How I made an extra £1,515.26 in March
For the last few years, I have been sharing a detailed account of how much I earn on top of my 9-5 income each month. This is not to brag or show off, but is purely to showcase that it is possible.
Without further ado, here’s how I got on in March 2024…
The Bank Engine: £511.24
March was a very busy month for new offers which meant that my business income and profits increased as a result, this has been supported heavily by the continuation of the Pound to £5k Challenge which has helped people make £1,000s so far.
I am exceptionally grateful for the continued support from all of you who help The Bank Engine remain a viable business which has helped thousands of you save and invest millions of pounds since its inception in 2020.
Lifetime ISA Bonus: £250.00
As we get towards the end of the tax year, I was keen to ensure I maxed out my Lifetime ISA (find more info on this here) which resulted in earning an extra £250 bonus from my £1,000 deposit into the account.
I am using this account to save my first house, and it has helped me build my house deposit significantly over the years recently.
NatWest Bank Switch: £200.00
This bank switching offer has now ended but I took advantage of it during March.
I had last received a switching incentive from NatWest back in 2017 and was pleased to see that I was now eligible to receive another one given the updated timeframes.
If you haven't switched banks before, it's one of the easiest ways to make extra cash and I have made £1,000+ from switching without ever moving my main current account - here’s my guide on bank switching as a side hustle.
American Express Gold: £149.41
Back in January, I used a friend's referral link to sign up for the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card due to an increased referral bonus of 30,000 points when you spend £3k in the first 3 months.
As I knew I was going to be spending this amount (or more) in the following 3 months on upcoming trips etc. it was a no-brainer for me. As this is a credit card, it was key for me to know I wasn't going to over-spend just to get the rewards points so I continued to use my other cards alongside this.
In March, I exceeded the spend threshold and now have 33,000 points in my account (including 1 point per £1 spent on top of the bonus) which is *worth a minimum of £149.41 if I were to use it as a statement credit although I will of course look for the most beneficial options for me to get the highest value out of the points!
Right now, you can get 22,000 points when you spend £3,000 in the first 3 months through my referral link.
Matched Betting: £99.87
As many of you will know, March was a busy month for anyone in the matched betting space due to the Cheltenham Festival. This is largely because of the influx of free bet offers available throughout the festival which I took full advantage of.
I spent around 1 hour per day of Cheltenham getting my bets placed and ensuring I was getting the most value out of my remaining betting accounts.
Even though Cheltenham is long gone, matched betting is still worth considering as it's tax-free and can be done from the comfort of your own sofa. I have made close to £3.5k in profits since starting this side hustle back in 2020.
Not sure if it's worth your time? Check out my free guide to matched betting here.
Mystery Shopping: £155.88
Check out my free guide on mystery shopping here.
Roamler I do have some invite links (referrer-only benefit) if you would like to help me out!
10 x Hair Care Checks (visit store, capture images of hair care items): £45.00
7 x Personal Hygiene Care Checks (visit store, capture images of personal hygiene care items): £39.00
1 x Grooming Care Check (visit store, capture images of grooming care items): £3.00
2 x M&S Mystery Shops (visit store, capture images and answer questions): £23.00
2 x Currys Mystery Shops (visit store, capture images and answer questions): £14.00
2 x Skin Care Checks (visit store, capture images and answer questions): £14.00
1 x Tesco Mobile Mystery Shop (visit store, capture images and answer questions): £7.00
1 x Superdrug Check (visit store, capture images of various displays): £6.00
1 x Amazon Home Delivery Task (order "prohibited item" and answer questions on delivery): £30.00
BeMyEye (referral code: v1znkgq for £1 bonus on completion of first task)
1 x Windows Check at Currys (visit store, capture images and answer questions): £7.40
1 x Windows Mystery Shop at Currys - (visit store, capture images and answer questions): £4.40
I also incurred costs that relate solely to these tasks and are made up £13.30 worth of parking costs and product costs alongside £23.63 worth of fuel (at HMRC's approved rate of 45p per mile) to complete the tasks.
TopCashback: £80
I had previously attempted to complete the main Tide offer but kept getting rejected by Tide, so stumbled across the TopCashback offer for "Tide invoicing" I thought I'd give it a go.
This paid £80 for connecting a bank account to their invoicing platform (I connected my Mettle account) and creating an invoice through it.
The Ivy: £10
This was posted on here recently and was a super easy offer - simply download The Ivy's app and sign up using someone's referral code and you can bag £10 credit towards your next bill at The Ivy.
Refer your friend and you'll also each get £10. Me and my partner completed this and used £40 off a meal at The Ivy last weekend with no quibbles from the staff.
Angelfish Opinions: £5.00
I was invited to join an ongoing study with Angelfish Opinions last year and have been receiving notifications of short market research tasks every now and then through their site.
This month it was a short questionnaire on how I pair drinks with meals, took me minutes and received a £5 voucher for doing so.
Here’s a link to this Market Research company.
Google Rewards: £4.57
I started looking at this last month after someone in the comments recommended it, and I have been receiving surveys through this at least every other day. It is a survey app from Google that asks you about your habits on certain stores, restaurants, etc. that you may or may not have visited.
It ranges between £0.08 and £0.26 each time but takes less than 10 seconds for each one!
Cashback: £5.51
Throughout March, I continued to use these two cashback apps to get paid every time I went grocery shopping; I flip-flopped between these based on whichever had the best rates available at the time I was shopping:
Cheddar (use code “DCZPAMO” to get a £3 bonus when you purchase your first gift card)
Purchase gift cards on Cheddar and receive a % of the gift card value back into your Cheddar account as cash which can be withdrawn once you reach a £5 balance.
JamDoughnut (use code “5ZNC” to get a £2 bonus when your purchase your first gift card)
Purchase gift cards on JamDoughnut and receive a % of the gift card value back into your JamDoughnut account as points which can be exchanged for a gift card or withdrawn to your bank once you reach £10 worth.
Bank Interest: £58.09
This seems to be the average amount of interest earned each month now and is mostly made up of bank interest on my Lifetime ISA with Moneybox and any uninvested cash held with Trading 212 which is paying interest above 5% on uninvested cash. If you haven’t got a Trading 212 account you can get a free share worth up to £100 when you open an account through my link here.*
Dividends: £12.79
On top of the interest on uninvested funds, I also earned dividends of £12.79 from my investment portfolio. This is a share of profits that various companies pay to their investors. Keen to learn more on investing? Check out my free investing guide here.
YouGov Issue: -£27.10
I used to use YouGov quite a lot for their YouGov Finance function which paid £5 per bank account that you connected to their app every 90 days. This was lucrative for me as I have a lot of bank accounts, but they have since let me down considerably along with a large number of others online.
I had a balance of £27.10 which I was working my way up to the £50 withdrawal limit but suddenly was unable to get into my account, get any response from anyone that works for them and have therefore had to assume I will never get this cash.
I’m severely disappointed by this as I was quite a big advocate for how easy it was to make money from this service. Now, I would clear steer if ever asked whether YouGov is worthwhile.