This post is a celebration of my first year in blogging!
The details within the post I will use as a tool in the future so I can look back every year and see it’s progress.
I guess if you like figures, statistics, tracking progress and all those other things you learn whilst climbing the corporate ladder, you’ll love this too.
And if people are out there wanting to start a blog for passive income or for fun, you can get an idea of the slither of income you can make for all the work you put in initially – ha, I’m not even kidding!
Blogging is definitely the long game I will tell you that with 100% complete assurance lol
The reason why I started blogging was to have a platform to discuss in more detail about the highs and lows of my debt free journey. You can only say so much on Instagram and I always have so much more to say. I use it not only to keep me accountable but as a way to release any feelings of negativity. Being on a debt journey is lonely when you’re on your own and feelings can be left to build up if you don’t find a release. This is mine.
As I have developed over the last year in blogging, I have grown to love it. Leaving teaching this year and finding a job that gave me my evenings back was the best thing to have happened to me because now I have the time for blogging. I’ve never really been much of a tv watcher – films I love but not tv. So with my evenings free I blog away. Instead of making experiments for the classroom every night or marking, I’m making trackers, planners and other free resources for anyone else out there who is in debt and wants to get out of it.
Why? Because I love it. As I get myself debt free, why not help out someone else? And it makes me feel great which is good enough for me.
If my blog makes nothing forever, that will be ok for me because I get so much more out of it than it making money. Obviously if it made me lots of money, well that would be completely fine also! We’ll see. For now let’s look at some figures in the first year of my little blog The Money Wise Mum.
Month
Posts
Views
Visitors
Earnings
November 2020
1
68
36
0.01
December 2020
2
197
121
0.01
January 2021
0
368
184
0.01
February 2021
0
474
179
0.01
March 2021
3
682
229
0.08
April 2021
2
531
170
0.18
May 2021
1
855
288
0.26
June 2021
0
484
144
0.11
July 2021
0
511
190
0.06
August 2021
1
297
130
0.06
September 2021
6
1001
330
0.07
October 2021
7
1464
470
0.08
As you can see, the more posts I do the more visitors I get but that doesn’t have a direct impact on the money earnt from ads and I think that’s to do with whether people click them and how long they are viewing the page for. If they are viewing the page for longer then this may make more money.
I’m not an expert in blogging or how the ads work but I can say that being consistent and posting regularly and providing content people want to read about will generally be the ticket to more views, visitors, likes, followers and revenue. But what do I know lol, I’ve made £0.94 😊
Also you don’t get paid out any money until you have made over £100. Like I said, blogging is definitely the long road. I don’t know how long it will take me to make £100. But being the curious little cat I am, I want to find out 😊.
These are my list of books I have read that I would definitely recommend for those who are looking to increase their knowledge with finance, investing or general banking. I will keep adding to it, so make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss a post!
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalise a purchase. I will only recommend products I have used, which I feel will benefit you. Thank you for the support.
In January 2021, I decided it was time to declutter my life and get rid of all the ‘stuff’ I’d been holding onto for years. I needed not just a physical declutter but an emotional one too. There has been points over the last ten years where I’ve had so much stuff, my bedroom looked like something from the program ‘Hoarders’. It got so bad that I only had the space to sleep on my side of the bed as the other side was full of so much stuff and I couldn’t even get to the window to open the curtains so they just stayed drawn. Not a healthy way to live at all.
Decluttering has not only improved my mental health but I also have less to clean now – bonus! I have also made some much needed extra cash to put towards my debt. Even now, in November I am still decluttering (although at a slightly less intense pace) and the house feels so much better. The bed is clear, I can move around my room and the curtains and windows get opened daily. Read about how to get the most money from selling your clutter here.
Over the year, I have mainly used Vinted, Ebay and Facebook Market place to sell my unwanted things but I have found over the years that I use each one for different items. Here I talk about each platform in more detail, including how to get started and all their pros and cons. Let me know if I miss any out!
