Wednesday, November 30, 2022

How to make money from your parents

Updated 5 November 2021 Share Tweet

Doing tasks to help out your parents is a great way to say thanks for everything they do. And, it turns out, there are some easy things you can do to help them that actually earn you money. Graduate hugging mother

Credit: pixelheadphoto digitalskillet – Shutterstock

For a lot of students, it’s difficult to get by financially at uni without support from parents. The government generally calculates Student Loans under the assumption that the more your parents earn, the more money they will give you at uni, offering you a smaller loan as a result.

You can find out how much your parents are ‘expected’ to give you with our parental contributions calculator.

The issue is that, for a number of reasons, not all parents do give their children money at uni. This leads some students to experience a funding shortfall compared to others who receive bigger Maintenance Loans.

Even if you do receive money from your parents, you may still find that it’s not enough – and it’s not always easy to ask for more.

If you’re not comfortable asking your parents for money, we’ve got lots of ideas below that can earn you cash while helping them out too.

9 ideas to earn money helping your parents

Here are the best ways to make money from helping your parents:

Refer-a-friend schemesCredit: Yevgen Kravchenko, kamui29, Bell Photography 423 – ShutterstockReferring your parents to different organisations is an amazing way for you and them to get free money.To make sure it’s mutually beneficial to you and your parents, think about what websites and services you regularly use that you think your parents could find useful too. Then, have a look online to see if those companies have a refer-a-friend scheme.A lot of these schemes offer cash rewards or in-app credit. For example, PayPal’s refer-a-friend scheme lets you and the person you invite earn £10* each, as long as they spend or send over £5* after signing up via your referral link.You’re able to earn up to £50* with your referral link, so if you referred both your mum and dad (and maybe a few other friends), they could each get a tenner, and you can receive £10* per person.Banks generally have the biggest cash rewards/vouchers for referring friends and family (often around £100). However, these offers are unlikely to relate to student bank accounts. Instead, while you’re at uni, it may be more helpful for you and your parents to separately look for banks that offer good sign-up offers.Then, in a few years when your graduate account expires, it might be a good time to see if your parents’ bank has a good refer-a-friend scheme that could help you and them earn money.* Prices correct at the time of writing.
Shop online via cashback sitesNext time your parents are planning to buy something, offer to buy it for them via a cashback site or app. This won’t cost them a penny extra, but it allows you to earn money from the purchase.In case you’re not familiar with cashback, it’s an easy way to receive money back after buying things. Our full guide to getting cashback explains the process in detail.Keep an eye on supermarket cashback apps, too – if you see there’s a promotion on a product you know your parents usually buy, offer to buy it for them. Your parents could reimburse you the full cost of the item, and you’d then be able to keep the cashback reward.Check the T&Cs of the cashback site you’re using to make sure you’re able to buy something on someone else’s behalf.As an example, at the time of writing, TopCashback says in their T&Cs that they’re happy for you to make the occasional cashback transaction on behalf of close friends or family members. However, you shouldn’t use your account to buy things on behalf of lots of other people.
Switch their billsHelping your parents to switch their energy providers could help them save money, and there’s the potential for you to receive some money as a thank you.Look for gas and electricity providers that offer low prices and cash rewards for signing up. If your parents switch to them, they’ll benefit by getting lower monthly bills, and they could possibly give you the money they received as a sign-up bonus.If your parents aren’t already with a green energy provider, it’s worth highlighting to them that this would be a good reason to switch. Not only could it save them money, but it will also help to reduce their carbon footprint.An example of a green energy provider with competitive prices is Octopus Energy. You can get £50 for signing up (click the link for more info).As well as helping your parents to switch energy providers, you could also offer to switch their broadband provider. Some providers give out vouchers when you sign up – find out more in our guide to the best broadband deals.
Find the best dealsWhen living on a student budget, it becomes second nature to hunt for the best deals.As you’ll no doubt be keeping an eye out for great offers anyway, you could look out for cheaper alternatives to products that your parents regularly buy. This could be anything from shampoo, to coffee, to pet food.Once you’ve found something for a lower price than they’d usually spend, you can offer to buy it for them. If they’re happy for you to keep the difference in cost, they could then pay you the amount they’d usually spend on the item as reimbursement plus an extra payment.This would be no extra expense to them beyond what they’d have spent otherwise, and it could help you earn a bit of cash.To keep up with the latest deals, sign up for our weekly deals email. After registering, you’ll also get our free student money takeaway which includes a handy one-minute budget sheet.Plus, when shopping online for your parents, remember the earlier tip about buying things via cashback sites to make some extra money.
Help with errandsredit: goffkein.pro – ShutterstockWhether you’re living at home with your parents during term time, or you’re back for the holidays, you could offer to help them with errands. This will save them time while giving you the chance to make money.If you’re comfortable doing so, you could ask for a small fee in return for going to the supermarket or Post Office, or doing similar errands for them.However, it’s possible for you to earn rewards simply through walking, meaning the errands could give your finances a boost without your parents needing to pay you.As we explain in more detail in our guide to making money from walking, apps like Sweatcoin and winwalk offer you rewards based on your step count. These rewards include vouchers, discounts or even free stuff.You do need to do a fair number of steps to qualify for the rewards. But, doing tasks that save your parents a job is both helpful to them, and a good way for you to increase your daily step count.Are your parents keen to find out more about how their income impacts your Student Loan? Show them the parents’ guide to university.
Do house choresIf your parents are happy to give you a bit of money in return for doing house chores, this could be a great way for you to make money at home.The chores could include cleaning the house, doing laundry, washing a car, meal prepping or, if your parents have a garden, mowing the lawn.And keep in mind that if you do any cleaning for them, you could try homemade cleaning products – they’re cheap, non-toxic and multi-purpose.
Do freelance workThere are lots of ways you could use your skills to help your parents, and potentially make some money in the process.For example, if your parents have their own business or they’re involved in a community club (e.g. a local sports club) you could offer to do some freelance work for them. This could involve managing social media accounts, designing marketing materials or even helping them to start a website.To find out more about making money as a freelancer, have a read of our guide to freelancing.Remember that if you make money from self-employment, you’ll need to declare your income in a self-assessment tax return.
Look after petsDo your parents have pets such as a dog or cat? If so, offering to stay at home and petsit while your parents are away is definitely worth thinking about. It could be a huge help for them.Hiring professional petsitters can be pricey. It can also be quite nerve-wracking to leave a pet with a complete stranger – especially if they need to stay in a new place that they’re unfamiliar with.From your parents’ perspective, it should bring them some peace of mind if you’re at home looking after the family pets while they’re away.And in terms of money, you could ask for however much you think is fair. As you’d be spending time with a lovely animal who you already know, it should be a pretty easy and enjoyable way to make money.
Ask for money instead of giftsIf none of the above tips appeal to you, but you really could do with some extra cash, you could potentially ask for money instead of gifts for your birthday or Christmas. It shouldn’t cost your parents any more money than they were already planning to spend on you.But make sure this is something you’re comfortable with. You might prefer to receive a physical gift from your parents (especially if it’s a big birthday like your 21st), so remember that there are plenty more ways to make money that might suit you better.

