How I made an extra £1,555.58 in April 2026
Over the last five years I have been sharing details of my additional earnings to demonstrate that it is possible to earn extra money on the side of a 9-5 job and to showcase the methods that actually work, focusing on higher hourly rates. Now that we are in May, here is how I got on in April 2026.
Lifetime ISA Bonus: £1,000
As the 2026/27 tax year began, I was able to make a further contribution into my Cash Lifetime ISA of £4,000 which unlocked a £1,000 bonus. I redirected an amount of savings from a separate account into this ISA that I had earmarked the cash for already, which is why I was able to make such a significant contribution in one go.
The Bank Engine: £250.64
April 2026 marked my return to Instagram following a quiet period where I was unsure on the direction of travel for The Bank Engine’s future, however I am pleased that I have done so seeing a resurrection in conversations with many of you over the last month, alongside increased passion for finding and sharing the latest deals and offers as I have done historically.
Whilst the initial reaction to my Instagram posts remains small, which is to be expected, the wider growth has increased which I am exceptionally grateful for and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support after such a long hiatus. I expected to return to April with a loss-making month as I reignited the weekly £10 giveaways on Instagram but was delighted that a number of great free money offers & referral schemes appeared in line with my return, notably Starling.
As a result, I was astounded to note that The Bank Engine achieved pre-tax profits of £250.64 in April 2026 and, again, am grateful for everyone who has used my links to boost their income.
Bank Interest: £182.66
Further to my £4,000 contribution into my Lifetime ISA the amount of bank interest increased during April and remains the easiest “passive income” that I earn month after month.
Mystery Shopping: £73.25
Not quite the results I was seeing earlier in the year, but April always sees a slight reduction in the number of available mystery shopping tasks and I managed to pick up a good number of these in line with a decent equivalent hourly rate, spending 3 hours 45 minutes earning £73.25.
You can check out my free mystery shopping guide here.
7 x Baby Products Category Checks - £21.00 - Visit stores, locate baby products bays, capture photos and answer questions
3 x Mystery Promo Checks - £17.00 - Visit store, capture photos of displays and answer questions
3 x Hair Care Category Checks - £9.00 - Visit stores, locate hair care bays, capture photos and answer questions
1 x Skin Display Check - £3.00 - Visit store, locate skin care display, capture photos and answer questions
Total: £50.00
SmartSpotter- Message me on Instagram if you’d like a referral link!
1 x Measuring Task - £18.00 - Visit supermarket, locate a specific bay and measure dimensions with a tape measure, capture photos and record measurements
1 x Health Check - £4.00 - Visit store, locate healthcare promotional display and bays, capture photos and answer questions
1 x Cat Check - £3.50 - Visit pet store, locate cat food displays, capture photos and answer questions
Total: £25.50
Market Research: £32.88
1 x Usability Survey - US$15 / £10.75 - Video survey on travel site usability
1 x Video Survey - US$10 / £7.13 - Video survey on mortgages
Total: US$25 / £17.88
1 x Video Survey - £15.00 - Video survey on insurance services
Total: £15.00
Cashback - £11.80
During March I earned £7.26 from EverUp being cashback on groceries and other shops at main UK retailers.
I also earned £4.54 in cashback on direct debits using the Zopa Biscuit account.
Google Rewards - £4.35
Google Rewards is an app that pays you for answering short surveys on a regular basis. These typically are linked to your Google history and therefore I will receive surveys on shops I have been to and asked if I made a purchase, if the store was accessible, etc. or based on Google searches I have made recently.
From the surveys, I made £3.32 in April with an extra £1.03 from receipt photos.
You can also earn from taking photos of receipts, it will try to figure out if you visited a store based on location history and will ask you for a receipt, you will then get paid roughly 10-20p for each receipt.
If you use an Android this can only be redeemed as Google Play credit, but simply set up a subscription to be paid via this (Disney+, Netflix, etc.) or can be paid via PayPal if on iOS but you will obviously earn more if on Android.