

Companies often run online competitions to try and boost traffic to their site. To enter they’ll usually just ask for your email address, so it’s very quick and very simple. The down side is that once you’ve revealed your email address you’ll often be bombarded with spam, so make sure you set up a seperate email account just for competitions. Discover everything you need to know about making money from competitions right here.

If you have a way with words and fancy something a little more challenging, why not enter a writing competition. To have a chance of winning you do need to be talented, but if you’ve got what it takes this could be the way to go about securing yourself a publishing deal. Check out the Writers’ Forum for all the latest competitions, and don’t forget to read our make money from competitions article here.

Lend your money

Sounds risky we know but hear us out. Zopa is an online marketplace where you can lend people your money for a decent rate of interest. By cutting out the ‘middle man’ (i.e. the banks) the borrower gets a low cost loan whilst the lender (you) enjoys a greater return than they could expect from most savings accounts. Over the last twelve months the average Zopa lender made an annual return of 8.2%, an impressive statistic.

For most Zopa virgins the big concern is obviously that they’ll lose their money. Zopa has installed a number of measures to help combat that issue (read about them here), and whilst the system isn’t risk free we are definitely big fans. We particularly like the fact that any money you lend gets spread across a number of borrowers in lots of £10. So if you lent £500 it would be spread across 50 borrowers, which minimises the risk of you loosing a big chunk of cash.

Zopa’s website explains the system in detail, and in a way that isn’t difficult to understand. Don’t miss out on big interest rates just because you can’t be bothered looking in to it. 8.2% is not a figure to be scoffed at!

Discover everything you need to know about Zopa right here.

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Make money from your home

Let your parking space

If you have a driveway or a garage that you don’t use and live in an area where parking space is in demand, you can rent it out and make money from doing nothing at all. Parking is more desirable in London and you can charge a lot more than anywhere else, but if you live close to, say, Manchester United’s football ground you could charge huge amounts on match days.

Have a look at our article on renting out your driveway for further information and if you want to register your parking space then go to Parkatmyhouse.com or Park Let. Both of these websites will let you advertise your space for FREE (they make their money from taking a percentage of the rent you make), and if it’s in a popular location you could pull in up to £200 a week.

Rent out a room

Depending on the size of your home, it’s possible to just rent out one room to someone. You can earn up to £4,250 in a year without having to be taxed so you could just rent out a room until you reach the tax threshold. You can make anything from £40-£250 a week (people really will pay that much in London!) and you can choose who you’d like to accept as a tenant. Read more about it in our article on renting out a room or use Gumtree or Spareroom to advertise.

Rent out spare space

If you have an attic or a cellar you don’t use, you can rent out the space as a storage facility. Again, you could use your garage for this, and could charge more because the renter could have their own access. You would have to draw up a contract with whoever’s renting out the space, just to set some ground rules, but other than that it’s really easy money.

You can make anything from a fiver a week to store a few boxes, to £50 for filling up a central London garage. Read through our rent it if you’ve got it article for more information.

Set up a B&B

This is the ultimate work from home job. While it certainly involves hard work, it can still leave you with lots of free time too. We’ve got a step-by-step guide of what’s involved here.

Make money from childcare

Childminding

If you’re one of those people who loves children, and you’re at home all day anyway looking after your own, this might be the job for you. As long as you don’t have a criminal record you can be a childminder.  If you’re on your own you can look after a maximum of six children at a time. You’ll usually be charging per child per hour and the amount will vary based on the ages and where you live. Our article on how to become a childminder should give you all the information you need.

Be a doula

Anyone who is a mother can be a doula. Doulas are usually women who have had children of their own and are hired to assist new mothers. They are often brought in before the birth and continue to help out through the pregnancy and in the first few weeks after the birth.

The extra help,  especially in the difficult first few weeks, can be invaluable as lots of new mothers don’t have anyone to help them adjust to life with a new baby. Think of a doula as a parenting ‘expert’; they can do anything from helping with cooking and cleaning to looking after the baby and providing tips that only a real mother can give. If you are serious about being a doula, it’s worth taking a course (see information here) but from there on you’re self-employed and can earn up to £10 an hour – find out more info about courses and how to get work in our be a doula article.

Or why not try…

Being an Avon lady

An Avon lady is someone who distributes and sells products from the Avon catalogue. You can buy them at a discounted price directly from Avon, and sell them on at the full price to make your profit. If you know a lot of people that already regularly buy from Avon then it’s easy money. If you’re a talented sales person so much the better, although it really is a job for anyone. You can do this in your spare time, or as a full-time job, so it’s great if you’re looking for flexibility.

The sky really is the limit with the people right at the top making tens (occasionally hundreds) of thousands a year. Your discount increases from 20% to 25% when you sell over £135 worth of goods – so for every £400-worth of products you sell, you get £100 back. Have a look at our article on being an Avon lady for further information or see the Avon website here.

Doing other people’s laundry

Do you sometimes feel that you’re not appreciated for all the washing and ironing you do in your household? There are people who would appreciate you doing theirs – so much so that they would be willing to pay you up to £8 per load. You will have to be good at ironing and quite quick at it to make any real money.

If you sign up to an agency which organises laundry delivered to your door then you’ll be getting paid for something you already do. Alternatively, you could set up your own business collecting, washing, ironing and delivering loads. Read our ironing/laundry article to find out more.

Cooking up a storm

If you’re into your cooking, you can make money from your culinary skills. Most obviously, you can make edible goodies to sell – which can actually earn you a tidy sum. Our guide to making cakes and sweets shows you where you can find places to sell your produce. You could even start up a small business if the demand is there.

Or you could host a cooking show in your own home. Websites such as The Pampered Chef recruit stay-at-home consultants to perform cooking demonstrations in their own kitchens, using their products.

Hosting a product party

Everyone from The Body Shop to Ann Summers is looking for people to host product parties at their home, while cosmetics parties are always popular. Our guide tells you all you need to know, as well as the perks you get and how much commission you can make.

Becoming a tutor

You could earn extra cash as a home tutor for a range of subjects and levels, usually on a one-to-one basis. This could be at your home or the students’.  Check out London’s Learning website for details on tutoring in London or agencies like Personal Tutors for more information on nationwide tutoring. For more information on who to contact and how much you could earn, have a look at our article on earning money as a tutor.

Proofread

If you often have a few spare hours during the day, you can earn good money proofreading manuscripts from home. The pay is decent at £10 an hour for a novice and up to £30 an hour for someone with qualifications. Go on home working and go through their directory of companies that are looking for proofreaders.

Make money from arts and crafts

If you’re good at arts and crafts, there’s money to be made from your hobby. Sites like Coriandr, Folksy and Not Mass Produced.com are crying out for people like you to sell their handmade goods online. These sites normally take a small commission of any sale you make (usually around 2-3%) – but in return give you a ‘virtual shop’ for your goods.

Work flexibly

If you’re able to leave the kids in the hands of someone else at times during the week, you could use that time to work flexibly – at hours that suit you. A website called Sliversoftime.com matches people with just a few hours to spare here and there with local part-time work.

You just register with the site, get a calendar and then when you’ve got a few hours to spare coming up, put your free time on the calendar. Then these spare hours are sent to local agencies and businesses like call centres, catering companies, retail outlets and distribution centres who regularly use part-time workers. You can then pick and choose from firms that you want to work for when you have the time.