Winter seems to have been here for months already and it’s not going away any time soon. And with winter comes chilly temperatures, dreary weather and a distinct lack of motivation. Once the festive season is over, winter also presents a unique challenge when it comes to making extra money.
You can’t mow lawns, wash cars or set up any outdoor stand. There are also less jobs going around at this time of year, as the retail industry calms down after the festive sales. So, if you are looking to make money this winter, you may be feeling quite stuck.
As the weather turns colder, outdoor opportunities diminish, leaving us to search for more creative ways to supplement our income.
Don’t worry, in this post, we have done the hard work for you! We are going to explore various tried and tested methods to earn extra money this winter, that are sure to help you cover your bills, save more or just get through the colder months a little more comfortably.
The key to knowing how to make money this winter is adapting your current money making methods to the challenges of the winter months. I guarantee you that there is still plenty of money to be made before spring finally breaks through.
1. Shovel Snow
When snow blankets the streets, there’s a demand for people willing to shovel driveways and pavements. This simple yet effective task can earn you a decent sum, especially in areas prone to heavy snowfall.
Obviously this side hustle is very dependent on where you live and how often you get snow, but what better way to kick off our winter side hustles than with the ultimate profitable, winter activity?
You can advertise your services in your neighbourhood and make sure that if any friends or neighbours need snow shovelling they know to call you!
2. Sell Homemade Baked Goods
Embrace the cosy vibes of winter by baking delicious treats to sell to friends, family, and neighbours. From cookies and cakes to bread and pies, homemade baked goods are always in high demand during the winter season.
So many of us bake during the winter months anyway, so why not turn your baking into a little seasonal business?
You can easily start selling to friends and family and then start marketing your products on social media. Personally, I would recommend using Instagram as you can show off your beautiful bakes and even show off the baking process and behind the scenes on Instagram Reels.
Sweet treats are a wonderful way to brighten up the winter season, especially as no one is worrying about getting the cliché beach body yet!
3. Sell Knitted Winter Accessories
If you have a talent for knitting or crocheting, why not turn your skills into profit by creating and selling winter accessories such as scarves, hats, and mittens. These cosy items are always in demand during the winter months and even make excellent gifts.
Make sure that yours stand out from the crowd though because this is a particularly busy market!
Once you have created your winter pieces, you could set up an online shop or sell your creations at winter craft markets.
If you are looking to sell online then Etsy is an excellent platform for all of your winter knitwear. So, if you would like to open your own online shop I would highly recommend using my Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Making Money on Etsy to get you started. I made sure to include all the steps I took to earn over £1800 in my 4th month on Etsy, so Don’t miss it!
4. Complete Online Surveys
While you’re snuggled up indoors, avoiding the cold, why not earn some extra cash by completing online surveys? Many companies offer compensation for sharing your opinions on various products and services. There are countless apps and websites that offer online surveys, but that means it’s a minefield of good and bad ones! Below I have included a handful of my favourites that I use every day so you can get started straight away.
ATTAPOLL
The Attapoll app, in my opinion, is the simplest of all the survey apps available, so is perfect for beginners.
As you can see from the image, once you have signed up you will see all the surveys available to you at that time, approximately how long they will take to complete and how much you will earn from them. Simply click on one and get started!
You will get screened out or disqualified from surveys from time to time which can get frustrating, but be sure to keep trying and you will soon start earning!
TIP: Always tell the truth in surveys as you may get caught out and disqualified, and you will not be helping the people conducting the research if you lie.
Attapoll allows you to redeem your earning through Paypal, Revolut, Charity donations or Gift cards such as Amazon, John Lewis, Argos and ASOS.
Sign Up to Attapoll here to get a starting Bonus of £0.40! Or enter my referral code amhta to redeem the Bonus.
QMEE
Qmee is a very similar app to Attapoll and is actually the first survey app I tried. It is also my favourite! This is because if you get screened out of a survey after a lot of work, they will sometimes pay you a small amount anyway to make up for the time you spent!
They also reward you by increasing the amount each survey is worth if you log into the app everyday and get to a certain length of “streak”.
As well as surveys, you can also earn cashback from playing games and even find some great deals for popular shops!
