From frozen tax thresholds to high inflation, financial pressures are set to continue in 2026 and many may choose to turn to a side hustle.
Taking on a side hustle – where you earn extra income from work outside of your normal job – has become a popular way for people to boost their finances. HMRC even has a £1,000 earnings allowance that people can hold onto each year before owing anything to the taxman.
There are plenty of well-known side hustles such as doing online surveys, dog walking, renting out your driveway or selling old items on eBay or Vinted.
But Rebecca Routledge, from financial guidance organisation Money Wellness, says a lot of people have become switched off by traditional side hustles because they are often time-consuming for very little return.
She said: “Instead, we’re seeing a move towards smaller, more flexible ways to earn extra money that don’t take over your evenings or weekends. Many people are now selling skills they don’t even think of as ‘skills’. Helping someone fill in forms, organise paperwork, set up a new phone, or explain basic budgeting can all be paid work locally, with rates typically between £15 and £30 an hour. Even a couple of hours a week can add up to a few hundred pounds over the year.”
Watch out for scams though. There are plenty of online gurus who claim to make thousands from building passive income through side hustles.
Rohit Parmar-Mistry, founder of consultancy Pattrn Data, said: “Ignore ‘passive income’ gurus. Dropshipping is crushed by ad costs, and ‘faceless YouTube’ channels face a 99 per cent failure rate as algorithms filter low-effort AI slop. If a guru is selling a course on it, the method is dead.”
Here, then are five easy-to-start side hustles you may not have thought of which could boost your earnings in the new year.
Spot empty properties
You could earn money for identifying and reporting empty or derelict residential properties in your local neighbourhood.
Get a free fractional share worth up to £100.
Capital at risk.
Terms and conditions apply.
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Get a free fractional share worth up to £100.
Capital at risk.
Terms and conditions apply.
ADVERTISEMENT
YouSpotProperty.com encourages users to report unused or abandoned properties and, if it meets the company’s criteria, you’ll receive a £20 Amazon or M&S gift voucher.
Additionally, if YouSpotProperty manages to contact the owner, buy the property, and bring it back into use – for example by renovating and reselling it – the original reporter receives a finder’s fee of 1 per cent of the purchase price. In some cases this has resulted in payouts worth thousands of pounds or even up to around £10,000 when the home is purchased and sold by the company.
The government estimates that there are around 400,000 empty properties in the UK, so you have a good chance of spotting one and could even end up helping solve the shortage of housing supply.
Rent out your car
Don’t just leave your car on the drive while you are working from home or commuting into the office.
You could make money from your motor instead by renting it out when you don’t need it.
Car owners can rent out their vehicle on apps such as Turo and Hiyacar.
Users have reported earning up to £400 a month.
Most platforms provide insurance for accidents and damage but you may need to check your own car cover. There are of course other risks to consider such as wear and tear, and your mileage will be pushed up, which can affect the long-term value of the car.
Fix AI for the future
There may be fears that artificial intelligence (AI) will replace people’s jobs, but humans are still needed – at least for now – to train AI models.
You could help improve AI responses in your spare time online.
Platforms such as Outlier and Mindrift pay £20 to £50 per hour to help build language models and perfect AI systems.
Become a professional cuddler
You could make money just by giving people hugs.
The aim of this purely platonic activity is to help people’s mental wellbeing by providing human contact either by having a hug or just holding hands.
Professional cuddlers can get training and receive a diploma from Cuddle Professionals International.
Some people have reported making £60 to £80 per hour by providing cuddle therapy.
There are often strict rules to follow, often making clear that these are not dates and are just providing a friendly cuddle.
Get paid to watch TV
There may be plenty of Christmas TV to feast on in the coming weeks, but you could also make money out of your viewing habits.
You may not make it onto Googlebox but you can share your views on TV programmes before they hit the small screen by joining research panels through Theviewers.co.uk.
Participants can earn at least £40 cash for a group discussion and up to £10 for an online survey – not bad without leaving the sofa!
When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results.
