How I made an extra £1,528.89 in February 2025
For years now, I have been sharing my additional income through blog posts, and various other online formats. The reason behind this is not to brag or make others feel bad about themselves, but is to inspire others to realise that making extra cash is possible and by spending a few extra hours here and there you could actually change your life. Just last week, I received a message from one of the members of the community that has gone from being in their overdraft to having over £1,000 saved from using the methods I talk about here.
So without further ado, here is how I got on in February.
The Bank Engine: £1,060.95
Somehow, my little financial education platform which continues to deliver results for its members as mentioned above, continues to go from strength-to-strength and without selling any products, or charging anyone a penny has had another £1,000+ profit month which will never fail to blow my mind. The most important thing about this, is that most of my income is generated when you also earn, so it is a win-win situation all round.
This month I also wanted to do something a little different and break down exactly how I’ve made this much through a relatively small following and so there will be a post coming on that very soon.
But for now, a very large thank you for your continued support!
Market Research: £123.77
Market Research studies are like buses, there will be nothing for a while and then they all come along at once, and February was no different as I was invited to take part in three separate calls and an online study.
On the Askable app, I was invited to two calls both paying £35 for a slightly different thing:
Call 1 - 50 minute call with a betting site, discussing app functionality (paid £35)
Call 2 - 30 minute call with an investing platform, setting up an account & feeding back (paid £35)
On the Dscout app*, I was invite to one call paying $60 and one short online study paying $10:
Call - 50 minute call with a newspaper, discussing professional tools (paid $60 via PayPal)
Survey - 15 minute survey on the app, discussing travel options (paid $10 via PayPal)
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.
Mystery Shopping £68.05
Check out my free mystery shopping guide 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!
2 x M&S Shopping List Tasks: £32.00 (visit store, locate 50 items, record stock levels & take photos)
1 x Currys Mystery Shop: £7.00 (visit store, capture images, ask questions & feed back)
SmartSpotter - I do have some referral links (referrer-only benefit) if you would like to help me out!
2 x Oatly Unit Checks: £15.00 (visit store, look for units, speak to staff if missing)
2 x SumUp Checks: £12.50 (visit store, look for products, capture images & answer questions)
1 x Cat Food Check: £4.00 (visit store, look for products, capture images & answer questions)
Roamler - I do have some referral links (referrer-only benefit) if you would like to help me out!
2 x Hair Care Checks: £6.00 (visit stores, take photos & answer questions)
1 x Robot Vacuum Check: £5.00 (visit store, take photos & answer questions)
I also incurred travel costs (mileage and parking) totalling £13.45 in February to come off of the above income.
Bank Interest: £65.32
The bulk of my bank interest comes from my Cash Lifetime ISA which I recently transferred to Tembo to increase my interest earnings from 3.55% with Moneybox to 4.55% with Tembo. You can currently also get a bonus between £15 - £250 when you open a Cash ISA or Cash Lifetime ISA with them and deposit or transfer £500 or more through my link here.*
Dividends Received: £63.04
February saw a large payment of dividends into my robo-advisor funds with Nutmeg which is where I keep my Stocks & Shares Lifetime ISA. Dividends are a share of profits which some businesses pay out to investors on a regular basis. If you are new to investing and wish to learn more, I have written a free guide on investing you can check out here.
Matched Betting: £48.31
I like to take quite a laid-back approach to matched betting which you can check out my free matched betting guide here.
I haven't been doing much in the realm of matched betting for a while but was keen to get back into the swing of it in the run-up to Cheltenham this month, and here's how I got on in February with little effort.
Ladbrokes Daily Free Game: £14.73
Betfair Daily Free Game: £2.78
Betfred Daily Free Game: £0.17
Ladbrokes Price Boost: £7.14
Ladbrokes Bet £10 Get £5: £2.35
Betfair Bet £10 Get £10: £6.38
Betfair Bet £10 Get £10 + Get £10 if Free Bet Wins each day for a week: £13.18
Betfred £2 Free Bet: £1.58
As you can see, the free games are well worth sticking at as they only take a few minutes a day (if that) to take a chance at, but just don't get sucked into it as it isn't worth losing your own money.
Other than that, most of these free bet offers were showing on the websites or apps when I logged in so took advantage of them when I had a few spare minutes here and there.
If you are new to matched betting or keen to understand more about it, feel free to message me with any questions.
Cashback: £8.08
EverUp - Cashback on groceries (tap for more info) - £6.62
I have now been using EverUp primarily for grocery shopping as they seem to have the consistently highest rates at the supermarkets I shop at averaging at around 4% or so. Combined with loyalty cards, and using my Chase card to purchase the gift cards through the app, this can often get it above 5% which is well worth the few minutes it takes to purchase a gift card through the app before shopping!
JamDoughnut - Cashback on groceries (tap for more info) - £1.28
JamDoughnut is very similar to EverUp but never really seems to be comparable with rates, other than Waitrose (bizarrely) which it is almost always higher on whenever I check. I had some cashback sat in my app that was going to expire so I purchased a gift card through JamDoughnut to get me to the £10 withdrawal threshold.
SumUp Pay - Cashback on spending (0.5%) - £0.18
This is a new virtual card brought to you by the SumUp card reader people and it pays 0.5% on your spending. I have been testing out this card during the month as they have also introduced a new referral scheme paying £20 when you sign up with a referral code and spend £10+ across 3 transactions using your virtual card. Message or email me the word “SUMUP” if you would like one of the many codes from the community that can bag you and them £20 each! Got a referral code? Send it over and I can share it with others!
Monzo Investing Offer: £5.00
This has been quite possibly, the most popular offer I have ever seen since it started earlier in February, and like most others I managed to take advantage of this offer as an existing Monzo customer, by opening a General Investment Account and depositing £1. For this, I received a £5 cash bonus instantly!
Tap here for exact details on how to get a free fiver in just a few minutes (yes, really!)
Google Rewards: £3.04
I was recommended this app in one of my posts last year, 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!
In the last few months, they have also introduced receipt scanning where they will ask you to upload receipts for stores you have visited (completely random, and some I haven't been in) paying £0.01 if you don't have a receipt/ didn't visit or up to £0.30 if you upload one.
The earnings can only be redeemed for Google Play credit on Android but still worthwhile!
Funnily enough, in February I made £1.52 from both surveys and receipts!