Good morning/afternoon/evening, and if you haven’t read my previous two challenge posts, Happy New Year! 2021 has to be better than last year was, I hope 🙂

For the reasons I summarised in my first challenge post, I’m trying to cut down how much I spend this year. I’m aiming to get through 2021 without buying any new clothes and shoes. I’m also aiming to get through the year without entering any races and without buying more running clothes.

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This third and final challenge will involve a little less willpower. I’ve set myself the challenge of using a selection of what I describe as side hustles and other forms of income to make an additional £2021 (approximately £170/month) this year on top of my main form of income. And before I start, I’m completely up to speed with everything HMRC related so please don’t think I’m planning on not paying the appropriate amount of tax.

Selected side hustles

• Prolific Academic surveys
• eBay sales
• Facebook Marketplace sales
• Sponsored blog posts

My main what I’m describing as a side hustle over the last few years has been Prolific Academic. I’ve made between £20 and £40/month just by completing studies on Prolific Academic. Most of the studies are quite interesting and only take a few minutes to complete. Unlike other survey sites, you don’t get screened out after answering loads of questions. You can also cash out after reaching £5.

When I was a research student, I wasn’t earning much, so I was always looking for ways of making extra money to top up my funding. I think my most unusual source of income was selling used tennis balls on eBay. The tennis balls didn’t cost me a penny so it was an amazing side hustle. Unfortunately, I left the tennis club so this particular side hustle came to an end.

I’ve also sold various bits and pieces on eBay and on Facebook Marketplace sales groups. I’ll never forget the day I sold an unworn and unwanted pair of running pants for far more than I paid for them in TK Maxx on eBay. I didn’t know that this is what a lot of people do full-time to make a living and it’s known as retail arbitrage. When I’ve had a particularly bad day at work, I’ve felt like packing it all in and working for myself. After watching some of Nic and Andrea Hills’ videos on YouTube, I had grand visions of working for myself. That was until I reminded myself I hate getting up early at weekends and I’m not a huge fan of car boot sales.

And finally, if you read one of my recent rants and raves posts you’ll be aware that I’ve reached the stage that I’ve had enough of not getting paid to produce product reviews for brands. So, this year I’m aiming to make some money through sponsored blog posts. If payment isn’t an option then I’m not going to be afraid to say no.

I’m also going to (hopefully) make a small amount each month through a selection of other sources of income. I haven’t classed them as side hustles as I don’t think they involve any sort of creativity.

Other sources of income

• Overtime at work
• Share dividends
• Interest from bank accounts
• TopCashback cashback
• Vouchers from points e.g. shop loyalty cards
• Competition wins
• Freebies
• Roadkill finds

I did think about trying to get a part-time job but in the end, I decided to get myself an incident role where I work. I’m currently completing a lot of online and remote training courses so that I can be added to the incident roster ASAP. Some of my colleagues earn a lot through their incident roles, however, my role is very much weather dependent so I’m not sure how much overtime I’ll actually end up doing before my fixed-term contract comes to an end.

Firstly, I’m aware that I’m incredibly fortunate to be in a position where I’m even contemplating making extra money from share dividends, and from interest on my savings accounts. Having said that, I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to keep my shares for. I doubt that I’ll have any shares this time next year as I’ll definitely need to sell them before I can get on the property ladder. I’ll also have to empty out my savings accounts.

I only discovered cashback sites after seeing them mentioned on Money Saving Expert. In the UK, there are two main cashback sites; TopCashback and Quidco. I only started using TopCashback during the first lockdown, so I haven’t earned much yet.

I’ve had a couple of cashback claims rejected for using a discount code and have had issues where purchases haven’t tracked. While I know I won’t make much extra money through TopCashback, I still think it’s worth using cashback sites and treat any cashback I receive as a bonus.

I’m the proud member of a random selection of store and restaurant loyalty schemes. My favourite is probably the Club Bistrot Pierre loyalty scheme. I mean, who doesn’t love a free glass of beer with their meal.

This year, I’m aiming to use as many loyalty points as I can when I’m shopping online. For example, I’ve just checked and I have £29.88 worth of Boots Advantage card points, so I’ll be sure to use these next time I need to stock up on toiletries. I’m a little ashamed to admit this, but I’m a member of MyMail and get my friend to send me the unique numbers off the back of his Daily Fail newspapers. These numbers are converted to Nectar points which I can then convert to £5 vouchers when I have enough points.

A few years ago I used to have a slight obsession with entering competitions. I had a dedicated competition email address and spreadsheets so I could keep track of my entries and of any wins. I entered so many competitions that most months I would be lucky enough to win something. I still enter the occasional running-related competition on Twitter and Instagram but nothing like as many as I used to. This year I’m going to enter more competitions. If I’m lucky enough to win anything, I’ll add the value of what I win to my £2021 target.

I almost included this in my sponsored blog posts side hustle, however, after a lot of umming and ahhing, I decided to treat any items I get sent to review as a separate source of income. I’ll add the value of any items I’m sent to review and to keep to my £2021 target.

And finally, I’m going to include what I call roadkill – dropped coins and if I’m lucky paper money, not dead wildlife – finds as a source of income. Several years ago I took part in a “Roadkill Rebel” challenge on Money Saving Expert. After completing the challenge, I continued to keep track of any dropped coins and notes I spotted and rescued while I was out and about. The amount I find seems to decline each year – I blame my deteriorating eyesight – but between 2014 and 2020 I picked up and rescued just over £200.

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I’m going to end this post by apologising for publishing three consecutive personal challenge posts. I promise that the next few posts will contain some running-related content. I may even publish my running goals for the year, I’m not sure yet as each time I publish my running goals I end up injured and unable to run.

Do you think I’ll manage to make £2021 in 2021? At the moment I genuinely have no idea how I’ll get on with this challenge.

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