Right. Let me tell you about my first month trying these income ideas.

Not theory. Not "best case scenarios." What actually happened when I, a 60-something retiree with decent but not exceptional tech skills, tried to make extra money online.

Full disclosure: I made mistakes. Some things worked better than expected. Some things were a complete waste of time. And yes, I made actual money—though not life-changing amounts.

Here's the day-by-day reality.

Week 1: The "Setup Week" (£0 earned, but foundation laid)

Monday-Tuesday: Tool Setup

I spent about 3 hours over two days setting up ChatGPT, Canva, PayPal, and my Etsy shop. Nothing fancy. Just following the instructions.

Biggest surprise: It was easier than I expected. I kept waiting for something to go wrong or get complicated. It didn't.

Wednesday-Friday: The Clutter Purge

I went through my garage, spare room, and kitchen cupboards. Found 23 items to sell:

• 8 books I'd never read again

• 4 kitchen gadgets I never used

• 3 old tools

• 5 items of clothing my wife convinced me I'd never wear again

• 3 random electronics (old Bluetooth speaker, tablet case, etc.)

I listed them on eBay and Facebook Marketplace. Took photos with my phone. Wrote basic descriptions. Nothing professional.

Time spent: About 4 hours total photographing and listing.

Weekend: First Digital Product Attempt

Saturday afternoon, I used ChatGPT to help me create a simple 5-page PDF: "10 Essential Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Tradesman."

Why that topic? Because I used to work in construction management, and I was sick of hearing about my friends getting ripped off by dodgy contractors.

Used Canva to make it look decent. Listed it on Etsy for £4.99.

Total Week 1 earnings: £0 Time invested: 8-10 hours Mood: Cautiously optimistic, slightly impatient

Week 2: First Money (£87 earned)

Monday: Woke up to an email. Someone had bought my old Bluetooth speaker on eBay for £18. After fees, I made £15.30.

First sale. Felt bloody brilliant, honestly. Proved this wasn't fantasy.

Tuesday-Thursday: Three more items sold from my clutter listings:

• Kitchen gadget: £12 (£10.20 after fees)

• Two books: £8 each (£13.60 total after fees)

Friday: Started the smartphone routine. Downloaded 6 survey apps (Qmee, Prolific, AttaPoll, Swagbucks, Google Opinion Rewards, iPoll).

Spent 30 minutes that evening doing surveys while watching TV. Made £2.40.

Weekend: Listed 10 more items from the house. Also started entering Instagram competitions while having my morning coffee—took about 15 minutes.

No sales on Etsy yet from my PDF.

Total Week 2 earnings: £41.10 Time invested: 6-7 hours Mood: Encouraged. The survey apps were tedious but they worked.

Week 3: The Reality Check (£156 earned)

Monday-Wednesday: More items sold on eBay:

• Old tools: £35 (£30.10 after fees)

• Tablet case: £8 (£6.80 after fees)

• Two more books: £12 total (£10.20 after fees)

Also did survey apps most evenings while sitting on the sofa. Made another £9.50 for the week.

Thursday: First Etsy sale! Someone bought my tradesman questions PDF for £4.99. After Etsy's fees, I kept £4.20.

Not much money. But the principle hit me: I'd created something once, and it had just sold while I was asleep. That's the definition of passive income.

Friday: Decided to create a second product based on my old job. Used ChatGPT again: "How to Read a Building Quote (And Spot Red Flags)."

Another simple PDF. Listed at £5.99.

Weekend: I was running out of stuff to sell from my own house, so I went to a local car boot sale Sunday morning. Bought 5 items that I knew were underpriced (old books, a vintage tin, a tool I recognized was worth more than they were asking).

Spent: £18 Time: 2 hours

Relisted them all on eBay Sunday evening.

Also kept up the survey app routine and entered about 40 competitions on Instagram/TikTok throughout the week.

Total Week 3 earnings: £60.80 Time invested: 8-9 hours Mood: Starting to see the pattern. Multiple small streams adding up.

Week 4: The Compound Effect (£198 earned)

Monday-Wednesday:

• Car boot items sold for total of £67 (£57.20 after fees). Net profit after my £18 investment: £39.20.

• More items from the house sold: £22 (£18.70 after fees)

• Survey apps: £12.40

• Second Etsy sale: someone bought my building quote PDF (£5.05 after fees)

Thursday: Added a third product to Etsy: "The 7-Day Decluttering Challenge" (I figured people might want help doing what I'd just done). Listed at £3.99.

