The holidays are approaching fast and hopefully you’ve been setting money aside throughout the year to cover the costs of gifts, decorations, and other Christmas expenses.
If not, don’t worry. You still have some time left to sock some money away.
In today’s article you’ll discover 7 super easy ways anyone can save for Christmas.
So let’s get started!
Get a Part Time Job
This is the busiest time of year for retailers and they’re always looking for seasonal help to get them through the Christmas craziness.
They need lots of people to work the cash registers, stock the shelves and keep customer lines organized. Demand is especially high in stores where hours are extended through the holiday season.
Hit up the local stores or mall and see who is hiring. If you land a part time job at a retailer where you’d actually shop, you can super-size your savings by taking advantage of their employee discount.
Do Odd Jobs
If you have a flexible schedule or extra time on your hands you can earn money doing all sorts of odd jobs. Can you rake leaves or do other yard work? Help your neighbors hang their Christmas lights outside?
Taskrabbit is a site that helps you get paid to run errands for other people. You set your own rates and pick tasks in your area such as cleaning, delivery, furniture assembly, and more.
You do have to attend an in-person orientation before you can accept a task.
Babysit
Babysitters generally earn anywhere between $10 and $15 per hour, though rates may vary depending on where you live.
You can set up a free profile and connect with people who need babysitters at SitterCity.
Online Surveys
Paid online surveys are great because you can do them anytime you want and in the comfort of your own home. You won’t make a ton of money but you can earn some extra spending cash into your Paypal account or an Amazon gift card.
Some legitimate survey sites include the Harris Poll, Pinecone Research, Survey Junkie, Survey Voices and Cash Crate.
Redeem Rewards Points
If you have some frequent flier miles or credit card rewards points sitting in your account consider using them to shop for presents or convert them into gift cards you can shop with or give as gifts.
We do much of our Christmas shopping at Amazon and there are plenty of easy ways to earn Amazon gift cards. At Swagbucks you can earn gift card rewards by taking short surveys, watching movie trailers, and performing many other simple tasks.
Job Spotter is a cool app you can download to your smartphone. You earn Amazon rewards just for taking pictures of Help Wanted signs in your neighborhood.
And Microsoft Rewards is an easy way to earn Amazon gift cards. All you have to do is log in and use Bing to search the internet from your browser or your mobile phone. Each search earns a few points and they add up quickly.
Sell Unwanted Gift Cards
Have you ever gotten a gift card that you knew you were never going to use?
Maybe you won it in a raffle or someone gave it to you as a gift, but it’s for a store you never shop in and you really don’t need it.
Don’t just let it sit in the junk drawer forever. If you know someone who can use it you can make it their gift (just don’t give it back to the person who gave it to you!) or you can go to Cardpool and trade it for cash or a card to another store.
Sell Stuff From Around The House
I don’t know about you but we have tons of clutter in our house.
Clothes the kids no longer fit in, toys they no longer play with, gifts we received and had no use for, and other assorted “stuff” we’ve accumulated over the years.
All that extra clutter just takes up room and gets in the way when we’re trying to find something we really need.
If you’re in the same boat as us (and I’m betting you are!) now is as good a time as any to start decluttering your house and selling anything you can to make some extra cash.
You can hold a yard sale, list items on eBay, sell books at BookScouter, and unload used CDs and DVDs on DeCluttr.
Do you have any other tips for people who need to earn some quick cash before the holidays? Drop a comment below and share your ideas and experiences!
Swagbucks is a cool place to redeem as are the other cashback sites. Interesting tips, hopefully Christmas will be right on budget this year!
I love using Swagbucks and a few other sites to earn Amazon gift cards and then I get some of those Christmas gifts for free.
Ebaying old stuff around the house is another great way to make money. As far as unwanted gifts go, you can usually return them to stores for store credit if you know where they were bought from. No need for a receipt.
Agreed. If you can turn stuff you don’t need or want into cash why not?