Ten ways to push up your pay

If you're one of the many people facing a pay freeze this year, here are ten ways to help boost your income....

What with inflation, VAT and the cost of everyday living having increased this year, money is becoming increasingly tight. What’s more, for many of us, the prospect of a pay rise is non-existent.

In fact, according to research*, six in ten of the working population face a pay freeze this year. Meanwhile, one in ten workers have been given a pay rise, but over three quarters of these have been given a pay increase at less than inflation (currently 4.4%).

What’s more, with train fares having jumped by an average of 5.8% and petrol prices soaring by 15% in the last year, many of us who have been lucky enough to enjoy a pay increase are in fact seeing this wiped out by the cost of commuting.

So whether you’ve got no hope of getting a pay rise in the near future, or whether any pay increase you have been given has been pretty insignificant, here are ten tips to help push up your pay:

1. Rent it out

There are many things you can rent out to earn a little extra cash. For a start, if you never use your driveway, you can rent it out to drivers by using websites such as Your Parking Space, ParkLet or Park At My House. These websites will match motorists looking for parking with homeowners who have a driveway to spare.

Depending on where you live, you could earn between £50-£300 a month, according to Your Parking Space.

Alternatively, if you have a garden that you never use or some spare storage space, you could also rent this out. Take a look at Spareground for more information.

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For more tips on all of this, read Rent your way to a fortune.

2. Take in a lodger

Leading on from this, if you have a spare room, the government’s Rent a Room scheme allows you to receive up to £4,250 a year tax-free (£2,125 if you’re letting jointly) for renting out the room to a lodger. You don’t even have to be a homeowner to qualify for the scheme.

You can advertise your spare room on websites such as Easyroommate, Gumtree, and MondaytoFriday. Find out more about this in Make money from a lodger.

3. Sell your junk

Most of us have some kind of junk lurking around the house. So why not give your home and your garden shed a good clearout to see what you can find?

You can sell on your unwanted items in numerous ways. Firstly, you could try your luck on auction sites such as eBay, eBid and Amazon. If you’re selling larger items – perhaps you want to get rid of your bike, for example - you could also place an advert on websites such as Preloved and Gumtree.

You could, of course, also sell your items at a car boot sale. Take a look at CarBootJunction to find where your nearest car boot sale is located. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to stay in the warmth, you could try an online car boot sale!

Take a look at 12 top ways to make money selling old junk for more tips.

4. Host a party

How about earning some extra money by throwing a party? If you sign up to become a consultant with The Body Shop, you can then start hosting parties and earning money by selling The Body Shop products. 

The Pampered Chef, Avon, Jamie at Home, and Usborne Books operate similar schemes and are well worth investigating if you’re after an easy way to boost your income. Take a look at Make money from parties for more information.

5. Get a second job

Perhaps the most obvious way to up your pay is to get a second job. However, before you do this, find out whether you can get any paid overtime or an extra shift from your current employer. This will work out to be far easier.

If that’s not possible, however, keep an eye out in newspapers and online for part-time evening or weekend work – perhaps you can pick up some casual work in a supermarket or restaurant. Just make sure this doesn’t interfere with your full-time job.

6. Get a better savings account

A really easy way to boost your income is to get a decent savings account and earn some interest! You don’t even need to put large sums of money into your savings account each month – just open it with whatever you can afford.

Right now, the market-leading easy access savings account is the Nationwide MySave Online Plus Account, which pays 3.05%, including a 1.51% bonus for 12 months. You will need £1,000 to open the account and you can only make one penalty-free withdrawal per year.

If you have a smaller deposit, the Santander eSaver Account pays 3%, including a 2.5% variable bonus for 12 months.

And don’t forget to also invest in a tax-free ISA. Have a read of 15 top cash ISAs for transfers for some tips.

7. Earn cashback

If you often shop online, why not get rewarded for your spending? Websites such as Quidco and GreasyPalm allow you to earn cash back when you’re buying items online. You can find out more about how these websites work in The best way to shop online.

What’s more, if you use a cashback credit card, you’ll earn even more money back as you shop. For example, the American Express Platinum Cashback Card pays 5% cashback for the first three months and up to 1.25% after that. Just make sure you pay off the bill in full each month, otherwise you’ll be hit with an interest rate of 19.9%.

8. Reduce your outgoings

Reducing your outgoings doesn’t have to mean cutting back. You can cut your outgoings by simply shopping around for a better deal on your electricity/gas bills, your car insurance, your home insurance, your mobile phone, your broadband, and so on.

Make sure you check out our comparison centre to see whether you can get a better deal and save money. Find out more in Spend less without cutting back!

9. Claim your benefits

It’s worth taking a look at independent advice website, Entitled To, to see whether you qualify for any benefits. If you have children, care for elderly or disabled relatives, have health problems, or you are on a low income, you may be able to claim.

The Directgov website also has some useful information.

10. Car share

If you regularly drive to work, why not consider car sharing? If you live near some of your colleagues, you could offer to give them a lift to work and then split the cost of petrol (which we all know is very expensive these days).

Have a browse of the website CarShare which helps you to find other people travelling the same way as you. According to the website, you could save over £1,000 a year by car sharing!

However, you should bear in mind that you can’t make a profit from car sharing – if you do, you are likely to invalidate your car insurance and tax. But any money you do save can be put towards your savings, your bills and your everyday expenditure.

Good luck!

*Research by uSwitch.

More: Get a super savings account | The ten best ways to recession-proof your job | Why you’ll earn less in 2011