Earning a little extra money from the comfort of your own home

There are a lot of work-at-home scams out there, so I've put together a tried and tested list of companies that offer genuine, viable ways to make a little extra money from the comfort of your own home.

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I spent several years wishing I was self-employed and longed to work from home, but like everyone else I had financial commitments that left me feeling wary of writing that resignation letter and hoping for the best. I had a clear idea of what my own business would look like, but simply couldn't afford to have no income while I built my client base.

I decided to start researching ways of making some extra money from home as a buffer and quickly found that there were several websites promising me that I could be making thousands of pounds from home each month by simply buying their e-book. Of course there are lots of scams out there when it comes to working from home, but there are an increasing number of genuine, viable opportunities too.

I'm not suggesting that you could make enough money from any of the listed ideas to quit your job, but I am suggesting that they offer a way to make a little extra income from the comfort of your home. I tried all of these companies before I eventually left the security of employment and started out on my own. I don't do many of them these days as my own business has grown, but they are all genuine and worth looking into if you are a stay-at-home parent, retired, or simply want to make a little extra money without getting a second job.

Website usability testing

Have you ever landed on a website that you found really frustrating to navigate, thought the design was garish, or had no idea how to sign up for their mailing list? Becoming a website tester allows you to provide website owners with feedback on their site, which enables them to make improvements or understand why hits are not converting into sales. Testers need to have a microphone (most modern computers have an inbuilt microphone) and be able to say what they are thinking as they browse the test site, but no technical knowledge is required.

Both TryMyUi and WhatUsersDo are currently accepting new tester applications. Tests take 15-20 minutes to complete and testers are paid around £6 a test. The application process involves recording a test video and both sites have a guidance section on what they are looking for, so take some time to read this information before recording your test video.

Writing

There are a lot of content mills out there that pay writers less than 1p per word and if you need to earn some quick money you may be satisfied with that. Some content writing sites also charge fees and have high pay out thresholds, so it can be tough to actually make any real money with them. Competition is fierce when it comes to content writing so don't expect to earn well, but there is money to be made if you sign up with the right sites and choose your briefs wisely.

Zerys, Textbroker and Copify all have fairly simple application criteria and enable you to pick briefs from a list of available orders rather than simply assigning work to you. This matters because you really want to focus on topics you can write about quickly and have some knowledge of or you will spend too much time researching for it to be financially worthwhile.

Surveys

I know you're thinking that surveys are a waste of time and most of them are. Again, it's about picking and choosing wisely. I found the following three survey sites to offer the best income-earning potential and they also have comparatively low pay out thresholds:

Honest Rewards typically pays between £1 and £10 a survey (depending on nature and length) and also offers the opportunity to test new products. UK residents can withdraw their earnings to a PayPal account as soon as they have earned £15.

Crowdology has a payment threshold of just £4, which you could realistically earn in a few days and they also pay by PayPal.

Swagbucks is an American site that offers multiple ways to earn including surveys, daily polls, searching the web and watching videos. UK residents can redeem rewards for gift cards from retailers such as Amazon, Marks & Spencer and Pizza Express, or choose to have money deposited into their PayPal account.

Freelance

If you're a talented web designer, artist, coach, transcriber, translator, typist or just about anything else you can think of, freelancing could be the perfect way of earning some additional money. Sites such as PeoplePerHour and Elance enable freelancers to sell their services to a global audience, bid on jobs and make connections with clients that often turn into long-term business relationships. Simply register, complete your profile and start bidding on jobs!

Odds and ends

Don't forget about boosting your expendable income by utilising coupons to save money on purchases and using cash back sites such as TopCashBack to earn money back whenever you buy something online. Also, think about whether you have extra space you could rent out to a commuter or local business such as a garage, drive or cellar.

If you have any other suggestions for making a little extra money from home I'd love to hear them.