Rent your life – how sharing your possessions can make you money

I am a massive fan of the sharing economy. I love JustPark and AirBnB for instance.

We could all do with that bit of extra cash in our pocket. Whether you’re saving for a holiday, attire for all those summer weddings you’ve been invited to, or simply looking for a bit of extra cash to put aside for a rainy day, you’ll be pleased to know there are simple ways to make extra money off things you already own.

The sharing economy is a great way to earn money by ‘sharing’ things you already own. You can rent out your spare room, hire out your car to others or even rent out your bike. Graeme Risby, CEO and founder of HiyaCar explains how rather than watching your car slowly reduce in value or mount up increasing bills, there are people out there who are willing to rent out your car as they don’t have one and pay you for the privilege. And it goes far beyond cars. Here are some ways you can share things you already have to make money:

Share your skills

Everybody’s good at something – use your skills to pay the bills! TaskRabbit allow busy people to outsource their chores. Help people with organising events and birthday parties, booking holidays or delivering flowers/gifts to loved ones’ desks for doting partners. There are plenty of ways to help out, and the best part – you can choose your own hours and your hourly rate!

Share your car

At HiyaCar, we help people share their cars with their local community for cash. So if you don’t use your car at the weekend – or it’s often just sitting on the drive not being driven – you can help someone else who doesn’t have access to a car get out and about, whether it’s a two day road trip or a simple journey from A to B.

Rising petrol and insurance prices add to our weekly outgoings, so this is a way to make a saving off your car which would otherwise be costing you money.

Share your clothes

It baffles me how many outfits my wife wears once and then they’re never seen again, left to gather dust in the wardrobe! Luckily, for both men and women, there are some nifty websites such as FashionHire or GirlMeetsDress where you can rent out your outfits to people who want to wear something just for the night. These kind of pieces are even more valuable and sought after if they’re not in the shops anymore, or if it’s a vintage item.

Share your room

Airbnb isn’t just a great way for us to find cheap places to stay abroad – over 36 million tourists visit the UK each year according to VisitBritain. This means plenty of tourists looking for accommodation and your house could be their ideal place to stay. If you’re looking to earn some spare cash and you’re happy to take someone in, listing your place on AirBnb is a great option.

Share your leftovers

15 million tonnes of food is wasted each year in the UK. Rather than let it go to waste why not use the new app OLIO. OLIO lets people offer up their extra food – so you can see what weekly shopping staples are going spare in the neighbourhood and save a few pounds while you’re at it.