I’ll be honest…a lot of the “make money from your phone” articles that I researched online nonsense. They promise you can quit your job tomorrow if you just download the right app.
The truth? There are ways to make money from your phone…those of you that checked out the recent TokAI application can vouch for that.
You see, it’s about stacking realistic wins, not chasing magic.
Think of it as building a little extra income stream in the background of your life.
Here are some ways I’d recommend, from the easiest to the most time-intensive:
Turn Clutter Into Cash
The first is ‘flipping’ things on Facebook Marketplace or Vinted. Essentially, you just buy things for cheap and sell them for a profit.
It’s hardly new or glamorous, but it works.
You find underpriced items, you list them again at their real value, and you pocket the difference. If you stick to categories you already know — trainers, small electronics, tools, or whatever it may be — you’ll spot bargains faster.
I’ve seen people hit £100 in their first couple of weeks and £500+ a month once they’ve built up stock.
Cashback
Then there’s stacking cashback and receipt apps. If you’re already spending the money, you might as well get some of it back, right?
Apps like TopCashback, Quidco, and my personal favourite – JamDoughnut – all pay you for purchases you’d make anyway.
I like to double (or triple) dip: cashback, supermarket loyalty points, and a receipt scan from the same shop. If done right, you can earn up to £100 a month for very little effort.
Microtasks
For something a bit more interactive, you can try micro-tasks and user testing. We’ve talked about this in a previous email, but there’s nothing to stop you from doing them on your phone or tablet.
Companies will pay you for your opinion, and you can do it in your lunch break or while you’re watching TV on the sofa.
UserTesting, Userlytics, Prolific, and Field Agent are worth signing up to. The key is to fill in your profile properly so you qualify for higher-paying jobs.
A 15-minute test can pay anything up to £20, which isn’t bad!
If you do sign up, I’d recommend turning on your notifications. That way, you’ll find out as soon as the jobs are posted.
Mini Apps
If you want something more creative, you can try building simple apps without coding.
Tools like Glide, Softr, and Adalo let you create mini-apps that solve one problem. Say, a renovation cost calculator or a habit tracker.
If you’re stuck for what to build, you can brainstorm ideas with ChatGPT. Here’s a prompt suggestion you could use:
➡️ Give me 10 simple app ideas that someone could build with no coding experience, using tools like Glide or Adalo. Focus on solving everyday problems for [students / parents / small business owners / busy professionals]. Rank them from easiest to build to most profitable.
Bonus Idea: Chat GPT-5
And finally, the bigger play: building your own full app with AI help.
This used to be reserved for professional software developers, but now you can use Bolt.new to set up the framework, ChatGPT to help with the code, and Expo to build it into a real mobile app.
Add RevenueCat for subscriptions and you’ve got a product you can charge for. Keep it simple at first. Even 10 people paying £5 a month is £50 recurring.
If all this sounds bit too complicated or time-consuming. I’d recommend having a play around with the new free Chat GPT-5 model and see what it can do.
It’s amazing how good ChatGPT is these days. You can just type a description of the app or program that you want to make in a prompt, and it will code it for you in realtime.
If you want to see an example of what I mean – try pasting this prompt into ChatGPT:
➡️ Create a clone of photoshop with all the basic tools. Put everything in a standalone html file
Let it create the code, and then run it. It’s pretty mind blowing, right!
We used to have to purchase an expensive subscription to use an app like Photoshop, but with ChatGPT you can create your own personal version for free in about 10 minutes!
You can also use this prompt to create other types of apps such as:
- Video editors
- CRM software
- Habit trackers
- Budget planners
- Mini courses
- Simple games, or anything else that you can think of.
If you apply this to an idea you have for an app, you might just be able to turn it into a regular passive income.
Your Turn
Here’s my challenge to you: pick just one of these ways to make money from your phone and give it 30 days. Don’t jump between them. Track your time and earnings in Google Sheets, and see what happens. If it clicks, stack a second one.