If you’re looking for extra income, try our part-time job search tool.

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How to make money pet sitting

by Jess Miller in Jobs & Careers, Make Money

Updated by Nele van Hout
27 October 2021 Share Tweet

Are you missing the family pet now you’re at uni? Getting paid to cuddle cute, furry animals with pet sitting jobs could be the answer. man cuddling dog looking happy

Credit: asia.marangio – Shutterstock

Our National Student Money Survey showed that 66% of students have a part-time job to get by at university. But, unfortunately, some student jobs just don’t fit with uni schedules, and employers aren’t always the most flexible.

Pet sitting lets you set your own hours and your own pay, meaning you could end up earning £40 or more each day. Not to mention, there’s the nice little bonus of earning money to spend time with your favourite animals…

Interested? We thought so. This guide has everything you need to know about becoming a pet sitter. Plus, it includes some pictures of our pets that you won’t want to miss.

What’s in this guide?

If pet sitting is a little too small-time for you, check out our interview with a student who owns and runs her own alpaca farm.

What is pet sitting?

Dog with sunglasses at the beach

When they ask who’s a good boy, and you know it’s you

Pet sitting is a lot like working as a babysitter – except you’re looking after someone’s pet, and not their child. Makes sense.

Some pet owners prefer to have someone look after their furry bundle of joy instead of using a cattery or kennel. This could be for a number of reasons – perhaps paying someone to sit is cheaper, or their pet gets stressed being away from home.

Depending on the job, you could find yourself looking after the animal at either the owner’s house or your own place.

If you’ve only got a few hours spare and can’t commit to several days of care, there are other options. You could become a dog walker, start a doggy daycare centre at your house or just keep pets company during the day while their owner is working.

In a nutshell, you need to feed them, play with them and keep them safe – just like your own animal.If your parents are going away, you could offer to stay at home and petsit for them for a little bit of cash. This is one of many great ways to make money from helping your parents.

5 best and worst parts of pet sitting

If you’re interested in making money as a pet sitter, it’s important to know these pros and cons:

Pros

Two cats

Jess‘ cats, Nuschka and Shiva, looking adorable (those eyes!)

