This is a list of ideas for when you’ve booked the flight, but now you need to save some money to make sure you’re able to make the most of your trip. You don’t want to be scraping around for cash and turning down opportunities while you’re away, so you’d love to take some extra money with you. But how? Hopefully these ideas can help.

Sell your old stuff

Set aside a day or two and go through your cupboards, and be brutal! Do you really need those thousands of beanie babies or your old smartphones and games consoles you’ve stuffed in a drawer? Take a look on eBay’s completed listings to see what you might be able to sell these for. For items of lower value, like books or old CDs, you can use websites like Music Magpie or Ziffit, which although only offer small amounts for each, can quickly add up to a large sum of money if you have a box full or more to sell. For big items, you might need to find a courier using Shiply to get them to the buyer, so don’t be afraid to list things as ‘collection only’.

An extra positive side-effect is that your future self will thank you for decluttering when it’s time to move house!

Money earning apps and surveys

There are all sorts of apps for helping you get extra cash or vouchers. Job Spotter gives you Amazon credit just for taking photos of job advertisements in shop windows. There’s also Google Surveys which asks simple questions about your shopping habits for Google Play credit. You could even sign up as a cat sitter or dog walker in your local area or become a ‘tasker’ (someone who does small tasks for others like assembling, buying groceries or answering emails).

Side hustle

Play to your strengths. If you have some spare time in the evenings you could do some freelance work. Many companies find freelancers using UpWork and similar sites to find people to write articles, do coding, or online marketing amongst many other skills. If you think you could take on some extra work, have a look on these freelance sites and see what you can offer. If you’re more creative, perhaps your sewing designs or artwork could sell for cash on your own Etsy store? Your side hustle could be waiting in the background to make some extra money.

Ask for a raise at work
Be brave. If you’re one of those people that never ask for a raise but know you’ve been working hard, or perhaps you’re due a raise and it keeps getting ignored? Just ask for one. The worst they can say is no and nothing will have changed.