Yes! You CAN make self-employment income whilst on maternity leave and receiving SMP. Let’s delve into easy ways to earn money on maternity leave whilst looking after your newborn!
Not many people tell you this but YES you can earn money while on SMP, I did just that when I had my first born and made over £10,000!!
You can’t work for your employer, expect for KIT days, but you can work for yourself because self-employment doesn’t affect your maternity pay. Just make sure it’s not a conflict of interest with the work you already do. That means you can start freelancing, selling digital products or do a bunch of easy online side hustles like I did to earn some extra money.
I made over £10k whilst on maternity leave and it completely changed my finances. Imagine coming out of maternity leave with extra savings instead of struggling.
So from someone who made thousands while on maternity leave here’s some side hustles I’d recommend to make some extra cash…
Matched Betting
I didn’t actually know about this side hustle when I was on maternity leave but I wish I did. I’ve made thousands since knowing about it. You can do it at any time of day which makes it perfect for fitting it into your new schedule. Matched Betting can offer big returns for not a huge amount of effort.
Click here to download your free Matched Betting guide to figure out if this is the side hustle for you!
Plus any earnings from matched betting are completely tax-free as they class as gambling income. Meaning this one would be perfect if you’re worried about having to file a tax self-assessment as you wouldn’t need to.
Mystery Shopping
I loved doing mystery shopping on mat leave as it got me out of the house with my little baba whilst also earning some extra money. Plus you can usually bag some good freebies with mystery shopping, like meals out or products.
Sites/apps to use:
- Roamler
- Proinsight
- Fieldagent
- Marketforce
- ProductTube
Website Testing
This one can be done at any time of day and is completely flexible. I used to love getting on my laptop in the evening when my little one was asleep to pick up some tests and earn some money. And it’s super easy!
If you’ve got a pair of headphones and working webcam, you can get paid to test websites and provide honest feedback for the clients.
Sites/apps to use:
- UserTesting
- TestBirds
- Testing Time
- UserBrain
Market Research
This is the side hustle which will pay you to share your opinions. Market research will never NOT be one of my favourite side hustles. The studies usually pay really well, paying anything from £30 per hour for your time but it’s usually a lot more. I once got paid £300 to cook a researcher a meal and talk about food in my own home.
This was my highest paying side hustle when I was maternity leave and is one I don’t think I’ll ever give up.
Sites/apps to use:
Bank Switching
Bank switching is such an easy way to make hundreds in extra income for minimal time investment. Banks will literally pay you to switch to them and no you don’t have to switch your main account. Typically switch incentives range from £150-£300!
Usually they require you to switch over a certain amount of direct debits, pay in a minimum and maybe make some card transactions. But the required effort and time investment is super low for a very high reward.
Surveys
You either love them or hate them but surveys are a great side hustle to dip in and out of when you have a spare few minutes. Instead of scrolling during night feeds you could be answering easy surveys to make some extra income. They’re not going to make you a millionaire but you can definitely cover some extras each month with surveys.
Sites/apps to use:
- MSR
- Eureka Surveys – code QRLK1D
- Survey Pop – code XRY4K5
- Survey Spin – code 381EHY
- AttaPoll
- Influence
Cashback
Technically, cashback isn’t a side hustle BUT it feels very valuable in include in this list as an easy win to put money back into your wallet whilst on maternity leave. If you’re not already getting cashback when you spend money you are leaving money on the table.
Cashback is where you receive money back when you make a purchase. It’s like getting a discount except it gets refunded to you instead of applied before you pay. Plus you can now get cashback on gift cards. For example, instead of paying for each food shop at the till as normal with your card, you could get cashback by pre-buying a supermarket gift card.
Sites/apps to use:
- EverUp
- TopCashback
- Cheddar
- Jam Doughnut – use code GPG3
- Quidco
- Airtime Rewards – use code XANVDAUD
There are so many different ways you could make money while on maternity leave to top up your SMP. I hope this posts gives you some inspiration and a place to start. Have you tried any of these side hustles before?
