How to EASILY make £1,000 Free Money – The Complete Guide

by · January 8, 2025

£10,000 from Free Money Streams is a milestone in my Cash4Nothing Journey. From absolute £0 to a five digit running balance, I have captured for your benefit my progress at every step of the way. This is not a life changing amount of money by any means but what I am trying to say is that hopefully, I have been successful in getting the point across as to how easy it is to pick up low hanging fruit Free Money if:

  • You know is there to take
  • You know how to do it
  • You show the willingness to go and grab it

As for the last element of the equation, that decision is entirely yours. As for the first two, my duty is to give you the tools and the processes. Having said that, the next question I am anticipating from you is: if I wanted to make £1,000 Free Money easily and effortlessly, where do I start? Ok. Without further ado, this is what I would do:

1. Complete a Bank Switch Promotion (at least one): £200

How do I get Free Money from Bank Switching?

Bank switching refers to the process of transferring your current account from one bank to another. While bank switching itself may not directly generate income, some banks offer incentives or bonuses to attract new customers. This is exactly where you jump in and grab the incentive as Free Money. In other words, you switch your bank account and get a cash reward for doing so, but the idea is not to switch your main account (unless you feel the need to) but rather use a “burner” account as a donor. Once the cash reward is credited, you can repeat this process using the account you switched to as your nominated donor account.

Still not sure how? Here are a few examples to put your mind at ease:

Can I get Cashback on top of the Switch Reward?

Most certainly you can. It is not uncommon to find a cashback incentive attached to the promotional offer, however, this is not part of the package and you will have to research its availability prior to applying. In practical terms, first and foremost, you find the switch offer and then you use a cashback site such as TopCashback or Quidco to find out whether or nor the account of your choice also attracts a cashback pay-out.

Can I apply for multiple accounts simultaneously?

Yes, you can. A number of switch promotions from different high street banks happen to coexist at any given time. Discretion is to be applied here since you will need an equal number of donor accounts and also consider the potential negative impact on your credit rating.

How do I find bank switching offers?

A simple google search will suffice. I also strongly recommend you following me on social media as I keep track of the latest offers coming by.

2. Open a Stock & Shares ISA: £300

Some ISA providers are throwing the kitchen sink at it in order to gain new custom by offering substantial cashback rewards in exchange of opening a Stocks & Shares ISA. If you follow my Blog regularly, you will be familiar with the fact that all my Free Money proceeds are deposited in a basket of ISA accounts as part of my Investment Strategy. So allocating 30% of my Free Money Earnings to a S&S ISA is just a convenient set up for me. For you this is optional, however, you need to know that if you opt out, you are missing out on hundreds of pounds of Free Money.

How do I get Free Money from opening a S&S ISA?

Just by opening your selected S&S ISA via a cashback website, ie TopCashback or Quidco. Is it really that simple? Yes and no since you have to observe the following pointers with due care.

  • HMRC allows you to have as many S&S ISA accounts as you wish but you can only contribute to a single one of them during the financial year.
  • In order to receive cashback, you will need to either deposit a lump sum or to make a minimum deposit for a number of months.

So if you have already contributed into a S&S ISA you will need to wait until the next financial year before going ahead. If you satisfy this requirement, you then need to study the Terms & Conditions of the cashback offer to identify the investment/cashback reward ratio that suits you best. In my particular case, I aim for the highest cashback reward tying up as little of my own funds as possible.

Still unclear? Here are some examples:

Can I also collect Cashback from opening other types of ISA accounts?

Yes, you can. There are succulent offers for opening Cash ISAs, Junior ISAs (JISA), Lifetime ISAs (LISA) and IFISAs.

How do I find S&S ISAs cashback offers?

Run a search on your favourite cashback website and take the time to study every offer individually. Once selected, and for peace of mind, you will need to complete your due diligence by researching your provider of choice.

3. Use a Cashback Credit Card for all your purchases: £200

I think this is the easiest and most underrated way of getting Free Money. I mean, the previous two are completely optional, but unless you are a society drop out (unlikely if you are reading these lines) you need to spend money to function. Why not getting something back every time you do so? This is where Cashback Credit Cards come into play.

How do I get Free Money from a Cashback Credit Card?

Just by using it for every purchase you make. The higher the price tag and the more you spend with it the more cashback you will accrue.

My personal choice is the American Express AMEX Platinum Credit Card (if you sign up via this link, you will receive a £25 reward). Their T&Cs are as follows:

  • 5% for the first three months up to a maximum of £125 (first £2,500 expenditure).
  • 0.75% from £2,500 to £10,000 expenditure (annually).
  • 1.25% after spending £10,000 with the card (annually).
  • £25 annual card fee (to be deducted from cashback earnings).