Vinted
Vinted is an app that is downloaded onto a mobile phone (Android or Apple). It is easy to set up and even easier to get started. I don’t like apps that are too techy so this was perfect for me. When you’re ready to sell, take clear pictures of the items, making sure you highlight any imperfections, chose a price, a parcel size and upload. It really is that simple!
Pros:-
It is easy to set up, easy to use and has NO SELLING FEES.
The buyer buys the postage so all you do is print a label. If you have no printer at home, you can go to the store they recommend for posting and they will print one for you. It is great to get rid of clothes and small toys.
What I absolutely love about Vinted is the item is paid for before you post so there is no being messed around by sellers. Vinted keep your money until the parcel arrives at the Inpost locker/UPS shop so unless the buyer has a problem, the money is transferred across.
You can sell to anywhere in the UK as the item is posted.
Parcels are tracked for free through Hermes or Inpost so there are less chance of the buyer saying the parcel never arrived. You do need to remove the Royal Mail option from the settings though.
If you use Hermes or Inpost to post the parcels then you can deposit your parcel in the machines outside the supermarkets meaning you can do this any time you like as your not restricted to the post office or supermarket opening hours. If you want to post a parcel at 3am – you can!
Cons:-
I find things that are listed on Vinted tend to be cheaper than I would list on Ebay or FB Marketplace.
You don’t receive the money straight away for the items that you have sold and it can take up to 7 days for the whole transaction.
You drop the parcel off, the customer does not collect from your home.
Ebay
Ebay has been around years and you can have an account that you operate through your email address and laptop/computer or you can now download the app. I would download the app as it will be easier to upload the photos of your items from your phone instead of emailing them across so they are stored on your computer. Very similar to Vinted, take clear pictures of the items, making sure you highlight any imperfections, chose a price and a parcel size and upload.
Pros:-
It’s easy to use, but not as easy as Vinted. There are more categories to complete probably down to there being so many different items for sale on Ebay
You have the choice to auction your item for a set period of time (usually a week), making sure you end it at a time you know people will be awake and free to watch it. There’s no point having the auction finish at 3 am in the morning when everyone is in bed. I usually plan for auctions to end on a Sunday night around 8pm or weeknights between 8 and 9pm.
You also have the option to bid on items or offer bidding on your items to see if you can tempt anyone to make you an offer.
You can sell more expensive items and the variety of items you can sell is much greater than Vinted. From electricals to clothes. For example, I sold a camera for £300 on EBAY which was a signed for delivery using Royal Mail.
You can sell anywhere in the world as items are posted
Cons:-
List fees. Although they do have special weekends where you can sell items that are fee to list and you can now list up to 999 items free of charge.
Selling fees. These depend on what you sell and how much it sells for and are taken automatically from your sale proceeds.
Money is held by Ebay until the item is delivered or confirmed as delivered and then sent to you. So you’re not paid straight away.
You have to sort the postage yourself. You need to make sure you weigh the item properly and then put the correct postage on the item. If you find you haven’t worked out the right postage and the buyer has paid too little – it’s tough!! I was caught out by this when I first started, I sold 3 books for £7.00 and put the postage as £3.20 when at the post office they said it was £8.00! This resulted in in only making £2.20 and then EBAY took fees off me too. I was so sad ☹
You also need to take the parcel to the post office, so potentially huge queues and your limited by their opening hours.
Facebook Market Place
This is an element within Facebook so you do need a Facebook account to use it. You can use it on the computer or as an app so its easy to use like Vinted and Ebay. When your ready to sell, take clear pictures, highlight any imperfections, chose a price and upload. I always make sure I put ‘collection only’ and the first 3 letters of my postcode and I share to as many local groups as I can. I also only post at key times like from dinner time to latest 9pm, that way I know my post will be seen by lots of people.
