A fifth of Britons (20%) boost their income with money earned from a hobby or interest, according to National Savings & Investments – collectively earning £26.44bn.

Just over half (57%) of these people are primarily doing earning this money for fun yet many confess to using ‘work-time’ to generate the extra pounds.

Hobby earners make an average of £3,511 a year after tax through their efforts, increasing their average annual income by a fifth. Almost a third (31%) are investing the extra money in savings, more than 1 in 6 hobby earners (15%) use the money to pay off debts, while over half (56%) use the money to pay for rising day-to-day living expenses. For 16% the additional money is simply used to pay for life’s little luxuries.    The most popular means of making extra money is collecting or trading, followed by website design or music.Dax Harkins, senior savings strategist at NS&I, said: “British people are proving that saving money can be enjoyable when combined with a fun activity or hobby.  It is great to see so many people using their initiative to earn some extra money which will help them create a nest egg for the future. “Even a few pounds each week invested in long-term savings can benefit, particularly as we are seeing an increasing number of people who say they would not have enough in savings to cope in a financial emergency.”