How to save money on and make money from your phone

If you’re feeling the pinch in lockdown, you’re not alone. Although restrictions are slowly being lifted, meaning that for many people, life is getting back to normal, others are still recovering financially from the impact of being unable to work for the past few months. If you were not eligible for furlough at the beginning of lockdown, or were self-employed and not eligible for financial support, cutting down your monthly expenses might be a priority for you right now. Even if you have been furloughed from your job, living on 80% of their regular wage can be quite tight for some.

Thankfully, there are several ways that you can save money on things like your smartphone during this trying time. If you’re currently paying a lot of money for your phone, you might not need to spend that much.

Downgrade Your Contract

If you are still tied into a monthly smartphone contract, you might be able to downgrade it in order to save some money. This might be especially useful if you are spending a lot more time than usual at home right now, and no longer need the amount of data that you chose when you first took the contract out. The best thing to do is get in touch with your network provider to see if you can downgrade to a cheaper contract with less data.

Consider a SIM-only Contract

If you’re no longer tied into your contract but still paying the fee on a rolling monthly basis, you might be paying a lot more than you actually need to. If you are happy sticking with your current smartphone and don’t want to upgrade your contract right now, you can find great deals with Lebara’s SIM only plans.

Lebara SIM only deals start from just £5 per month for 2GB data, 1000 UK minutes, 1000 UK texts, plus atleast 100 international minutes to 41 countries included for free in every plan!  All their plans are 30 day – rolling, so you can change or cancel any time before your next renewal. Sign up is simple and can often be completed in less than 60 seconds. You can be assured of reliable and fast 4G speeds as they run on the Vodafone network and are consistently rated Excellent on TrustPilot. If you’re expecting to go back to work when the restrictions are fully lifted and might need more mobile data in the future – the flexibility they offer is ideal while offering great value for money. You can explore the full range of Lebara SIM only deals here.

Downgrade Your Handset

If you’re really feeling the pinch, then you may want to consider downgrading your smartphone handset. If you have a top-of-the-line, almost brand-new phone and don’t really need all the features that it offers, it might be worth considering trading it in for an older, cheaper model so that you can pocket some cash. If you’re in a contract, it’s worth getting in touch with your network provider as many offer the option to change your handset as and when you like, and you could downgrade your entire package by going for a cheaper phone.

Alternatively, you could go down the DIY route and sell your phone privately using a site like eBay and use the money to get yourself a cheaper model and keep the rest of it for anything else you need.

Money-Making Apps

Don’t worry if you can’t downgrade your contract or your handset right now; there are still some things that you can do to make money using your phone during the lockdown, which you can put towards the monthly cost of running it. For example, there are plenty of survey apps that you can download and use in your spare time to make some extra cash; you’ll usually earn points which can then be converted to PayPal credits or vouchers for Amazon and other popular shops. You can also get cashback apps which can be really handy if you are looking for a new, cheaper mobile phone contract or buying anything else like car insurance during the lockdown since there’s a wide range of cashback offers available simply for making a purchase that you were going to make anyway. Receipt scanning apps are another ideal option, allowing you to make money back from your essential shopping trips.

Use Your Phone to Buy and Sell

With apps like eBay, Gumtree, and Facebook Marketplace widely available for any smartphone, another way you can use your phone to make some extra cash during the lockdown is to use it as a tool for selling. If you can’t sell the phone itself, look around your home and see if there’s anything that you could make some extra money from if you don’t use it anymore. People are always looking for a bargain, so if you’ve got old gadgets, household goods, or clothing that you haven’t used or worn for a while, grab your phone and list it for sale online to make some extra money.

Find a Gig from Your Phone

If you’re among the thousands of people looking for work during the lockdown, it’s a great time to take advantage of the gig economy and find something that you can do using your phone. For example, providing that you have the right insurance on your car, you can download the Uber or Deliveroo app and sign up to be a food delivery driver in your area; there’s certainly no shortage of work on offer with restaurants still closed and people ordering food in more than ever.

If you don’t drive, or you can’t afford to upgrade the insurance on your car, then you can also sign up to do this kind of work using a bicycle. You will be working mainly on your phone, using the app that alerts you when there is an order to be picked up and delivered in your area. You’ll then have the chance to take that order if you can do it, and then, of course, you’ll need your phone to direct you to where you’re picking it up from and dropping it off.

Sell Your Photos

If you chose your smartphone purely for the amazing camera and love taking pictures with it, there are opportunities for you to put this hobby to work, earning you some extra money during the lockdown. Download the app FOAP to your phone, where you can start selling stock photos. The app is free to download, and you can start using it straight away. You will have the option to create a portfolio of your photographs and you can submit photos to ‘missions’ which are regularly posted on the app, where a certain type of photo is requested by big companies looking for a certain image.

Work from Your Phone

If you are a skilled customer services representative or salesperson, you might be able to find freelance work using your phone. Many companies take on freelance customer service representatives to conduct web chats with customers or phone calls to answer their queries. More and more companies are hiring freelance customer service reps to work from the comfort of their own home, so it’s definitely worth doing some research into any positions that might be available. Or, if you have a knack for teaching, there are apps like NiceTalk where you can work remotely as an English language tutor. You’ll need to register and be approved first, and then you can start taking requests from students.

If you’re feeling the pinch in lockdown, saving money on your smartphone might be a good place to start. And failing that, there are plenty of ways to use your phone to make some extra cash.