Pros:-
You get paid straight away in cash or can ask the buyer to do a bank transfer. This is what I did during covid
Great for selling large items that can’t be posted. I sold a huge 2-meter length veg truck last year and various other bigger sized items
If you want to give things away to the local community instead of taking it yourself to the charity shop, then FB Marketplace is brilliant as the buyer collects.
No postage to sort out and no trips to the post office or Inpost unit
Cons:-
Messed around by buyers, no shows. People message, you agree to hold it and they don’t turn up. It’s infuriating and unfortunately is a regular occurrence
Money is paid generally on collection of the item. Sometimes before if you have lots of interest and ask someone to pay before they collect so you don’t sell it to someone else.
Limited to sell to the local area as people may not want to travel too far.
You must be a member of the groups you advertise the item on, so make sure you switch off notifications to those groups else your feed will just be people selling things!
What I’ve made on Vinted, Ebay and Facebook Marketplace this year so far:
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Total
135
31.20
448.57
371.01
12
10
5.98
49
38.5
11
26
1138.26
March and April saw me sell lots of big-ticket items on Ebay and FB Marketplace, like the camera and the veg truck. May onwards is mostly clothes on Vinted. Great littler earner though for just selling our unwanted things.
Which one do I like the best?
For me it’s Vinted. Every time my daughter grows out of her age of clothes, I list them all on Vinted straight away and then put them in a box which is kept on the wardrobe. When they sell, I can easily get them down and post them. And with Vinted there are no hidden fees and no let down by buyers which is a huge plus for me as I hate it when people waste my time.
I’d still use FB Marketplace if I had bigger items to sell but as I have been on this declutter journey for a year most of the bigger items I wanted to sell have been sold.
What I love now as well, is I get at least 2 sales a week from Vinted. It’s not earning me massive amounts of money but every little helps and I feel I am still decluttering even though I haven’t got the huge focus that I had at the start of the year. As long as more is going out of the house than coming in, that’s fine by me!
Vinted have a referral scheme in place so if you haven’t already downloaded it, you can do so using my referral link below.
(If my referral link is used, I will receive £5.00 when a friend lists their first 3 things within 7 days and £10.00 when they sell within 30 days. The money I receive can be used to buy items from Vinted only)
Or you could just check out some of the things I sell to or even get an idea of what to sell yourself. My username is hmm1234
A net worth is how much a person is worth in monetary terms after taking away everything they still owe money for. It’s a snapshot of a person’s financial position in that moment of time. The value of assets can go up and down day to day, sometimes minute to minute whereas liabilities are designed to reduce over time (it’s not always the case) but these factors can alter your net worth day to day.
The calculation to work out your net worth is:
Assets – Liabilities = Net worth
What’s an Asset?
An asset is something owned by a person or a company that has an economic value, basically its worth some money. It could be sold for a profit either now or in the future.
Assets are; cash in bank accounts, savings, retirement savings (pensions), bonds, vehicles, plant and machinery, shares, property, dividends, artwork and jewellery.
What are Liabilities?
A liability is something that a person or a company owes money for. For example, a loan taken to buy a car would be classed as a liability. Credit cards, personal loans, pay day loans, student loans (although in the UK, these are generally not included), overdrafts and mortgages are all examples of liabilities.
You can include whatever assets and liabilities you like, but the most common ones I have already listed.
How to work out your Net Worth
I make two separate columns, one for assets and one for liabilities and list each one. Add each column up and then take the liabilities away from the assets. This will leave you with your own personal net worth.
A positive (+) net worth is one that is in credit, so you have more assets than liabilities (the position we all want to be in!). A negative (-) net worth shows that you have more liabilities than assets.
Most people that have a mortgage would have a negative net worth. I always thought it was seen as the ‘norm’ to have this debt as an adult who wanted to own their own home. Although over the years I’m seeing a shift in peoples’ attitudes towards debt including mortgages and find it’s becoming more popular to try and pay mortgages off earlier than the previous 25-year term.
