How I made an extra £1,528 in July
If you have been following my side hustle journey for a while, you will know that I always like to give you a breakdown of my extra earnings each month. July was incredible and has now topped the charts to be the highest earning month so far in 2024.
The aim of this is not to brag or show off, but to prove that this is possible and inspire you to see if you can boost your earnings with some of these methods. So without further ado, here’s how I made an extra £1,528.48 in July 2024.
The Bank Engine: £824.45
I am continuously astounded at these profits as the business grows from strength-to-strength. Almost all of the income from The Bank Engine comes from you signing up to apps, websites and finance platforms. I always try to ensure that there is a benefit to you from signing up as well and July saw the return of some brilliant offers including Zing and Webull which resulted in some great earnings for you and this page.
I am beyond grateful for your continued to support and am hopeful that I can continue to help you all increase your income as we continue through the rest of 2024. If you want to see a full breakdown of the income and expenses for this, be sure to check out my Instagram earnings post.
Mystery Shopping: £215.55
Check out my free mystery shopping guide here, where I share exactly how I make £1,000s from this!
Since writing this guide I have discovered SmartSpotter (see below) which is fast becoming my favourite app and is perfect if you don't like the idea of having to interact with staff as most jobs don't require you to!
I also incurred costs of £41.45 for mileage (45p per mile per HMRC’s guidance) and parking.
Roamler - I do have some referral links (referrer-only benefit) if you would like to help me out!
1 x Merchandising Task (visit store, collect parcel and place a display on a shelf): £18.00
16 x R&Rs (visit store, purchase item & review it): £16.00 + reimbursement
2 x Beer Display Tasks (visit store, collect parcel and place displays out): £24.00
1 x Poundland Floor Check (visit store & check display removed from floor): £8.00
2 x KIND Bar Checks (visit store, capture images & answer questions): £7.00
2 x Milkshake Checks (visit store, capture images & answer questions): £7.00
1 x Vegetable Check (visit store, capture images & answer questions): £5.00
4 x PG Tips Reviews (visit store, purchase item & review it): £4.00 + reimbursement
1 x Hair Care Check (visit store, capture images & answer questions): £4.00
1 x Morrison's Compliance Check (visit store, capture images & answer questions): £4.00
1 x Kiwi Check (visit store, capture images & answer questions): £3.00
1 x Free Budweiser (visit pub, capture images, buy a pint & answer questions): £2.00 + free pint
1 x Survey (answer a few questions): £0.50
3 x M&S Shopping Lists (visit store, find & take photos of 50 items each time): £62.00
1 x M&S Mystery Shop (visit store, capture images & answer questions): £15.00
1 x Currys Mystery Shop (visit store, capture images & engage with staff): £7.00
1 x Vodafone Mystery Shop (visit store, capture images & engage with staff): £7.00
SmartSpotter - I now have some referral links (referrer-only benefit) if you would like to help me out!
2 x Make Up Display Checks (visit store, capture images & answer questions): £13.50
3 x Promotional Unit Checks (visit store, capture images & answer questions): £11.50
2 x Promotional Checks (visit store, capture images & answer questions): £9.00
1 x Entertainment Check (visit store, record audio of music & answer questions): £8.50
2 x Allergy Unit Checks (visit store, capture images & answer questions): £8.00
1 x Bagel Check (visit store, capture images & answer questions): £5.00
1 x Pets At Home Check (visit store, capture images & answer questions): £5.00
1 x Promotional Unit Check (visit store, capture images & answer questions): £3.00
Bank Switching: £100.00
Back in May I completed a bank switch to TSB for the switching offer that was available at the time. This was paid in the form of £100 cash, which I received in July alongside £10 per month for 6 months if you jump through some extra hoops.
It won't be a surprise that I don't plan on jumping through any extra hoops with TSB to get the additional £10 per month (although if anyone has any recommendations on how to do this easily, do let me know!)
However, I am keeping the account and in December will use the card 20+ times in order to bag the free hotel stay which also formed part of the switch at the time.
