1 Take in a lodger

A lodger could makes you money tax-free. The Government's Rent a Room scheme lets you make £4,250 a year tax-free by renting furnished accommodation in your main home. However, you cannot claim expenses such as wear and tear, heating and lighting.

2 Set up a B&B

It's easy to set up your own bed and breakfast, says David Weston, chairman of the Bed and Breakfast Association. “The key things are the rooms themselves - and marketing: online is the easiest and cheapest way to advertise, particularly pay-per-click advertising. B&Bs of any size must comply with health and safety and fire regulations, and you must register with the local environmental health officer to monitor food standards. Visit bandbassociation.org

3 Sell off your garden

Sell part of your garden to a developer or apply for planning permission and build on it yourself. Alternatively, let it as an allotment, keeping green-fingered neighbours happy and making extra cash at the same time.

4 Park and ride

If you do not need your parking space and do not mind someone else's car in your driveway every morning, why not rent it out? Or advertise an empty garage or outhouse as storage space.

5 Go on location

Production companies pay from £500 to £5,000 a day. Send pictures of your house to agencies such as Location Works (www.locationworks.com), which tend to take about 15 per cent of the sum paid. Warn neighbours about the extra cars, people and commotion.

6 Have a garage sale

Clear your home and reap the rewards. To ensure a successful sale: check the weather forecast; send out flyers with the address and a map; start early; price and arrange your items attractively; have a float with lots of change. Alternatively, sell your items via eBay, Amazon or gumtree.co.uk.

7 Host a foreign student

Jean-Philippe Morris of Anglophiles Academic, an English language school, says that extra income and parents who cannot afford to send their children abroad are the main reasons why families decide to host. Students can stay for a couple of days or up to a year, depending on the course length. You can expect to earn £85 - £110 a week for a standard room. In London, you could charge from £110. Go to: anglophilesacademic.com and hosts-international.com

8 The home office

About three million people in the UK work from home, according to the TUC. If you set up shop at home, Revenue & Customs will let you set all sorts of at-home expenses against tax, such as part of your phone, heating and electricity bills. But watch out: “If you claim that your home is an office, you may no longer be exempt from Capital Gains Tax,” says Michael Kinder, a tax specialist at Wilkins Kennedy Chartered Accountants.

9 Free up some cash

Many older homeowners who are “asset rich and cash poor;” have embraced equity release schemes to generate extra cash. There are two main types: home reversion schemes and lifetime mortgages. Age Concern's director-general, Gordon Lishman, advises homeowners “to check if they are receiving all the benefits they are entitled to and seek good financial advice."

10 Grow your own

Live 'The Good Life' and set up your own smallholding. Invest in a year-round vegetable garden and keep chickens and bees. Sell your home-grown produce at local shops, markets or from home, and join a local beekeeping group. For chicken care and advice, go to countrysmallholding.co.uk .

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