In my first month of using Qmee I earned over £50!
I did multiple surveys per day and although it took up some time, I found that it really paid off! Again, although this side hustle may be one of the lower earners on this list, it is a great way to make a little extra cash in your spare time.
You can also do a daily quiz question to win 3p for every correct answer. I know 3p per day is not ground-breaking, but I have actually made just under £5 now just from the daily quiz question!
You can cash out your earnings through Paypal, Charity donations or gift cards such as Asda, Costa, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Just Eat and Amazon.
If you sign up here and you will get a bonus 50p when you cash out for the first time through Paypal or Gift card!
What are you waiting for? They have paid out over £45,000,000 to their users!
MSR
MSR or “Measure” is a newer discovery to me but is quickly becoming a favourite of mine.
They have quick daily surveys and interesting data tasks that they reward you for completing. These can include screen recording your phone data or “retro” tasks like sharing your app usage data. These are all well paid and very quick to complete.
Recently I was also selected to do a product test where they send me a product and I get paid £10 for a simple review!
You can quickly accumulate MSR points which you can then convert into cash via Paypal or an impressive range of Gift cards. You do need to reach £10 worth of points to cash out vouchers, but in my experience it won’t take long to reach that target.
Use my code 6y4oXgWr or my link to DOUBLE your Welcome Bonus!
EUREKA, SURVEY SPIN & SURVEY POP
Finally, I have grouped the 3 newest survey apps together as they all seem to be from the same creator, with the same interface.
They are simple survey apps just like the others we have mentioned, but with these you can cash out once you reach £4. When you cash out you automatically get a quick 2 minute survey worth £1.20 so you can start making money again straight away!
I really love these apps as I have not been screened out of many surveys and when I have, I always get paid a little for my time.
There are once again many ways to cash out including PayPal, Amazon vouchers and many other retailer vouchers. They also have a daily poll worth 1p which you can do on each app so that is instantly 3p. It is not much but it really is money for nothing!
I have included my referral links and codes for each app below so you can unlock a short 80p survey on each.
I would totally recommend downloading all 3 as it triples the amount you can earn!
Download now to Unlock a short 80p survey on EACH app just for signing up with my links!
Eureka- Use code UCFS7S or follow this link for Eureka.
Survey Spin- Use code 5PWDPN or follow this link for Survey Spin.
Survey Pop- Use code NVVPXF or follow this link for Survey Pop.
5. Selling and Reselling
Take inventory of your belongings and declutter your space while making money in the process.
This may sound like an obvious one, but when we are looking for ways to make money, we often forget that we are surrounded by potential money! We all have so much stuff lying around that we don’t use or want anymore meaning we are pretty much just sitting on money!
To sell clothes I would recommend using Poshmark (sign up with code THEDGES237 for £5 FREE) or Vinted and for anything else I prefer Ebay. If you have some much bigger items like gardening equipment or sofas, you may want to consider Gumtree.
Selling your stuff can be one of the quickest and easiest ways to make a lot of money in a short amount of time, so don’t sleep on this side hustle! And as long as the winter weather doesn’t stop you from making it to the post office, it is a perfect side hustle for the colder months so you can make money this winter.
Once you have sold all of the stuff you want to sell, you could consider reselling.
Reselling is where you buy clothes online so that you can sell them on another platform. For example, you may find a bargain on Vinted and then sell it on Ebay to make a profit.
6. Winter Photography
Capture the beauty of the winter landscape through photography and monetise your passion.
If you have an eye for photography, why not offer your services professionally? The demand for event photographers is high, and as you would be a beginner, you can offer competitive pricing to get you your first few jobs. This would be particularly great for winter weddings at this time of year.
Alternatively, you could sell your winter-inspired photographs as prints or digital downloads through online marketplaces or your own website.
All you need is a good quality phone camera and an eye for a good photo and you are half way to a new income stream! And with the beauty that winter brings, I challenge anyone to take a bad photo!
If you don’t want to put the time into your own website, there are many websites that will pay for your photos such as:
- Getty Images
- Shutterstock
- Canva
- Adobe Stock
- Stocksy
You simply upload your images to one of these sites, then you are paid a small percentage of the sale every time it is downloaded by someone.