Remember if you put your outstanding mortgage amount in as a liability to include the value of the house as an asset. If you only put the mortgage amount in your liability column it won’t accurately reflect your net worth and will show a negative. You can get an approximate value for your house through Zoopla https://www.zoopla.co.uk/home-values/. Also do this for any loans taken to buy assets, for example car loans and loans for plant and machinery.
Is knowing your net worth important?
In the whole scheme of things, it all comes down to personal preference, but it may be something you want to look at if you are looking to focus on your overall financial position. Whether you want to increase your wealth or to use it as motivation to pay off debt. I think it can be an important tool to access your assets v liability ratios and to make sure you’re not over committing yourself with debt.
Also, you can use it to check the diversity of your financial position. Diversification is a way to make sure you are spreading your risk and not putting all your eggs in one basket. So not putting all your money into one asset, like all your money being held only in cash products, or conversely putting all your money into shares or property.
There are many tools out there which will tell you to keep X amount in cash, X amount in shares. But it’s important to realise that there’s not one size fits all because it all depends on how much risk you want to take. It also depends on what age you are, what your immediate, medium and long-term plans are too. For example, there’s no point in putting all your money into long term investments if you want to buy a house in 12 months-time.
Up until this week, I’d never looked at my net worth. But when I started reviewing my pension and see what pensions I had frozen from companies I’d previously worked for, I was pleasantly surprised.
The reason why is because for a first time I have a positive net worth.
I couldn’t believe it. Even with my debt, I have a net worth of + £18,983.80.
This is what my figures look like at 25/10/2021
Assets
Liabilities
Cash Savings
£1,468.00
Credit cards
£16,000.54
Investments
£102.34
Pension
£32,464.00
Car
£950.00
Assets Total
£34,984.34
Liabilities Total
£16,000.54
Assets – Liabilities = Net Worth
£34,984.34 – £16,000.54 = £18,983.80 +
That’s because when I started work at 21, I paid into a pension with my employer straightaway. I was lucky that I started working for a bank and started my financial journey early.
As happy as I am having a positive net worth, I have decided to ignore it, for now anyway.
I know what your thinking, why would I want to ignore something that is so positive (pun intended lol) and I guess it’s because I don’t want to become complacent and lose my focus that I have to off my debt as quickly as possible.
But I will keep tabs on it every now and then as it definitely gives me a boost when I see the figures going in the right direction.
What net worth should we be aiming for?
I suppose this depends on what we want to do with the money, our retirement plans and how much we want to live off each year. Again, everyone will be different and even I haven’t got the magic number in mind right now.
According to the ONS, (Dec 2020) – the last reported figures in 2020 show the UK having an estimated net worth of £10 trillion, resulting in an average net worth of £150,000 per person. That doesn’t really seem that much at all when you consider how expensive everything is to buy and the problem with this average, it doesn’t consider the huge divide between rich and poor. The poorest people will have nowhere near as much as this and richer will probably have substantially more.
How to Increase your Net Worth?
The magic question, but the answer to this isn’t fancy or hard to do. I think it’s just a combination of:
Paying off consumer debt (the bad stuff that doesn’t help buy you assets)
Investing as much as you can whilst still enjoying your life
Budgeting and being frugal helping you keep your finances in check and stop the overspending
Increasing your earning potential by going for promotions
Furthering your education if it helps you to get into the higher salary bracket
Looking at passive income options; property, making products, books etc…
Taking on extra jobs or side hustles
Use tax efficient saving accounts
Contribute to a pension either through your work or a personal pension
As I’m on my own journey of paying of debt and increasing my net worth, I can only give my perspective but believe success will happen when your consistent and you start getting excited about the numbers. If you’re not a numbers person like me, this can be boring. For you I’d recommend looking at the bigger picture of what those numbers mean to you.
With your numbers going in the right direction, will that give you the dream home, the car or financial security you want for yourself and your family?
Does it mean that you are changing your financial future and giving your children and their children the future you’ve always wanted?
Whatever it looks like for me and you, it’s all different for us all, but going for a positive net worth is definitely one to inspire for.
