For most of us, a lunch break is an opportunity to grab some food and get away from our desks for a little while.
But if you’re a bit savvy, you can turn that break from the day job into a spot of extra moneymaking.
Mystery shopping
Retailers always want a
better idea of how good the service really is in their stores, and
that’s where mystery shopping comes in.
You go into
the store, posing as a legitimate customer, and then relay your
experience back to the firm, all in return for payment.
You’ll need to sign up with a mystery shopping business first – you can’t just pop into your favorite store, write a review of your experience and demand payment!
Once you’ve been approved, you can search for participating stores in your area.
You’ll
need to follow certain tasks, for example requesting help with specific
items, and you should be able to claim expenses if your assignment
includes spending money (for example if you’re testing a restaurant).
You
may need to fill out a report on your experience within a short time
window following the mystery shopping exercise, while some firms ask
that you take pictures too.
Test websites
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| © Provided by Love Incorporated (Love Money) Product testing in your lunch hour can earn you a little extra cash (Image: Shutterstock) |
Along similar lines, plenty of retailers will pay you to test out
their websites, so that they get an insight into how easy they are for
users to navigate and understand.
This may involve testing the site on your work computer or even on your smartphone.
One
thing to bear in mind is that some of these sites will need you to
record your experiences, so this may not be an option if your office is
particularly busy and loud. It’s worth doing a little homework in
advance before you actually sign up.
Filling out surveys
Businesses
are always desperate to get a much better idea of what people think and
feel about their products, and so task market research firms with
conducting surveys.
While some of these firms will
call you in order to carry out this research, you can sign up to fill
out these surveys yourself online and make a bit of money in the
process.
The amount you’ll get will vary sharply
between different survey firms, as well as how long it takes you to
complete the survey.
Those that require a greater time commitment will generally reward you with a healthier payout.
Write a blog
If you fancy yourself as a decent writer, then you could use your lunch break to put together content for a blog.
There’s no doubt that there’s plenty of competition – there are blogs covering every subject under the sun – but if you do find an audience, it can work out as a nice side hustle.
There
are plenty of ways to monetize it, from hosting advertising to doing
sponsored posts. Be warned, you will likely need to do some work outside
of your lunch break in order to raise awareness of your site and build
that audience.
Become a ‘Mechanical Turk’ for Amazon
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| © Provided by Love Incorporated (Love Money) Amazon Mechanical Turk website (Image: Amazon) |
Amazon isn’t just a great way to buy virtually anything online – you can even use it to make some money, thanks to its Mechanical Turk feature.
Essentially
businesses have lots of ‘human intelligence tests’ that they need
carried out, which they submit to Amazon. If you’re signed up to the
program you can then pick and choose which tests to do, in return for a
small payment.
There are loads of different tasks on there, ranging from transcribing audio to carrying out specific searches on Google.
Get reviewing
Chances
are that if you’re interested in buying something, you’ll read a few
reviews first as very few of us rely entirely on a retailer’s marketing
spiel.
Some sites will pay you for sharing your
thoughts on products you use. Individual reviews won’t pay a lot, but it
can quickly add up over time. The items you review can range from
household products like hairdryers and toasters to computer software and
even TV shows.
Depending on the site you go for, you may be paid either through PayPal or in the form of Amazon vouchers.
Sell your stuff
If
you’re looking to take the Marie Kondo approach to life and get rid of
some of your old and unwanted goods, then listing them on an auction or
listings site during your lunch break is a smart move.
Be
warned though, your chances are generally improved if you have pictures
of the item on your listing, so unless you have them to hand at
work you’ll need to take a shot before you head into the office.
Shop online
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| © Provided by Love Incorporated (Love Money) Shopping online can make or save you money in your lunch hour (Image: Shutterstock) |
We know it seems counterintuitive that shopping can boost your bank balance, but it’s actually true.
There are a host of cashback websites like eBates or Quidco that
reward shoppers for spending money online, so long as they do so via
one of the cashback website’s tracked links to a specific retailer.
The amount you spend is tracked, and you get a portion back in the form of cashback.
So
if you were planning to do some shopping anyway, then do so via a
cashback website and you’ll get a bit of money back. Just don’t let this
tempt you into spending more than you planned to in the first place.
Sell your skills
Sites
like Fiverr.com allow people to sell their skills to others, whether
that’s doing some writing, recording a voiceover, helping with marketing
or even help putting together a fantasy football team!
It
all depends on what you reckon you’re really good at, and whether
there’s an audience for it, but there are plenty of tasks on there that
are unlikely to take longer than an hour.
Alternatively,
other sites allow people to advertise specific errands that they need
to be sorted out, such as picking up dry cleaning. It’s well worth
having a look to see if there are any tasks that you can simply carry
out during your lunch break.
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