How to make money during maternity leave
There are so many ways you can bring in extra money during maternity leave, the difficult part will be finding the time between naps. Some of these things won’t take much time at all, while others you will need to put the time in before you start seeing results.
While I was on maternity leave I was able to bring in almost £1,000 extra a month by doing freelance work, blogging and from my Etsy shop, this was on top of my maternity leave pay. However I will say that I already had a blog and clients for my freelance work, which made bringing in extra money easier than if I had to start from scratch.
But even if you don’t currently have any other incomes streams, that doesn’t mean you can’t start today! There are so many ways you can bring in extra money. Keep reading to find out how!
Quick and easy ideas
Let’s start with some of the quick and easy ways you can earn money during maternity leave, because let face it, you’re probably nap trapped right now, so finding ways to earn money from your phone while your baby naps is ideal! Am I right?
1. Earn while you shop
An easy thing to do while you’re nap trapped is online shop, so you might as well make some money from it. Each time you’re online shopping, check to see if the retailer is on a cashback site, you may be able to receive commission as cashback. Quidco and Top Cashback are popular cashback sites, you can join for free and withdraw your cashback as either cash or gift cards.
2. Cash Back Apps
Another great way of getting some cashback is through apps such as GreenJinn, Shopmium and Checkoutsmart. These apps offer up to 100% cashback on everyday foods items. All you need to do is upload your receipt to the app and then you will be refunded via PayPal. Bonus, when you sign up usually get a free gift, like a box of chocolates or pringles.
3. Sell items on Facebook Marketplace and Vinted
Sell your unwanted or unused items on Facebook marketplace, you can make some extra money and free up some space in your home. Sounds like a win win idea to me. Facebook Marketplace is a great place for selling household items and furniture. While Vinted is the perfect place to sell clothes, maternity and baby clothes sell especially well.
4. Paid surveys
Taking part in paid online surveys can be an easy way to bring in a small amount of money, especially when you’re nap trapped. Online surveys are a legitimate way for brands to get consumer feedback on their products and services and you will receive either money or gift cards, each survey will tell you what the financial rewards are before you take part.
The price paid depends on the length and complexity of the survey. On average you can expect to receive £1-£5 per survey, and usually you can withdraw your earnings once you meet £50, but this may vary with each site.
I would recommend creating a new email address if you sign up for online surveys, as you will receive a lot of emails from the sites. I would also recommend signing up for several survey sites, to increase your earning potential.
I’ve tested a number of survey sites, and while you do have an opportunity to earn a bit of extra cash, there is one thing which I’ve found annoying. Before you complete a survey, you have to fill in questions about yourself. This could take a few minutes, but if you’re not the right type of person for the survey, then you will need find another survey and so on. Therefore, just finding a survey to complete can take a bit of time.
If you have the time, then check out these sites:
5. Test Websites
Similar to taking online surveys, there are many companies that look for people to test out websites. This can give developers important information about the user experience. In exchange you will be paid or receive gift cards. UserTesting is one of the most popular platforms for website testing.
Time consuming but worthwhile ideas
Here are some more ideas to make money during maternity leave. These ideas will take longer and will require more of a commitment, some of them may not pay off straight away, but they will be worth the effort in the long run.
6. Freelance work
Most of my extra money during maternity leave came from doing Freelance work. Freelance work is perfect during maternity leave as you can work your own hours and take on as many clients as you have time for. You can squeeze in time to work during naps or when you’re little one is happily playing with their toys. My freelance work was centered around graphic design and web development, but there are so many things you could offer your services for such as:
- Writer/Editor
- Customer Service Representative
- Graphic Designer
- Web Developer
- Online Marketer
7. Blogging
There is a reason why blogging is such a popular way to earn money from home, and that’s because there are many different income streams you can create from blogging, and many different topics you can blog about. Some of the most popular ways to earn money from blogging is through adverts, affiliate links and sponsored posts. But you can also use your platform to sell things online, such as digital and tangible products or even online courses.
Read this post: How to make money from your blog
8. YouTube advertising
To start earning money directly through YouTube, you must have a least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the past year. Once you reach that, you can apply to YouTube’s Partner Program and monetize your channel.
If you can commit time to creating videos and building an audience, you can turn your YouTube channel into a source of income. This way of making money isn’t a quick one, unless you get lucky. But you if enjoy creating video content, then it’s a great way to spend your spare time and bring in extra money.
While you’re growing your subscribers, you can still make money from your channel through affiliate marketing, selling merchandise and sponsored posts.
9. Selling crafts and homemade products
If you enjoy being crafty then why not sell your homemade products online, a great place to sell crafts online is Etsy. Etsy is the global marketplace for unique and creative goods. Here is a list of their most popular items:
- Stickers
- Notebook and journals
- Jewelry
- Home decor
- Digital designs
- Posters
- Toys & baby items
- Vintage items
- Knitted clothes and accessories
Did you know that I have an Etsy shop? Check out my Etsy shop here.
10. Create an online course
Creating and selling online courses is a great way to make money during maternity leave and share your knowledge of a subject. I’ve created a number of online courses and hosted them through Teachable. Teachable have a free option so if you’re launching your first course you can host it on their platform with no charge. Udemy is another popular platform which lets you share your online course with people all over the world.
11. Sell books through Amazon KDP
Selling books through Amazon KDP is one of the ways I make passive income. If you love writing then you can sell your books through Amazon KDP. You don’t just have to sell books, you could create and sell planners too! I have created two planners which I sell on Amazon.
Check out my books on Amazon
It’s easy to sell through Amazon KDP, read this to find out how. Once you’ve published your book on Amazon, all you need to do is drive traffic to your book to create sales. Or you can pay Amazon to list your book as a sponsored post to help boost sales.
Once someone buys your book, Amazon will print and post it for you. Amazon take about 60% of the profits, which may seem high but you need to remember that Amazon make the process very easy for you. They will post it to customers all over the world and they save you from bulk buying your book from a local printer and having to store hundreds of copies in your home.
If you do want to sell your books yourself, you can buy author copies directly from Amazon at a discounted price and sell them on Etsy or at craft fairs etc.
Did you find this post helpful? Let me know in the comments and please share this post with your friends.
