Earning extra income.

I have done well with Premium Bonds over the years. Now and again I "cash in" a block of £1,000 and reinvest with new bonds. It does seem that new bonds can be luckier than old ones. On one occasion I wrote to complain that I had "invested" all my savings in Premium Bonds and had not won anything for six months. Maybe it was co-incidence but the following month I won £500. There must be a great number of unclaimed prizes when people have moved address without notifying the change or have died. We once had a prize a few months late and the accompanying letter said my husband's name had been on the reserve list when a bond that was ineligible had ben awarded a prize. !!!

I have won £50 once on a single premium bond given to me at birth (1950). I think I still have it. My daughter has never won anything on 100 premium bonds given to her as a christening present (1983). I think she still has them. I don't think that they are much of an investment.

We had premium bonds for long time , but won next to nothing . Cashed them in and put the money into a high interest account .

Premium Bonds attract no interest, of course, and I'm sure we all know someone who's had theirs for so long without winning a penny that they've almost forgotten about them!

The most important financial advice to give to those who work is to work hard to make money and then make your money work for you. Interest rates on savings accounts are abysmally low but cast your net around. My son "invested" £100 in Premium bonds last May and this month has won £25. A friend who also took my advice bought ten blocks of £100 a while ago and to her and my amazement won £1,000 the first time they went into the draw. The lottery is money down the drain except for almost everybody except the one big winner.

You will get more suggestions on Money Saving Expert (AKA Martin's Money Tips) than we Gransnetters could ever come up with. There is a huge difference between wanting a little extra 'pin money' or needing a substantial boost because income does not cover outgoings. You would have to provide more detail (which you may not wish to do) in order to get appropriate suggestions.

Try writing letters to magazines such as YOURS - that magazine pays £10 in love to shop vouchers, other womans magazines and loads of other magazines and newspapers such as the PEOPLE pay for letters.

Why not have a go at filing in surveys? some people make a steady income this way

There was a thread on this a little while ago. I think it was called "pin money" and was on the "Work and volunteering" topic. Have a look at that, some of the suggestions may suit you. I would say it is a question of deciding what you are good at and finding out whether there are any opportunities for it in your area.

Whatever you do, don't get conned into one of those schemes where you send off a fortune upfront for literature and supplies and then send most of your profits to the organisers.