Friday: Got a message from someone on Facebook Marketplace offering £30 for an old chair I'd listed at £45. Accepted it. Sometimes negotiation is fine—£30 cash in hand is better than a chair gathering dust.

Weekend:

• Found an Instagram competition I'd entered 3 weeks ago—I'd WON a £50 Amazon voucher. Completely forgot I'd even entered it. Confirmed my details and they said it'd arrive in a week.

• Kept up survey app routine

• Listed 8 more items on eBay (combination of leftover house stuff and 3 new car boot finds)

• First sale of my decluttering PDF on Etsy (£3.35 after fees)

Total Week 4 earnings: £128.70 Time invested: 9-10 hours Mood: Genuinely surprised. This was actually working.

The Month 1 Final Tally

Let me break down the complete picture:

Selling Unused Items: £201.40 (net after fees) Survey Apps: £24.30 Etsy Digital Products: £12.60 (3 sales from 3 products) Instagram Competition Win: £50 Amazon voucher Car Boot Reselling: £39.20 (net profit)

Total Month 1 Value: £327.50 Time Invested: 32-36 hours (roughly 8-9 hours per week)

What Actually Worked

1. Selling stuff I already owned Fast cash. Immediate results. Built my confidence. Would absolutely recommend this as your first step.

2. Survey apps (despite being boring) Consistent pocket money. I could do them while watching TV or waiting for appointments. Not exciting, but reliable.

3. Entering competitions Zero effort. Takes 15 minutes with morning coffee. Won one prize in month 1, but I've entered 200+ competitions that are still pending.

4. Digital products on Etsy Only 3 sales, but here's what matters: I created 3 products that now sit there selling without me doing anything. That's the seed of passive income.

What Didn't Work (Yet)

1. Print-on-demand I didn't even attempt it in month 1. Too much to learn, and I wanted to focus on quick wins first. Month 2 goal.

2. Expecting overnight success on Etsy Three sales from three products isn't viral success. But it's proof of concept. I need more products and more time for Etsy's algorithm to notice me.

3. Perfect product syndrome I wasted 2 hours "perfecting" my first PDF. Nobody cared. They bought it anyway. Lesson learned: done beats perfect.

What I'd Do Differently -If I could start over, I'd:

1. List MORE items faster - I was too precious about photographs and descriptions. Good enough is fine.

2. Set up ALL the survey apps on day 1 - I lost a week of easy income by being skeptical.

3. Create 5 Etsy products in week 1 instead of 1 - The sooner they're listed, the sooner they can start selling.

4. Not worry about car boot sales yet - Fun, but that time could've been spent creating more digital products (which have infinite upside).

The Biggest Surprise

The money wasn't the shocking part.

What actually surprised me was how normal it felt by week 3.

I'd incorporated these activities into my daily routine:

• 20 minutes on survey apps with breakfast

• Checking eBay/Etsy notifications a few times a day

• Entering competitions while having coffee

• Spending one afternoon a week creating or listing something new

It didn't feel like "running a business." It felt like productive hobbies that happened to pay.

The Psychological Shift

Here's what happened in my head during that first month:

Week 1: "I'll give this a try, but I'm probably wasting my time."

Week 2: "Oh. This is actually real money."

Week 3: "Hang on... if I keep this up, this could be £300-400 monthly."

Week 4: "What if I added two more income streams?"

That shift from skepticism to possibility? That was worth more than the £327.50.

Because now I know it's possible. And if month 1 brought in £327, what could month 3 bring? Month 6?

Your Turn

I shared all of this—the boring bits, the mistakes, the small wins—because I want you to have realistic expectations.

You're not going to make £2,000 in month 1. But £200-400? Absolutely achievable if you commit to 8-10 hours weekly.

And here's the beautiful part: it gets easier and more profitable as you go. My month 2 was better than month 1. Month 3 was better than month 2.

So let me ask you: what's stopping you from having your own "month 1" starting this week?

You've got the tools. You've got the knowledge. You've got my real-world results showing it actually works.

What you need now is to just... start.

Action Step: Commit to your own 30-day experiment. Pick one income stream. Track your time and earnings. Report back. I want to hear your results.

I really hope you did download my FREE report Digital Home Income Ideas that Actually Work

If not here’s the link – it contains 16 great ideas to get you started!

Cheers

Tony

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 Email: tony@tarlmarketing.co.uk

 Website: Tarl Marketing.com