Here are some advantages that come with being a pet sitter:

You get to look after animals and get paid for it.
If you want to work with animals in the future, pet sitting will look brilliant on your CV – especially if you can get references from happy customers.
Pets may need to be fed at a certain time, so you need to get there on time – a great way to encourage time management and organisation.
You can work whenever you want and choose your hourly pay.
Spending time with animals can boost your mood and academic performance.

Cons

Harry the dog next to a bottle of whisky

It’d been a long day at the office for Harry

But there are also some disadvantages of being a pet sitter:

Work may be sparse – it depends on where you are, and if anyone else is offering a similar service.
You may be expected to give pets medication if required (which, in case you didn’t already know, is something they don’t tend to enjoy).
Pet owners may be fussy. Understandable, yes, but does Fido really need to be fed boiled chicken, hand-cut into one-inch pieces, and for you to make whale noises to get him to sleep?
You may need a car to pick up and drop off animals if you are pet sitting in your own home.
If you use a website to find pet sitting jobs near you, expect them to take a fee for advertising.

Do you need a licence to be a pet sitter?

Vizsla with owner and asleep

Bonnie the vizsla’s favourite things are sleep, food and selfies

Technically, you don’t necessarily need a licence to be a pet sitter. But, if you’re going to be caring for other people’s pets in your own home, you will need an animal boarding establishment licence.

While the rules on this licence vary from council to council, you’ll almost always need one if you’re keeping animals in your home overnight, and sometimes for daytime care, too.

The cost of an animal boarding establishment licence also varies depending on the council, usually costing anywhere between £50 – £400. While that may seem expensive, being caught without a licence can result in a fine of an unlimited amount or imprisonment for up to 6 months.

In short, it’s definitely worth getting an animal boarding establishment licence, or at least checking if you need one. You can find more information about this licence here or at the website of your local council.

You may also need a basic DBS check – especially if you will be staying in another person’s house. You can apply for a DBS check here.

Other than that, there are no official qualifications needed to be a pet sitter in the UK – so, in theory, anyone can do it. That said, there’s no harm in having some relevant experience or qualifications to help set yourself apart from the crowd.

While we’re not expecting you all to be vet students (although if you are, that’ll stand you in good stead), make sure your pet sitting profile mentions the experience that you do have. So if you’ve had pets from a young age, learned to ride horses or regularly walk the neighbour’s dog, mention it – it all shows that you’re good with animals.

Do you need insurance to be a pet sitter?

Cat walking along fence

Oh, can’t you walk on fences, too?

While you don’t necessarily need to have insurance to be a pet sitter, a lot of owners will appreciate it if you do.

Aside from showing potential customers that you’re a conscientious and responsible pet sitter, it will also protect you if anything goes wrong.

Depending on the package you go for, you could be covered for a range of things. This includes if the animal falls ill or passes away in your care, if the animal damages a third party or their property, and even if you lose the keys to the owner’s house (if you’re given them in the first place).

Packages can start from around £5 a month, and given how much you can earn from pet sitting (and the potential cost to you if something bad happens), we’d definitely recommend taking out some cover.

How much do pet sitters make?

Havanese dog at the computer

You’re doing amazing, sweetie

If you’re wondering how much demand there is for pet sitting where you live, have a look at what other people are charging. Here are some benchmark figures of how much you can earn as a pet sitter:

Type of work	Typical pay
Pet sitting while the owner is away or at work	£10 per hour
Dog walking	£10 per walk (with extra charges for more than one dog)
Dog sitting at your house for a few hours	From £15
Pet sitting overnight at the owner’s house	From £25

Remember that these are just ballpark figures, and depending on where you live and what the pets are, you could get more or less than this.

If you go the extra mile while pet sitting, you can potentially charge more and even get yourself some regular business.

You could also offer to water the garden or pick up their post, and you should always make a genuine effort to help animals feel at ease around you. This could mean giving them treats, or sending the owner regular texts or pictures to let them know their pets are okay.Find out how one savvy saver turned pet sitting into a travel hack, bagging 14 nights of free accommodation in Paris in exchange for looking after a cat.

How to become a pet sitter

dog at graduation with owner

Dusty was VERY dapper at Lauren‘s graduation

To find paid pet sitting jobs, start off by asking family and friends if they know anyone who needs your services. Alternatively, you could post on local Facebook pages or Gumtree. Or, if you’re feeling super old school, you could even put up some posters or flyers in the local area.

If you’re after something a little more structured, there are a few pet sitting websites that will introduce you to owners. What’s more, if you work through these companies, there’s a good chance you’ll be covered by their insurance (always check the specifics though, just in case).