Making money.

[ukracer]

Stupid question i know BUT here goes.
Over the next 16 months i am looking for ways to make a few quid here and there.

I could drive a recovery truck but i need to look after my disabled wife so making things on my lathe and in the workshop is preferable.

I have already been investigated for a lot of tax and been cleared as it was not mine to pay ,so needless to say i will need to pay tax.

Anyway my living expenses are covered and i have around 8 hours a day free of childminding due to school and going to his mom and dad after 5pm.

Of course you lot are all going to extract the urine...which is fine but i might pick up on a gem of an idea that someone thinks of but cant do themselves.

I might just be laughed at but my son gets married a year next april and i am trying to help him out as best i can......

Thanks in advance Andy T

 

[gaz1]

as ive brought 2 children up as a single parent a job fits around these school times

a few jobs come to mind

gardening
painter decorator
odd job man
shed builder /repairer
most driving jobs are at night

ive done 2 loft conversions in this time period however kids off poorly i didnt do the job owner was well aware of this and agreed to it

 

[Tom Orrow L]

All those require leaving home though.

I would imagine that being a carer requires being 'in range' pretty much all the time...


How much income do you want?

Apparently people make a not unreasonable amount from stuff like hand made turned pens and the like.

If the hand made pen route is taken then I've got around 30 panga panga hard wood pen blanks UKracer is welcome to.

 

[gaz_moose]

make stupid stickers/gear knobs/hydro dipping etc.. for the stupid 'scene' kids to spend their pocket money on.

 

[gaz1]

i could say im wanting a few things

a mt3 collet holder with drawbar for the milling machine

 

[julianf]

I think its easy to make a small amount of money if you have time and motivation. I dont mean enough to live on by itself, but if you have other income, or you have no mortgage etc.etc. then making some money is easy.

I would say look at what youre interested in. I mean if your hobby is, i dont know, butterfly collecting, then see if you cant buy and sell them, or make display cases for them, or killing jars (or whatever they use) or kits for mounting them, or the chemicals for preserving them, etc.etc.etc.

Basically if you have good knowledge in a specific area, then there is opportunity. Again, not necessarily for big money, but certainly i think that anyone could make £5k a year by just messing about with their hobby stuff, if they had nothing else to do.


I have a friend who is long term unemployed. Ive no doubt the benefits system is set up in such a way that discourages people actually earning a few quid, but ive always thought that he could easily make a bit of money by just trading what he knows about on ebay. Sadly, there wont be any legitimate way for him to do this, as he wouldnt be able to make enough money to live that way, and, like i say, the system discourages that kind of stuff - but earning a few quid could, in time, transition him to greater things, rather than just leave him on the pile : (

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Set up a live pay to view webcam and become "the naked machinist" ?

 

[gaz1]

I have a friend who is long term unemployed. Ive no doubt the benefits system is set up in such a way that discourages people actually earning a few quid, but ive always thought that he could easily make a bit of money by just trading what he knows about on ebay. Sadly, there wont be any legitimate way for him to do this, as he wouldnt be able to make enough money to live that way, and, like i say, the system discourages that kind of stuff - but earning a few quid could, in time, transition him to greater things, rather than just leave him on the pile : (

what was has become harder to do

times are shifted all over the place
your sent on free labour coarses

as goes for ebay its traceable

many have been advised to go down the route of self employed but theres a draw back to it

if you dont earn enough or seem to be earning enough in 6 months or less tax office can claim everything back off you as your business isnt making a profit

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/before-you-apply/self-employed/

https://www.thecompanywarehouse.co.uk/blog/hmrc-clamping-down-on-hobby-businesses

https://www.wellersaccountants.co.uk/blog/hmrc-attack-claims-for-losses

https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/nurs...hildminders-to-repay-thousands-in-tax-credits

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Set up a live pay to view webcam and become "the naked machinist" ?

Behave, now

@ukracer Spring is coming, gardeners will be dusting off their equipment [quiet at the back! ] - are you any good at overhauling, servicing lawnmowers, sharpening shears etc?

 

[Screwdriver]

I have found you can make a bit of pocket money buying and selling off eBay/Gumtree. Ideally damage repairable or broken fixable. You need to pick a relatively unknown nugget, like say a Swindens vice (!) then scour the internet for misdescribed, badly worded adverts. I generally search by image which takes forever. Once in a while you might run into a shed clearance. If you get a good one, you can live off it for a month.