Cutting your expenses down to the bare bones is not the only way you can change your financial future although it’s a great place to start. But why not try to make some extra cash as well and those financial goals of yours can become reality sooner rather than later.
I have racked my brains and came up with the list to help you on your way. Some of these I have tried and tested and am still doing now but I’m sure there are lots more, so if you know of any that aren’t on the list, leave them in the comments below.
This year I got my head stuck into match betting and have been carefully working my way through all the sign up offers on Profit Accumulatorswebsite. What I love the most is the step-by-step videos and instructions telling me exactly what I need to do. You can’t go wrong really, well unless you did what I did and backed something twice without laying it … I only lost £20 but it’s so important to check, check and double check what you are doing and always make sure you back AND lay the same thing.
I don’t want to scare you off match betting. The reason why I lost that money was because of my error, it’s not because it’s too hard. If you don’t read the information correctly, like I didn’t, there is a risk you can lose money. I have been doing this every day for just over a week and I have managed to make nearly £300 with the help of my trusty checklist.
Before I put any bets on now, so I don’t make the same mistake again, I check my tips to make sure I have done everything right. In fact I have found it so helpful, I thought I’d share it 🙂
My Top Tips
Use decimal odds. If you can’t see how to change them on the site, use Google (Good old Google always saves the day)!
Check, check and double check the minimum odds you need for you qualifying bet
Do the qualifying bet first and the free bets once the qualifying bets have settled (completed) and are available
Make sure you back and lay the same EXACT thing – check exact names, time of race/game and what your backing – win/draw/exact goals/horse name
The back and lay odds need to be as close together as possible for you to maximise your profits. The higher the rating, the better the match.
If the odds at the bookies/exchange site are showing different to the ones on Oddsmatcher, change them on oddsmatcher
so you have up to date figures to work with
When using the free bets, use higher odds as this will get you more profit. However, the higher the odds, the more money you will have to put in your account as a liability.
Always do the back bet first and then the lay bet
On a free bet, you don’t add anything in the stake button, but you do need to make sure you use your free bet
Do not bet on Tennis matches!! This was my mistake, and neither opponent won so therefore both my back and lay bet lost ☹
Make sure your lay bet hasn’t been put down as a back bet in error. This is also one of my mistakes as I thought all exchanges were lay bets only – silly me!! I am not sure of other exchange sites but on Smarkets a lay bet is shown as SELL in blue, whereas a back bet is shown as BUY in green.
I place my bets on the same day as the game or the race. This means I can check weather and see if any horses have been withdrawn. It also means I can get my profits quicker.
If I need to do a qualifying bet, I try and do it in the morning for a game/race at lunch time and then when it has finished, I can hopefully put the free bet on the evening games/races. Not all bookies give free bets straight away, but most have once the qualifying bet has settled.
I try and put as many bets on as I can in a day – the most I did was 13! I was doing it for 6 hours through out the day but made £70 odd in total.
At the moment, I stick to football and horse racing but I avoid horse racing when it’s bad weather
Keep a notebook of all your bets. I list the date and time of the race/game, bet amount, odds for back and lay, what bookies and exchange I have used, whether it’s a qualifying, free or reload bet. I also keep track of profit made and where all my money is, what amounts are with each bookie and exchange and any amounts I have withdrawn and am waiting for them to credit.
I use a separate bank account and debit card for all my match betting transactions. I transferred over £500 and see that money as my match betting money. When I balance my accounts every day/few days I know anything over £500 is my profit.
If you are looking at getting into match betting as a side hustle, don’t forget to head over to my blog post ‘How to Get Your Head Around Match Betting’ to help you get started.
Good Luck!!
I want to add, match betting is meant to be a fun way to make a little extra money. If you start actually betting and risking your money then please stop. I wouldn’t want for match betting to become a trigger for you if you have an addictive personality or gambling problems in the past. It can be addictive but make sure you are always match betting and not actual gambling where there is a risk of losing your money. Stay safe x
Affiliate Disclosure
I am an affiliate for Profit Accumulator so if you were to click on the links and sign up for the monthly subscription, I will receive an affiliate commission, at no extra cost to you! I will only recommend services and products used by me personally and which I consider will be of benefit to my readers.
