Being skint is a bad place to be — and if you’re here, you probably are. The job market isn’t the ray of light we’d like it to be— and when you’ve exhausted sofa diving, it can be more than a little difficult to scrape the pennies together. Luckily for you, when actual jobs just aren’t a viable option, there are still plenty of plan Bs out there for the execution.

At Instant Lolly, we’re in the business of monetary lifelines, so we’ve got a few financial hacks in case you need money now but don’t fancy taking out a payday loan just yet. Every day there are more ways to make money from home, or just about anywhere else — and we’ve taken the liberty of compiling our top ten 21st century money-makers you really can bet your bottom dollar on. Get stuck in.

1. Have An Opinion

Opinionated individuals with enough time on their hands can make some extra dollar simply by speaking up. Market research is a nice easy fix for financial struggles and can be a nice little earner if you fancy being a part of the all-important survey. If you’re critically skint but have more creative inclinations than market research, however, you could be paid to review new music for a variety of music blogs and magazines. This is the ideal way to get your voice out there and some extra cash in your wallet.

2. Get Rid

Hoarders ready to make the big change and dispose of their material shackles, behold the beauty of selling your old junk online. eBay, Gumtree and craigslist are the holy triad in this space, giving stuff-owners a fantastic forum to exchange their possessions for real life money. We assure you, whether it’s retro paraphernalia, old electronics or obscure musical instruments, someone out there will want it and they’ll be willing to pay for it.

3. Shop Mysteriously

Mystery shopping is an enigmatic and coveted way to make money, with this valuable market research offering a mutually beneficial exchange between you and a number of retailers. At the expense of your time, you can visit local bars, dine in restaurants and stay in hotels and actually, genuinely be paid for it. This concept takes the idea of funding your lifestyle to a new level, with aspiring mystery shoppers earning extra pocket money by doing all the fun stuff and helping businesses to improve the customer experience along the way.

4. Money Everytime You/They Click

Online ads may indeed be the scourge of 21st century society, but they are without doubt one of the least intensive ways to ‘earn’ money, short of inheriting from a recently deceased relative. There are a ton of sites out there which exist solely to pay you for clicking on ads — and the other side of this pretty penny is less effort still. Google AdSense will give you money every time someone clicks on an ad they find on your blog – easy as that. Simply display targeted, contextual ads on your blog and make money every time an unsuspecting user steps into your web.

5. Don’t Get Wrecked at Glasto

Sure, getting wrecked at <insert major music festival here> is awesome — and we don’t imagine foregoing the festival delights in favour of hard graft is something that interests you – but there’s a nice amount of money to be made as festival staff — oh yeah, and attending the festival for free is cool too. Pulling pints that aren’t for you might seem depressing, but the proximity of drinks tents to main festival stages is surely enough of an incentive.

6. Kick It Roadside

Those of you with that bright, entrepreneurial spirit but without the means to kickstart a legitimate enterprise can keep it old-school with a roadside stand. With prime placement and a sufficiently cutesy stand design, you can make some real dinero from selling your homemade candy/smoothies/origami creatures/kitschy knickknacks. You’ve seen the lemonade stands in the movies where little girls charge 99p a pop and arrive home millionaires, right? Well that’s exactly how it works — so make a move and you could get in on the roadside revenue action.

7. Embrace Your Inner Wallflower

Bet you didn’t think you could make money from blending into the background? Well you can. Perpetual wallflowers looking to supplement their income can find their Z-list fame by working as film or TV extra. There’s a lot to be said for filling space — and in the media industry, they’ve even put a price on it. In this obscure and bizarrely profitable space, you’re looking at up to £100 for a day’s work — hefty earnings in return for just being there.

8. Do It for Science

How far would you go in the name of science? To the ends of the Earth? We thought so. Particularly skint individuals will love how much coin they’ll get for playing guinea pigs. With an incredible array of areas where you can get involved — and with participation earning you somewhere between £500 and £3k — this is an exciting, worthwhile and gratifying way to earn some serious cash. Eczema sufferers, asthmatics, postmenopausal females, your time has come! Exploit your medical history today and get paid for it.

9. Pretty Profits

You know those creative geniuses you see all over Etsy selling their glorious goods to the online masses for a sexy profit? You could be one of those creative geniuses! All you’ll need for this one is the basic technical competency to set up your Etsy account, and then a little creative genius. After that, it’s smooth sailing — whether you’re a New Age carpenter, sock puppet extraordinaire or you just want to capitalise on some homemade pop culture merch, this nifty little online store is the key to making money you have legitimately earned.

10. Wrap It Up

Unless you’re the kind of person who’s intrinsically opposed to guerilla marketing and prefers sticking things to the man, you might want to stick an advertising wrap to your car and make some money for as little as getting from A to B. Vehicle wraps are an exceptionally passive way to get that pocket money rolling in – and are a very subliminally powerful advertising tool, not that you care — and all it’s going to cost you is the respect of your more bohemian-minded buddies.