A MONEY-SAVING mum has revealed how she pocketed £260 in less than five minutes while on her lunch break.
Neesha Craig traded in her iPhone 14 Pro during her lunch break and had the cash in her bank account within minutes.
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The mum, who lives in Swansea, shares money-making tips online as The Fun Money Club, said the whole process took just 28 minutes.
She even had time left over to grab some lunch and put her feet up before heading back to work.
Neesha told her followers: “I’ve just made £260 in under 30 minutes.”
She added that it was “so quick and easy to do”.
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Neesha first entered her phone’s model and storage size on musicMagpie’s website to receive an instant valuation.
She then chose Timpson as her drop-off option and took the handset to her nearest participating store.
The phone was checked and, once accepted, £260 was paid directly into her bank account.
MusicMagpie’s partnership with Timpson allows customers to drop off eligible phones and iPads at selected stores rather than posting them.
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But they aren’t the only option if you’re looking to make some quick cash from your old phones.
Other options include BackMarket where you can get an offer within 2 minutes and then you can send your item for free or sellmymobile.com that lets you compare offers from recyclers.
An estimated 267million used smartphones, tablets and laptops suitable for reuse or repair are lying in homes across the UK, according to Virgin Media O2.
But exactly how much you could get depends on the age, model, storage capacity and condition of your device.
Joe Armstrong, head of trading at musicMagpie, said: “Most people don’t realise they have hundreds of pounds lying forgotten in a drawer in the form of old phones and gadgets.”
If you do not have a valuable phone to sell, there are plenty of other ways to give your bank balance a boost.
We reveal eight money-making and money-saving jobs you can start in your lunch break.
1. Flog your old phone
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Old phones can be worth hundreds of pounds, particularly if they are recent models in good condition.
Get quotes from several recycling and trade-in websites before agreeing to a sale, as prices can vary.
There are dozens of online mobile phone buying companies that will give you cash for your model.
However, rather than getting a quote from each you can use a comparison site to see which will give you the most.
It’s also worth trying a couple of different comparison sites as each works with different companies.
Try sellmymobile.com or comparemymobile.com.
If you find a price you are happy with, selling the phone through one of these firms is relatively easy.
Or once you have a rough value, you could get a slightly higher price by trying to sell it yourself through a secondhand selling site such as eBay.
If you sell through Facebook marketplace you won’t even have to worry about sending through the post as buyers will come and collect.
Just bear in mind, this method can take longer.
Before handing it over, back up your photographs and files, sign out of your accounts and carry out a factory reset.
Remember to remove your SIM and memory cards too.
2. Cash in games and consoles
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Old games, controllers and consoles could also be worth money.
You can get an instant trade-in quote from specialist retailers or list them on an online marketplace.
You can make over £100 selling old consoles depending on their age and make.
For example, BackMarket says a PS4 Pro 1 TB can receive price offers from £120.
Retro games and limited-edition consoles may be particularly valuable, so do your research before accepting the first offer.
Remember to wipe personal information and saved payment details from consoles before selling them.
You can try websites such as Decluttr, musicMagpie or Tech2Cash.
These websites allow you to trade in old-gadgets in exchange for cash, you can also rank your quotes by how much the recycler will pay.
For those who prefer to go in store, stores such as CEX or Game allow you trade in devices in store in exchange for cash or even store vouchers which can be handy when buying new gadgets.
3. Clear out books, CDs and DVDs
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Resale apps allow you to scan the barcodes on books, CDs and DVDs to see how much they could be worth.
Download three scanning apps: Music Magpie, WeBuyBooks and Ziffit.
Each app works similarly, you take a picture of the item with your phone camera and the app will offer a price.
You simply box up the items and send them to the address given by the app.
The company will pay postage and packaging, and payment should land in your bank account in short order.
Common titles may fetch only pennies, but a large clear-out could still add up.
Recent textbooks, box sets and rare or out-of-print editions are likely to command the best prices.
Check any postage or collection rules before accepting an offer.
4. Sell unused furniture
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That unwanted desk, chair or bedside table could be worth cash to someone nearby.
You can list furniture on local selling sites such as Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree in a matter of minutes.
Ikea is also set to launch a secondhand marketplace where shoppers can sell their old items.
It work by allowing customers to connect directly with one another, allowing them to buy and sell pre-owned IKEA items locally.
The marketplace will be for Ikea products only, so you won’t be able to buy or sell furniture purchased from elsewhere through the service.
Give the item a clean, take clear photographs and include accurate measurements.
Watch out for scammers and never hand over an item until you are certain the payment is genuine.
5. Scan your receipts for cashback
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Don’t chuck your receipts straight in the bin – they could help you claw back cash.
By downloading apps such as Shopmium, SnapMyEats and GreenJinn, and you can then scan your receipt after you’ve done your shop to get cashback.
You can take a picture of an online receipt and scan it in.
Cashback will be applied depending what eligible products you have in your backet.
You’ll get a proportion of the item’s cost, or sometimes all your money back.
It pays to look at the apps before you start shopping to see the different promotions.
Never buy something you do not need just to get cashback, as you could end up spending more than you save.
6. Hunt for hidden app freebies
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Your phone could be hiding discounts, freebies, and rewards you have forgotten about.
Check the apps belonging to your bank, energy supplier, mobile network and broadband provider for an offers or rewards section.
Banks and service providers sometimes team up with other brands to offer customers cashback, discounted cinema tickets, restaurant deals, free coffees or money off shopping.
Octopus energy offers customers the change to win prizes on its app every week including free coffees and sausage rolls.
Some deals must be activated before you pay, so read the terms carefully.
Check whether there is a minimum spend or expiry date too – and do not let a tempting offer persuade you to buy something you did not already want.
The Sun has put together a guide to all the hidden freebies hiding in loyalty apps.
7. Spend forgotten loyalty points
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Check whether you have unused points or vouchers sitting in supermarket, coffee shop or retailer apps.
They may not be cash, but using £10 of points on groceries you were already planning to buy leaves an extra £10 in your bank account.
Some points and rewards expire, so check the small print before you lose them.
It is also worth searching your emails for discount codes, birthday rewards and vouchers you may have forgotten about.
9. Axe unused subscriptions
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Households are needlessly losing out on up to £400 in forgotten subscriptions every year, according to Nationwide.
Use your lunch break to scan recent bank and credit card statements for recurring payments.
Look out for streaming services, fitness apps, cloud storage and free trials that have rolled over into paid subscriptions.
Cancelling a £10 monthly service would save you £120 over a year.
But check whether you are locked into a contract or face an early exit fee before cancelling.
8. Track down lost money
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You could have cash sitting in an old bank account, savings product or workplace pension.
Free tracing services can help you search for forgotten accounts and pensions.
The average lost pension pot is worth £9,470, according to the Pensions Policy Institute, so it could give you retirement fund a real boost.
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You could also contact former employers to check which pension provider they used while you worked there.
The money may not land in your account during the same lunch break, but starting the search can take only a few minutes.