I did this switch through Quidco and am expecting an additional £30 of cashback to land in my account in August as part of this.
Matched Betting: £79.61
I had a successful month with matched betting in July, largely helped out by the start of the Euros. This meant that there were lots of free bets up for grabs which I was able to take advantage of.
I like to take quite a laid-back approach to matched betting which you can check out my free matched betting guide that has helped people earn £1,000s.
If you are new to matched betting or keen to understand more about it, feel free to message me with any questions!
Market Research & Surveys: £119.07
About a year ago, I was accepted by Angelfish to join an online community for a huge brand that wanted to carry out regular market research. Typically, I have received gift cards averaging between £5 and £10 each month for taking part in this study.
Last month I received another usual £5 gift card alongside being accepted for a rare market research call with the brand which lasted 90 minutes and involved a 15 minute introductory call beforehand. This call was really good and paid a whopping £70 taking my total to £75 from this community for July!
Askable is another market research platform that I have had quite a lot of luck with over the years, and July was better than usual when looking at the payout:time ratio.
Alongside market research calls, Askable occasionally offer paid surveys which are incredibly well-paying. In July, I was able to complete the following:
Dental Care Survey (10 mins): £5.00
Accounting Software Survey (20 mins): £25.00
I downloaded this app right at the start of July after reading some positive things about it online and it's actually pretty worthwhile (coming from someone who hates surveys usually).
Most surveys I received were to do with watching online ads and answering 5 or 6 multiple choice questions on it, so took less than a few minutes each time and seem worth doing in my opinion!
You can cash your points out to vouchers once you reach £5 worth but are limited to Amazon only, whereas once you reach £10 you have a lot more options including supermarkets.
You can make considerably more if you share your audio data with them, but I have this firmly turned off and after filling in my profile & answering the surveys when available I reached £10 of points just before the end of the month.
I was recommended this app in one of my posts a few months ago, and since then have been answering the super short surveys every time they pop up.
They are generally about shops I have visited and whether I made a purchase, but recently have started getting questions about Google searches too!
The earnings can only be redeemed for Google Play credit on Android but still worthwhile!
Data: £5.41
This app pays you points for scanning your shopping each week. Take a photo of your receipt and then scan your items, and once you reach certain levels you can exchange your points for vouchers.
Well, I have been doing this for a number of months (it only takes maybe a couple minutes each week when unpacking groceries) and realised I hadn't actually withdrawn any vouchers yet so in July alongside earning ~£5 from scanning my shopping I was able to cash out to a £50 pub voucher which was a nice treat!
Cashback: £4.92
This cashback app is similar to JamDoughnut as you purchase gift cards in the app and earn cashback for doing so, which can then be exchanged for more gift cards in increments of £1.
It is a little different as you also earn coins which can be used to complete in-app games where you can win extra cash, extra points or even gift cards.
Largely, for the last few months EverUp has had the highest cashback rates for supermarkets so I have been using them in place of other apps but it will be interesting to see if this continues.
Bank Interest: £61.30
I LOVE passive income, and bank interest is the best form of passive income as its your money working for you. Alongside my current Stocks & Shares Lifetime ISA, I have a Cash Lifetime ISA with Moneybox which I paid into for a good number of years and this is where the bulk of my bank interest comes from each month.
Dividend Income: £34.84
Dividends are largely like bank interest, but you receive them for investing in the stock market. They reflect a share of the profits of companies that you have invested in and are paid semi-regularly depending on how you invest.
If you are new to investing, or just want to learn more, you can check out my free investing guide here.
Lifetime ISA Bonus: £83.33
I am currently saving for the deposit on my first home, along with my partner, and we both do this in our own Lifetime ISAs - a Government backed scheme that allows you to save £4,000 per tax year and receive a 25% bonus on however much you save into the account.
I pay in £333.33 per month into my Lifetime ISA to reach this maximum £4,000 per year and as such receive a bonus of £83.33 per month from the Government. I currently use Nutmeg for my Lifetime ISA which is a Stocks & Shares Lifetime ISA.