I used to do this a lot with motorcycles, big old two strokes until the cat was out of the bag and everyone got into it (a bit like the Swindens). There are lots of categories to pick from, you just have to find an undeveloped resource that doesn't have too many people in the game. I did quite well out of large range cookers for example, possibly a London thing but with house prices around here, having spent £millions on a house, the new owner or his wife would demand the kitchen is replaced with new no matter what the current state.

The key is to have a big van, a bag of cash and be willing to travel - immediately.

 

[Burdekin]

Car and motorbike used parts. A guy I know made a good living off of this but he knew what sold and what folk were wanting and stuck to those things, that's the key. He sourced stuff from breakers, cleaned them up and onto ebay.

 

[Burdekin]

Another is limited edition prints of the popular artists. The popular artists sell out quickly at the galleries and then the prices quite often quickly double in value. You reserve copies at the galleries, watch the prices on ebay then sell them on when you've made your profit.

 

[fizzy]

Another way to make money is buy stuff on ebay that says "Buyer collects". If the person is
in a pretty remote place they will lose out on 95% of the buyers in the UK! Then offer them an extra £20 to palletise it for you. When you sell it make sure you offer shipping all over the UK. I have made quite a bit that way!

Another good way is commercial auctions. I bought a load of boat parts once. All brand new. The interesting stuff like Radar etc was going for stupid money but nobody was interested in hydraulic drive motors etc. I knew nothing about them but googled and found out their true value. I bought 3 autopilot drive units - paid £60 each - sold for £600 each! They were £1200 retail. It was dealers that bought off me so they will make a profit as well.

I also bought a load of desks etc. Again brand new. The majority of the lots had pictures but some didn't. The descriptions were identical however. I bid on the ones without the photos and ended up with £6000 of office furniture for £600. I had to hire a van to get it - too big for pallets. The stuff was all brand new and boxed. I was going to sell it but my business was growing fast so ended up keeping them all.

I also ended up buying about a £500k worth of lab glassware. For £500! Bane of my life there was too much - but ended up selling about £300 a week on Ebay - I still have loads left lol - no time for anything these days!

 

[Bryan Williams]

Can you weld?
I go on campervan forums, people pay good money for rock and roll beds (bench seats that pull down flat to make a bed in the back).
Box section,four fixing plates,hinges locking device.
I made mine, fixed proper seat belts to it .£300-400 a pop.
I just copied two or three of eBay and customized it to suit.
Van guys need loads making/fixing.
Exhaust bits,bullbars mot welding.Depends how handy you are . I made a kitchen pod for the back of my van from thin galvanized sheet on ali angle.
People want this stuff.
Its called scene tax..

 

[julianf]

As above, i wanted some flue for our boiler. Bought a load of "collection only" liquidation stock, that included the part i wanted. Ive been selling off the rest for about 4 months now. Its almost gone, and ive made many multiples of my purchase price back.

But that was only because, at that point in time, i knew how much boiler flue was new, and that the stock was a good deal. There must be deals like that every single day, but its just being in the know with that item. Like i say, work in the area that you know, and there's some cash to be made.

 

[Bryan Williams]

Can you weld?
I go on campervan forums, people pay good money for rock and roll beds (bench seats that pull down flat to make a bed in the back).
Box section,four fixing plates,hinges locking device.
I made mine, fixed proper seat belts to it .£300-400 a pop.
I just copied two or three of eBay and customized it to suit.
Van guys need loads making/fixing.
Exhaust bits,billboard ,mot welding.Depends how handy you are . I made a kitchen pod for the back of my van from thin galvanized sheet on ali angle.
People want this stuff.
Its called scene tax..

Also they all want firepits,log burners , all the designs are on eBay

 

[julianf]

Mens hobbies are where money is. Some blokes will think nothing of spending hundreds on some new peddles for their push bike to make them go (supposedly) faster, when all they really need to do is drink a couple of pints less a week....

Or a fancy set of golf clubs, as they think it will make them hit the ball better.

Or the real snake oil - hifi cabling.

Some of these markets would be hard to break into, but some would be fairly easy.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Buying 'job lots' and reselling is all very well, but I'm not sure @ukracer has a warehouse for storing/sorting/dismantling though.....

 

[julianf]

Years ago, i would buy a specific type of modular electronics as job lots, and split them for parts, and resell for greater than my purchase price. This is kit where you could pick up £2k worth with one hand, and carry it on public transport.

Obviously if youre going to start dealing range cookers, some space is probably needed, but not for every "job lot".

 

[Rocketman]

Sell fastenings on the web - bolts, nuts and alike.

Buy in bulk and sell on in small quantities.