First of all, let’s clear up the main worry when you hear the words ‘Match Betting’ – It’s NOT betting!!
When I first heard of it, I thought “nope it’s definitely not for me, I don’t want to get into that” as I didn’t fully understand it and thought I would lose money. But after doing some research (lots), I found it’s not betting at all. You don’t put yourself at risk – only as long as you follow the process and do it right.
This is my understanding – Match betting is betting on both outcomes to release free bets and bonuses.
In more detail, it’s putting on a back bet and a lay bet so you have covered both outcomes so either way you win. Another way of looking at it is, a back bet is saying that something WILL happen and a lay bet is saying that something WON’T happen.
It’s very important that you back and lay the same thing
For example: There is a game of football between Swindon V Portsmouth
I am going to bet on Portsmouth to win, so at a bookmakers I will place a back bet on Portsmouth and then at a betting exchange I will place a lay bet also on Portsmouth. Basically, I am betting for Portsmouth to win and lose.
A few important points to note:
Back bets are placed at bookmakers (bookies) and lay bets are placed with betting exchanges
Using free bets and bonuses is how you make your money
Knowing what to bet on is the most difficult part, especially if you are like me and have absolutely no experience of sports or racing. But this is where Profit Accumulator comes in. Profit Accumulator is a platform that not only helps you to understand in detail how match betting works but tells you what bets to put on. Simple right!!
They can help you to understand how match betting works with in depth videos you can watch over and over again (I know because I have done this), they guide you through making your first betting profits by showing you how to take advantage of the free bets bookmakers offer AND once you have mastered that you can sign up with them so you can have access to their platform to know what back and lay bets to bet on in the future.
You can sign up with them for the free trial which gives you access to a couple of offers and then like I did, you can sign up to have access to many more for a monthly fee. I was a free member and now have a platinum membership which costs £24.99 a month.
Before you sign up to bookmakers and betting exchanges (like I did), the first thing I would say to do is look at Profit Accumulator using this link and sign up for the free trial. Watch all the free videos available that guide you through the process and have a go at placing your first bets and making your first profits (you need about £50 to make a start). I personally think the videos are just brilliant and have watched them so many times.
Some Pros and Cons of Match Betting:
Pros:
You can make money!
You have Profit Accumulator to help you through the process
Cons:
Takes time to learn what you need to do
You have to put your own money up to cover liability although this is risk free
Remember
It’s not a get rich scheme but it can be a great way to make a few quid or two. Bookies want to attract new customers so offer free bets and bonuses and with about 100 bookmakers out there, that’s lots of free bets!
What I will say is I would have never of understood the process of match betting without Profit Accumulator and whilst writing this post I decided I wanted to become an affiliate for them just because I think they are just so damn good, so in the interests of being transparent please see the disclosure below.
Affiliate Disclosure
I am an affiliate for Profit Accumulator so if you were to click on the link and make a purchase, I will receive an affiliate commission, at no extra cost to you! I only recommend services and products used by me personally and which I consider will be of benefit to my readers.
Since lock down and trends like minimalism and gorgeous clutter free pictures of perfect homes on Pinterest, people are now more than ever getting stuck in with the decluttering, sorting and selling of their preloved items. Millions of items are being sold every day world-wide and its become a bargain hunters paradise.
I will admit to becoming one of these ‘Sorters of Stuff’ and have become a little obsessed with clearing, sorting and selling. I have loved raising some much-needed cash towards my debt free journey and have been happy that my preloved items have found a new home. Unexpectedly, I have felt a weight lifted every time something is sold and leaves my home which encourages me even more. Not only that but I have started to feel free and much happier with less clutter in my life.