Generally, you can make up to $0.50 per download.
I know that is not a lot, but if you have uploaded a few hundred photos, and each one gets downloaded multiple times, then you could make a hefty sum just by uploading a photo.
This is a great side hustle if you have very little free time as you can upload the photos from your winter walk when you have a moment and then earn from them for years after.
7. Dog Walking
Despite the cold weather, dogs still need their daily exercise. But when the weather is terrible and you’re cold and miserable, the last thing you want to do is take your dog for a walk…trust me!
You can capitalise on this by offering dog walking services in your neighbourhood. Not only is it a great way to stay active during the winter months, but it also provides a reliable source of income. There will always be dogs to walk and there will always be owners who are too busy or would rather avoid the frigid temperatures!
I would only recommend this to people who have or have had dogs of their own, as this will help you know how to care for the dogs properly. Your clients will also trust you more if you have had previous experience.
You could also provide a pet sitting service where you stay at your client’s house to look after their pets whilst they are away. This is particularly lucrative in the winter as many people go on holiday to escape the cold weather!
You would be surprised how much people will pay to look after their pets!
8. Market Research
Market Research is a much loved side hustle that has been around for years! It is great if you are cooped up in front of the fire because you can make a really decent amount of money without having to brave the winter weather or commit to many hours work. You are essentially being paid for your opinion by companies who want their consumer’s input. There are 3 main types of Market Research:
- 1 to 1– This is an online video call or face to face between you and the moderator of the task, discussing the topic you applied for.
- Focus Groups– Like a 1 to 1 video call or in person meeting but where a group of you are discussing the topic, not just you.
- Online Community– This is run on an app or website for a few days where you complete tasks and surveys in your own time. You will be given a certain number of tasks you need to complete each day.
As an introvert, my favourite type of market research is definitely the online community where live discussions are not required. But as many people feel the same, I have found these opportunities are harder to find and can pay less than focus groups or 1 to 1’s.
You can expect to be paid anything between £10 -£150 and sometimes even more depending on the task! Personally, I have found the average pay out for a 1 hour task is around £40-£70.
All you have to do is find a site that offers market research, then read through the opportunities available at the moment. They will list what the subject is, what type of research it is, where it takes place (if it is in person), the estimated time to complete the task and how much money they are offering you.
If you are interested in a particular task, you can apply by filling out a simple questionnaire. If your application is successful you should be contacted by the company to arrange when you can do the task. Beware, you will have to keep applying to different studies, as it is very competitive and you will not be chosen all of the time. But don’t give up hope, applying to multiple studies is all part of the process.
There are many places you can apply to market research so I would encourage you to do further research once you have finished here. Here are my top 3 sites to find market research opportunities to get you started.
Overall, market research is one of the most reliable and high earning side hustles that you can find. Once you start getting accepted to some studies, this will become one of the best ways to make money this winter.
9. Tutor
Tutoring is a very rewarding side hustle where you can share your knowledge and passion with students who are seeking extra support. As a Tutor you will have the unique chance to make a positive impact on students and help them achieve great things.
Make sure to choose a subject that you excel at, and do your research on the current curriculum as it may have changed since you were at school!
I would recommend this side hustle to someone who is patient and good at articulating problems.
Tutors can earn a very good income from this side hustle, so it is worth doing your research and putting in the work!
If you did not want to tutor academically, you could also teach a musical instrument if you are musically inclined.
Tutoring is a great way to make money this winter as it is indoors in the warm and students often start preparing for summer exams as early as January!
Conclusion
While the winter months make some conventional side hustles more difficult, there are still plenty of opportunities to earn extra money during the colder months. Sometimes, you just have to be willing to adapt your usual methods to the new seasonal challenges.
Whether you want to fully embrace the winter by shovelling snow or simply want to use your extra time inside for some more online side hustles, you will not run out of ways to make money this winter.
Remember, by staying flexible, resourceful and above all, motivated you can turn this long, dreary season into a profitable one.
Got more winter side hustles that you would like to share? Let us know in the comments below so that we can all make money this winter.
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