If you charge a boarder less than Inland Revenue’s ‘standard’ amount, you don’t pay tax With cost of living pressure rising, you might be wondering how to make more space in your budget. One way to ease the squeeze is to spend less, which is pretty hard when you’re already buying cheaper brands and cutting your power use . But the other way is to earn more.
We’ve compiled a list of things you could try to boost your income. Dog walk
If you are comfortable wrangling canines, you might want to offer yourself as a dog-walker. Dog walkers charge rates of $20 or more per walk, and if you can manage to take a few dogs with you, that can add up. Wellington couple Phil and Penny Krieg walk 12 to 16 at one time but say they spend time understanding how each dog interacts with others.
12 Things You Should Never Donate to Thrift Stores
12 Things You Should Never Donate to Thrift Stores, By Kentin Waits . Next to shopping, decluttering seems to be America’s favorite pastime. But not every unwanted item is welcome at donation centers. 1. CRT TVs, Even at secondhand prices, it’s n… Rent out a room
You’ll have to be okay with having someone else in your space, but renting out a room in your house can provide another source of income. There are thousands of single rooms listed for rent on Airbnb for anything from about $40 to $100 a night.
You can take in a longer-term tenant, too. As long as you do not charge more than Inland Revenue’s standard rate for a boarder, which was $194 a week in the 2021 tax year, you do not have to pay tax on this.
If you have flatmates, you’ll need to pay tax on the income you get from them but you can claim the expenses you incur, too, including home loan interest costs. If you can give people a space to park their car, you may be able to make some extra money. Rent your garage or parking space
If you don’t need your garage, you could make some extra money renting it to someone who needs somewhere to park, or to store things.
Sites like Allspace.co.nz connect people who have space to spare with people who need it. The site says you can earn about $200 to $300 a month renting out an average lock-up garage. The only downside is that you’ll need to have people coming on to your property to access it. (And you can’t be a hoarder, yourself.) Sell your stuff
If you haven’t cleaned out your wardrobe for a while, now could be a good time.
Trade Me spokesperson Millie Silvester said there had been a resurgence in interest in clothing on the site.
“We reckon more Kiwis are getting into secondhand clothing because it’s sustainable and economical for both buyers and sellers. It’s also a great way to find something unique.”
She said there was a 25% year-on-year increase in sales in the vintage and retro women’s clothing category on the site last month. “This was also reflected in searches, which were up 152% in April when compared with the same month last year.
“Searches for ‘quilted jackets’ were up 60% in April when compared with the month prior, seeing over 1500 searches,” she said.
“Faux fur jackets became popular in the 1980s and they’re making a comeback, too. Last month we saw a 46%jump in searches for ‘faux fur’ with over 2800 searches.”
She said the return of school balls meant there was also an outlet for ball gowns.
“Last month, searches for ‘formal dress’ were up 77% month-on-month with over 3200 searches. ‘Ball gown’ searches were also up 49% on the month prior.”
People were also searching for winter clothing, including wearable, hooded blankets called Oodies. There were 11,000 searches for these in April. Get online Sometimes it seems like everyone is making money from an online side hustle. Sites like Fiverr, Upwork and Freelancer connect people with skills in things like content writing or web design with people who have a project that needs work. You can also sell your creations on sites like Etsy or Chooice. If you identify products offshore that you think New Zealand shoppers would be into, you might be able to set up a dropshipping site (where the supplier sends direct to the customer) or you could import small quantities and sell them on.Shopify is one fairly easy platform to use to set up a new retail site. It said […]