Decluttering and selling preloved items isn’t a new trend, it has been around for years but social media platforms and places like Facebook Marketplace have enabled people to reach far and wide in the attempt to sell their unused items. Previously, if people didn’t drive they were limited to buying unused items online from places like FB Marketplace as they wouldn’t be able to collect, but collection is not the only one way you can get your items now as postage is an option. Thank goodness other delivery companies are competing with Royal Mail and offering cheaper postage.
The market is being saturated with new sellers, so it’s important now more than ever to make sure your items look their best, are listed at the right price and are listed at the right time. I have made more money in selling preloved items in the last month than any of my other side hustles so it’s important to get it right. You can see how much I have made over on my Instagram page. And to help you, I have made a handy list of TEN key things to do to maximise your selling success!
1) Clean your items
If they are dirty or need washing make sure you clean them first. This will give you the chance of inspecting the item to make sure there’s no damage and can help you to get the maximum price. I know I would be put off from seeing a dirty item.
2) Take photos of the items in the daylight but post at night
This is so important because natural light will show your item in its best light and could maximise the price you get. Even bright lights like spotlights will not do your item justice. Make sure you put your item up for sale around 6pm and no later than 10pm in the week as this is when most people are at home chilling with their phones out scrolling. At weekends, you could also post in the day from 11am. Include pictures of instructions, leads and anything else that goes with the item.
3) Take clear photos
Make sure your photo is in focus, its clear, crop out the background and take the picture in a room which is tidy so not to distract the viewer away from your item.
4) Bulk sell or sell individually?
Decide whether you will get more money from selling your items as a bulk lot or as an individual sale. If I have items that I do not think will sell on their own or are out of season, I pair them up with other things and sell them as a total price. I lay all items out on the bed so you can see them all and then take the picture whilst standing above the bed so it’s a downward shot. This way you can see all the items clearly. I also list every single item so buyers know exactly what they are going to get.
For items I know will sell on their own or items that are in season, I hang them individually so you can see them more clearly. It takes more time to do but you can get a better price.
5) Brands
If it’s a branded item like Next or Adidas make sure you say so in the Title and in the Description. People like branded items and will pay more for them so don’t forget to mention it!
6) Damaged Item
You must mention if an item is damaged and be prepared to knock a little off the price. People will still buy damaged so don’t be put off from listing it. I find if items are worn especially kids clothes I still list them but make sure I put worn and put them a little cheaper. For kids clothes, they aren’t in them longer than a few months anyway so what’s the point in paying top price?
7) Title and Description
List the size, colour and a short description of the item in the title and then in the description list the same again but add the items condition, collection postcode and whether you would be happy to post.
8) Collection and post
Put you would be happy for the item to be collected or posted. When I started to offer to post the item, I had a lot more interest and sold more things. Most buyers always ask how much more an item will be, so weigh the item and give them a price. I always give them a Royal Mail and Hermes price and ask them whether they want to pay for First or Second Class. If I am posting an item, I always ask for the buyer to pay using PayPal first before I post. Also, ask for them to pay through PayPal under ‘Friends and Family’ as it saves you being charged by PayPal for using their service.
9) Post it quickly
Post the item as quickly as you can, same day or next day if sold at night and message the buyer with a screen shot of the tracking number or reference number so they can track the item.
10) Feedback
After your amazing service, ask for feedback! Why not?! Especially for FB marketplace and Ebay where everyone can see what type of seller you are. It will stop anyone being put off from doing business with you if they see you have great feedback from previous customers.
I’m going to be honest with you and tell you that this whole process takes time, practice and patience but as the sales start rolling in you will know how worth it will be.
Let me know if there is anything on this list I may have forgotten and HAPPY SELLING!
I recently put a post in Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CHVnC2Els-y/ about becoming a courier and as it’s got a little bit of interest I thought I would put a post together so everyone has all the information they need.
My Why?
