5 ways to make extra money without trying

Money might not grow on trees, but that doesn't mean it always has to be hard to earn. Here are 5 ways you can make a bit more cash with almost no effort

1. Make more money doing what you do already
   It seems obvious, but the first thing you should look at doing is increasing your existing income.

First, are you due a pay rise? Asking won't hurt and might be more effective than you think. Get tips on asking for a pay rise here.

1. Get paid back for what you spend
   Every time you buy something with cash, you overpay. And every time you buy something with a card that doesn't give you cashback you overpay too.

These magic bits of plastic give you money back on everything you spend. As long as you pay it off in full each month, it's money for nothing.

1. Buy things that rise in price
   Last year the average home in Britain rose £9,265.41 in 2016. That's almost £10,000 of extra money for homeowners they've done no work for at all.

The thing is, houses aren't the only thing that go up in price. Everything from Lego to old toys and console games rise in price.

1. Make your money work harder
   Interest rates on savings are awful. But that doesn't mean you should give up. If you look around you can interest rates far higher than the 0.01% some banks are offering.

There are current accounts that will pay you 3% interest on money you have in them, regular savers that pay you 5%, and fixed-rate savings bonds that pay up to 1.85%.

And if you're willing to take on a little risk you can earn far more – with peer-to-peer accounts paying up to 7% and the stock market potentially getting you even more.

1. Turn your passion into a profit
   The internet is a magical thing, and one of the things it's best at is connecting people who are good at one thing, with people who need that service - and will pay for it.

If you like cooking, you can now sell your food to hungry people, keen photographers can sell their photos to agencies, if you have a blog, get some ads on there.

You might not make a lot, although a few people have made millions, but if it's something you enjoy or would do anyway then there's no reason not to.