How much cashback can I earn?

Depends on your level of spending really. Using the AMEX Platinum as an example, you can estimate your cashback rewards with the help of the following table:

Cashback RateExpenditureTotalAccumulative
5%£2,500£125£125
0.75%£2,500-£10,000£56£181
1.25%£10,000-£20,000£125£306

Where you sit in this matrix is given by your personal circumstances. What I would advise though, is to apply and use the credit card if you are planning on a big expense such us:

  • Christmas Shopping.
  • Holidays or short breaks (ie: hotels, flights, packages, cruises, etc.).
  • Home refurbishment projects (ie: kitchen, bathroom, garden, etc.).
  • White goods and appliances purchases (ie: boiler, fridge, oven, washing machine, TV, computer, smartphone, etc.)
  • Car/bike/vehicle purchase.

As for myself, I made over £250 cashback from my AMEX credit card last year (see post How to make £250+ Cashback from an American Express Platinum Credit Card).

4. Use Cashback websites for all your purchases: £100

We buy stuff. We all do. No matter the commodity or service, chances are you buy online. When you do, please do not miss out on collecting cashback for your purchases by buying via a cashback website as the likes of TopCashback or Quidco.

How do I get Free Money from Cashback Websites?

Cashback websites return money to shoppers for their purchases. This is possible because the cashback site is reimbursing the commission of the sale instead of keeping it as profit. The price tag will be the same regardless. To get cashback, you just need to login and click on the link to the merchant of your choice through the cashback website. Once the purchase is completed, the transaction will then be tracked, and after a maturation period, the cashback will be paid to you (usually via BACS or Paypal).

How much cashback can I earn?

Again, depends on your level of spending. I don’t consider myself a big spender but I make hundreds a year from casual purchases.

What is important to note here is that if you use a cashback credit card as a method of payment, you will be getting a double whammy in terms of money back. So, for instance, you make a £1,000 purchase (or series of purchases for £1,000) qualifying for a 5% cashback and you use a cashback credit card as your payment method (5% with AMEX) you will be netting £100 as cashback. Too far fetched? Absolutely not. I do it all the time every time.

If you need a reference as to how much cashback you can get in a single year please feel free to browse my Income Reports but for a prime example of what can be achieved, I do recommend reading I made £987 from Cashback in 2023.

5. Switch, save and get cashback: £100

This method is particularly useful for insurance and utilities contracts. Did you know that by shopping around for the best deal you not only save yourself a small fortune but collect hundreds of pounds of cashback in the process?

How do I get Free Money from Switching?

Step 1. You use a number of comparison engines to find yourself the best deal.

Step 2. You complete the purchase via a cashback website (you go it: TopCashback or Quidco) to net Free Money as cashback for your valuable custom.

I am anything but short of examples for this one:

How much cashback can I earn?

Hundreds per year. If you switch home and car insurance plus energy and broadband suppliers I would be surprised if you don’t pocket over £200. For a single one of them anything in between £40 and £100. You decide what combination works best for you.

6. Sell your clutter: £100

Right. If you followed me up to this point you shouldn’t be far off from the £1,000 mark. In fact, you should probably be comfortably surpassing it. Well, if not, you are in luck because selling my no longer needed items has never let me down. Actually, I set myself a target of £500 profit from decluttering per year and I only missed it once over the last ten years.

How do I get Free Money from decluttering?

By flogging your unwanted stuff in a marketplace like eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Vinted, etc.

What can I sell?

Anything. And I mean anything. I will never cease to be amazed at the things that I have shifted over the years but if I had to rank them in order of demand and prices fetched, it would be as follows:

  • Tech items like smartphones, laptops, tablets, videogames consoles, wearables, etc.
  • Electronics: digital cameras, routers, tv boxes, etc.
  • Furniture
  • Sports equipment
  • Toys
  • Clothing

I made £1,352 in 2021, £680 in 2022, £190 in 2023 (ridiculous) and £611 in 2024. Grand total of £2,833.

Still hesitant? Not to worry. I have compiled the following posts for your interest:

How much can I earn from selling my clutter?

I made thousands. So can you. Statistics say that the average UK household keeps around £4,000 worth of clutter. I challenge you to have a rummage around the house and see what you can find. Nevertheless, I will be extremely conservative here and assume that you can only make £100.

Found this post useful? Spread the word.

I truly hope that you found this post useful or at least gave you inspiration to try some Free Money making ideas. If so, I would be grateful if you can spread the word and share it.

For more hints & tips as well as the latest in my Free Money Making Journey please subscribe to my newsletter. Happy money making. Until the next one… Tada.

Tags:

You may also like...