For me one of the hardest things about finding the right-side hustle is not down to the job itself but childcare. I will literally do any job – I am not too proud. And as all parents out there will agree childcare is the absolute bane of our lives usually costing us a huge fortune. Sometimes finding any employment that allows us to work alongside our children either before school or during is a massive headache.
When I started to look at side hustles, I knew I needed something where I could take my child along so started researching different things I could do. This is the list I came up with;
Teach English Online
Courier
UberEats delivery
Amazon delivery
Amazon selling
Mystery Shopping
After a family meal (pre-covid) I spoke to a cousin of mine who had recently started a new job as a courier with Hermes. She is a parent with four children (baby and three in school) and her husband works full time so I asked her how she manages to do a job with the kids. She said she always takes the youngest one with her and sometimes depending on how big her round is she will take the other kids after school too.
Of course, I then had lots of questions like; Is it safe to take the children? Do they let the children come with you? Is it worth it monetary wise if you use your own car and petrol? And the answers she gave me were yes, yes and yes!
I was definitely interested!! I Googled Hermes and applied online and within a few days I was contacted by the Delivery Manager in my area. She sent me the induction pack by email to read through which told me how to set my phone up for the round. I started that weekend taking my daughter along. When I arrived on site, I was really nervous and excited at the prospect of being able to earn without me worrying about childcare arrangements and after a quick 30-minute induction I was off!!
The first round of 29 parcels took me forever and I was frustrated at using my phone and the app so ended up going around in quite a few circles lol!! By the time I had finished the deliveries and calculated the cost of me driving around in circles with what I got paid I just couldn’t see it being financially viable. However, I plodded on with it a few more times and soon I got the hang of it. I soon realised it’s all about being fast and efficient which ultimately pushes your minimum hourly wage up. For example today I delivered 50 parcels and the rate (although this can change depending on lots of factors; size of parcel etc …) was approx £1.00 (I always work on £1.00 to make it easier to calculate), so 50 x £1 = £50.00 made (no tax has been taken from this). The deliveries today took me 4 hours so 50/4 = a minimum hourly rate of £12.50. I understand this is not completely accurate because I will have tax to pay but I have also not taken into account the running costs of my car, petrol and use of my own phone which I will be able to use to offset a certain amount of tax. This leads me onto my next point – keeping strict records.
Records
I am classed as a self-employed courier which means I am responsible for paying the tax and national insurance on everything I earn as a courier. I do not have to register just yet as I am already registered to pay tax in my main employment. The earnings I am making now will not be taxed until next tax year so all I need to do for now is accurately record the details of my earnings and anything I can offset. For example;
I record the date, time started work, time finished work, number of parcels delivered, starting miles and ending miles.
The records are really important so make sure you keep them and update them every time you work!
Insurance
Lastly insurance, so you can amend your car insurance to include business insurance and in particular insurance as a courier to ensure that the parcels you are carrying are insured but when I asked for a quote from my existing car insurance I found them to be really expensive. Not only that, they were going to charge me the amount for the year and at the time I wasn’t sure if I was going to do it for the year and then I would have to pay for insurance I didn’t need. Luckily Hermes has an option where they insure your car only for the time that you are working and they debit the amount from your pay every week which works out about a few quid every time which I think is totally worth it.
Earned so far
Here is just a little snippet off what I have earnt so far;
78 deliveries £46.10 earnt, average earnings per item £0.59
98 deliveries £78.62 earnt, average earning per item £0.79
Courier adjustments + £12.80
30 deliveries £22.98 earnt, average earnings per item £0.77
43 deliveries £41.05 earnt, average earnings per item £0.95
Courier adjustments + £8.42
Courier adjustments are extra payments given to you for working Sundays, which I now my preferred day.
If your thinking of a side hustle, I would definitely recommend becoming a courier. It’s flexible, you are in control of your earnings and your hours and even more importantly than all that – YOU CAN TAKE YOUR CHILDREN ALONG!! Win Win!!
I pack some snacks, books, colouring and an iPad to keep my daughter entertained and she is absolutely fine 😊
TMWM 