You're ignoring free money

Follow these simple tips to get money for nothing!

At Xmas, I always tend to spend more than I had planned, and so end up counting down the days to the next payday. Whether you’re an overspender like me, or a brilliant budgeter, you can improve your bank balance by taking advantage of the many ways to make some extra cash, effortlessly!

Ignoring a free fiver

Voucher code website Save.co.uk carried out an interesting experiment last month. They sent a man off to Central London for four hours, with a wallet full of cash, and wearing a sandwich board which said, in large letters, “Ask me for £5 and it’s yours”.

So over the course of four hours, how many Londoners do you reckon took up this no-strings offer of free cash?

 In the four hours the poor bloke was walking around London (as you can see from this footage) a whopping 2,719 people walked past him, yet only 16 asked for the cash. That’s a shocking success rate!

Of course, some of that will undoubtedly be due to us Londoners not exactly embracing conversations with random strangers, but I put a lot of it down to our distrust of the idea of getting something for nothing.

However, there are plenty of ways to get free cash without doing anything out of the ordinary!

Cashback websites

Cashback websites have changed my life. Well, ok that’s a bit over the top, but they’ve certainly changed my Xmas habits. Not that long ago I would brave a walk along Oxford Street in the last week before Xmas, fighting my way past other crazy people, to get the presents for my loved ones. Now? No chance.

This year I have done all of my shopping online, and all via cashback websites. These websites are very simple – they will have agreements with a whole range of retail websites, from Debenhams to Marks & Spencer, New Look to PrezzyBox. So long as you go to the retailer via the cashback website’s link, your purchases will then be tracked, and you’ll earn a percentage back in cashback.

So this Xmas, not only is all of my shopping taken care of (provided Royal Mail fulfil their side of the bargain of course) but I’ve made a few quid out of it as well!

For a full guide to the best cashback websites around, be sure to have a read of The best way to shop online.

Cashback credit cards

Cashback websites are great if you’re doing your shopping online, but what about the spending you do day-to-day, in supermarkets or restaurants or whatever? There is a way to make some cash out of your ordinary spending – cashback credit cards.

As with websites, you earn a percentage of the money you spend back in cashback. However, unlike with the websites, there are no restrictions on where you spend that money – so long as they accept your credit card, you can earn cashback!

Recent question on this topic

• Problemcake asks:

  Where could i open the most simple bank acount if im in debt and have a bad credit history?

  • 
    MikeGG1 answered "The problem is that the simplest accounts require you to be in credit all the time without interest..."
  • 
    CCCS answered "Hi problemcake You could try opening a basic bank account. Banks offer different types of basic..."
  • Read more answers

Obviously with these cards, it’s a good idea to put as much of your spending as you can on your credit card, to maximise how much cashback you’ll be earning. That’s not an excuse to go crazy and spend more than you usually would though – cashback cards are only really an option if you clear your credit card balance every month.

Our favourite is the American Express cashback credit card, which pays an incredible 5% cashback on your spending in the first three months, and then up to 1.5% on your spending thereafter (depending on just how much cash you spend). However, there are other cards worth considering. If you’re a Halifax current account holder you can take advantage of the Halifax Rewards Clarity card, which pays £5 cashback each month so long as you spend £300, while the Egg Money credit card offers cashback of 1% (though there’s a monthly £1 fee to consider).

Switching your current account

I used to be massively sceptical of any bank that pays you to take out one of their products. It must mean they are rubbish, if they need to use cold, hard cash to tempt you into using them, right?

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Well, I decided to test the theory earlier this year when I moved my current account over from HSBC to Santander. Santander at the time was offering £100 to anybody taking out either their Preferred In-Credit Rate account (which I went for) which pays 5% on your cash or their Reward current account, which  offers all sorts of benefits like family travel insurance and breakdown cover (but carries a £10 a month fee).

It’s fair to say Santander does not have a great reputation, particularly among lovemoney.com readers, for its customer service. However, I can honestly say that bar the transfer of my direct debits taking a while, I’ve had no complaints with Santander – everything has been absolutely fine, and I’ve made £100 out of the change. Santander are still offering £100 cashback on those two accounts, but the deal ends December 12th so you’ll need to get a move on if you want it!

But it’s not just Santander that offer you free cash for signing up. First Direct, a bank that certainly doesn’t have any customer service issues, also offers £100 for anyone that signs up to its award-winning 1st Account. What’s more, if you aren’t happy and want to leave, they’ll give you another £100!

A bit more effort

All of these are very simple ways to make some free cash without any effort. However, if you have a spare few minutes now and again you can boost your income further. Be sure to read Five ways to make money in your spare time! for some great ideas on how to pocket a few extra quid every month.

More: Get this market-leading savings account - quick! | Cut the cost of your Xmas shopping