A mum who was struggling with the rising cost of living is now side-hustling her way to a £4,000 family holiday – and says it “doesn’t feel real”.
Holly is a mum-of-two who works part-time as an assistant manager.
But the 33-year-old from Bristol has also found a great way to make extra cash at home.
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In just a few months, Holly has saved £2,000.
It is the halfway point for her goal to pay for a luxurious family trip with her husband, and their kids: an eight-year-old daughter and a five-year-old son.
And Holly is more than happy to share her wealth (of knowledge) with others, revealing her top tips to her 38,700 TikTok followers.
“I originally started the side hustle after giving birth to my daughter,” Holly told Absolutely Business.
“We were struggling financially, so it covered the bits we needed like food and clothes.
“I wasn’t very serious with it back then but now both my kids are in school and I have a spare three days a week where I can hustle.
“I wanted to see what I could do to make more cash.
“It doesn’t feel real.
“It’s literally two to three hours a week on my laptop and I’ve made thousands.
“Without side hustling, there is no way we would be able to go away.
“The kids are so excited to go on holiday and we are excited for a break.”
“We’ve only been on one holiday before and really want to go again.
“I am hoping that after this trip, we can book to go to Disneyland Paris for my daughter’s 10th birthday next year.”
These are the four key ways Holly has earned her holiday money.
MARKET RESEARCH
Holly gets paid to share her opinion.
This includes reviewing items that are sent to her for free or going on a Zoom call to give her thoughts.
She said: “I once got £75 for an hour of just giving my opinion.
“Most of the time it is on a Zoom or phone call.
“And you just sign up to different companies, then they will email you if they have a study available.
“I’ve recently done a laundry product testing but have seen ones on Lego, Harry Potter books and cooking appliances.”
VINTED
She said: “The main reason I started selling stuff on Vinted is because I was decluttering our house.
“Then I realised I was making a decent amount of money from it.
“I’d say to go around your house, have a look, see if there’s anything that you can sell and get rid of.
“And then also maybe see if friends and family have stuff that you could sell, sometimes they don’t want to sell themselves and just want to get rid.”
CASH BACK SCHEMES
The mum gets cash back in a number of different ways.
She said: “Some websites will give you cash back when buying items.
“Other times, I buy vouchers for my food shops instead of spending in there, and the site I got the vouchers from will give me cash back.
“Thirdly, there are some apps where if you buy gift cards, say for someone’s birthday or Christmas, you get cash back.”
“Some of the amounts that I get back aren’t massive.
“Like when I bought my washing machine, I got £20 cash back.
“But why not do it and get extra money.”
ONLINE SURVEYS
Holly claims that there are many decent survey sites online, you just need to find the right one.
She said: “They pay you for your opinion and to have a go on things like games and apps.
“Which, in turn, gives you amazing cash back.”
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