Summer side-hustles: Your guide on making extra money during hotter months

You could be £500 or more richer by the end of the season if you look for a side hustle (or two). MoneyMagpie is all about finding ways to live a richer life, from shopping deals to extra money making activities, so we’ve come up with this list of handy jobs and ways to boost your income this summer.

Green Fingered Jobs

Make money from your natural abilities with plants and landscaping. If you grow unusual plants at home, you can sell cuttings at local fetes, car boot sales, and even on sites like eBay.

The same goes for seeds – dry and package them, and they’re easy to send in the post for some extra cash. It’s a small amount, but adds up fast if you have a good crop.

You could also get in touch with local landscaping companies to see if they need extra hands to deal with a summer workload. Look for companies that do corporate maintenance, such as golf courses and private parks, or post flyers in your local area if you own a mower and basic tools to help neighbours with basic gardening.

You can also offer your services to maintain allotments while people go on holiday. Water plants, weed plots, and make sure everything is in order on their patch. When word gets around that you’re an allotment guardian, you could get pretty steady business from people on the same allotment.

Take Up Teaching

If you have a Teaching English as a Foreign Language or Second Language (TEFL or TESL) qualification, the summer school world is your oyster. Many run at your local university, so get in touch to see if they are running a school this year.

You can also gain private clients by advertising through the university – particularly for foreign students arriving in the UK before their first semester in September. There are also online services that will connect you with overseas students to teach them English, which can also be a great term-time job as it is quite flexible and you can earn around £20 an hour.

Even if you don’t have a TESL or TEFL certification, there are many teaching opportunities available. Now is the time to look for parents who need to boost a child’s GCSE grade for retakes, or to prep them ahead of the beginning of A Levels.

Become a Tour Guide

If you live in a historical town or city, and have a penchant for facts and trivia, now is a great time to join a tour guide company or set up your own. You can also devise specialist routes, such as craft beer or wine tours, bookshop tours, or even tours which visit famous locations from popular TV series like Bridgerton and Peaky Blinders.

You could also offer services as a local guide or companion for students coming to university in your area, to show them around the best local places, transport routes, and other information to help them settle in. Target parents when advertising this, as it’s a great way to settle anxious mums and dads as well as first-time-away-from-home students!

Sit Stuff

Become a house sitter or pet sitter to earn cash while you’re doing your own thing. Pet sitting can be done as a visitor – pop in a few times a day, let the cat or dog in or out, feed them, play, clean litter trays.

This pays around £10 a day, and can be lucrative if you can schedule a few clients in the same area each day. Alternatively, you can be a house sitter. When people go away, or into hospital or long-term care, they need someone to live in and look after their home.

Sometimes, it includes pet sitting at the same time – and you can charge more for that, too. It’s a great way to travel and save on accommodation costs. You do need to be present in the house most of the day, but can go out a few hours each day – more if there are no pets to look after.

Walk Dogs

If you’re great with dogs and love exercise, consider becoming a dog walker. It’s a great way to have a flexible schedule, so can be done around student schedules in term time, too.

You will need public liability insurance, just in case something happens while you’re looking after a dog. You can earn £10-£15 an hour, and as long as you are comfortable with it can walk a few dogs at the same time. Make sure you know if the dog can be let off lead, what its recall word is, and if it has any dietary needs.

Some dog walkers, who know client dogs that get along together well, hire private dog fields by the hour. While this cost comes out of your payment, an hour is usually around £10 and you can take several dogs at a time. This is particularly good for clients whose dogs aren’t allowed off lead in open spaces, as the dog field is secure.

Offer Admin Support

Many small businesses could do with help a few days a week with basic administration. The boring jobs that nobody wants to do but need to be done – such as reconciling receipts with expense accounts – often get left behind.

Work like this can be flexible and is often remote, so it’s worth targeting local businesses and those outside of your area to find administrative support roles. You can also find work on sites like TaskRabbit, which is a great way to find ad hoc jobs for extra cash, too.

Create Your Own Work

Of course, if you’re skilled at something and a pro at social media, you can always spend the summer setting up your own business. Whether that’s making money from a hobby or creating an app, use the skills in your repertoire to become your own boss.

There’s plenty of info on the MoneyMagpie website about becoming a freelancer and setting up your own business, so make sure you take a look for inspiration.