Looking for quick ways to make extra cash? From selling on Vinted to getting paid to play games on your phone, here are 10 realistic ways to make money this weekend in the UK.
Whether your bank account needs a boost before payday or you’re trying to build up a little buffer, the good news is there are more ways than ever to make extra money without leaving your sofa — or your street. Some of these you can start in the next ten minutes. Others take a bit of setup but can keep earning for weeks. Here are ten genuinely worth trying.
10 Ways to Make Money This Weekend
1. Get Paid to Play Games with Tester Up
If you’ve ever wished someone would pay you to lie on the sofa and play games on your phone, Tester Up is as close as it gets. The app pays you to download and play mobile games, earning cash as you hit certain milestones and levels. It’s free to join, available in the UK, and pays out via PayPal once you hit the withdrawal threshold.
I’ve been using it for about 90 days now and have made around £50 playing Monopoly Go, Raid Masters and Dice Dreams — all of which are genuinely fun and surprisingly easy to level up on. You’re not going to replace your salary, but if you’re already a casual mobile gamer, you might as well be earning while you do it.
Realistic earnings for most people tend to be in the £20–£150 a month range depending on how much time you put in and which games you pick. It works best if you’re already a fan of mobile games — in that case, it’s a no-brainer to check whether there’s a paid incentive before you download anything new.
👉 Sign up with my referral link here: https://www.testerup.com/?r=35556846
2. Sell Your Stuff on Vinted
Vinted is one of the best platforms going for shifting secondhand clothes, shoes, and accessories — and crucially, the seller doesn’t pay any fees, so what you list is what you earn. The buyer covers the platform fee, which makes it genuinely more profitable than other apps.
Have a wardrobe clear-out this weekend, take some good photos in natural light, and get listing. Branded items, vintage pieces, and anything in great condition tend to sell fastest — but honestly, even high street basics move if the price is right.
Tip: Bundle similar items together (e.g. a “size 12 bundle”) to shift more in one go and keep your shop looking active.
3. List on eBay
eBay still absolutely holds its own for anything beyond clothing — think electricals, books, toys, homeware, hobby items, and collectibles. You get a set number of free listings per month, and with the app making it easy to list from your phone in minutes, there’s no real barrier to getting started.
Sold something? Tap “Send offer to watchers” before the listing ends — it’s one of the quickest ways to convert interest into a sale.
4. Facebook Marketplace for Local Selling
For bulkier items — furniture, garden stuff, kids’ gear, bikes — Facebook Marketplace is often the fastest route because buyers can collect in person, which means no packaging, no postage, and cash in hand (or a quick bank transfer) the same day. List it, price it fairly, and you could genuinely have money by this afternoon.
5. Offer Your Skills on People Per Hour
If you’ve got a marketable skill — writing, graphic design, social media management, data entry, bookkeeping, voiceovers, translation — People Per Hour is a UK-based freelance platform where you can pick up paid gigs. You can either respond to project listings or create your own “Hourlies” (fixed-price service listings) and wait for clients to find you.
It’s not instant money like selling old stuff is, but if you land even one small job this weekend, it starts building your profile for ongoing work.
6. Sign Up as a Delivery Driver
If you’ve got a bike, scooter, or car, food delivery is one of the most accessible ways to earn cash almost immediately. Uber Eats, Just Eat, and Deliveroo all operate across the UK, and the sign-up process is fairly quick (though there’s usually a background check involved, so this one is slightly longer lead time than the others).
Evenings and weekends tend to be the busiest — and therefore most lucrative — slots. Many drivers treat it as a top-up rather than a main income, doing a few hours on a Saturday evening for a meaningful boost. Remember things like paydays and popular areas where you are delivering – it all helps.
7. Try Matched Betting (Risk-Free When Done Properly)
This one sounds dodgy but is entirely legal and genuinely used by a lot of people to earn tax-free money. Matched betting involves using free bets from bookmaker promotions to guarantee a profit regardless of the outcome, by placing opposing bets on a betting exchange. Sites like OddsMonkey and Profit Accumulator walk you through it step by step.
It does require a bit of focus to get started, but many people make anywhere from £200–£500+ in their first month working through welcome offers. Not for everyone, but worth a mention for those who are comfortable with numbers and want a more structured approach.
8. Rent Out What You’re Not Using
Not just a room — think more creatively. Fat Llama lets you rent out everything from cameras to power tools to projectors. JustPark lets you rent out a driveway or parking space. Stashbee connects people who need storage with people who have a spare room or garage. If you’ve got space or stuff sitting idle, someone will probably pay to use it.
9. Look Into Affiliate Marketing
This one takes longer to pay off, but it’s worth starting now — because once it’s set up, it genuinely earns while you sleep. Affiliate marketing means sharing a unique link to a product or service, and earning a commission whenever someone buys through it.
If you have a blog, social media following, or even a well-trafficked Pinterest account, you can apply to programmes like Amazon Associates, AWIN, Skimlinks, or individual brand affiliate programmes. The key is promoting things that are actually relevant to what you already talk about — it feels natural and converts much better.
The realistic bit: you won’t earn this weekend from affiliate marketing unless you already have an audience. But setting up accounts and getting your links in order this weekend means the earning starts from now.
10. Sell Digital Products
If you’ve got a skill or knowledge worth sharing — whether that’s a budget template, a meal plan, a printable planner, or a guide on literally anything — you can package it up and sell it as a digital download. Gumroad and Etsy are both beginner-friendly, and once the product is created and listed, you can earn from it repeatedly with zero additional effort. I sell my own digital products on Gumroad if you want a real-life example. Currently you can affiliate for me getting 40% of the fee of the download.
The key is solving a specific problem for a specific person. Even something simple and well-presented can sell consistently over time.
Final Thoughts
There’s no magic solution, but the options above are all legitimate, accessible ways to bring in extra money — whether you want quick wins this weekend or you’re planting seeds for something more long-term. Start with whatever suits your situation: got stuff to sell? Vinted and eBay. Got a car? Deliveroo. Got a phone and some downtime? Tester Up is genuinely worth a try.
Have you tried any of these? Let me know how you get on in the comments!
Photo by Jakub Zerdzicki: https://www.pexels.com/photo/typing-on-keyboard-in-office-16284689/