27 Brilliant Ways To Make Money For Christmas
Christmas can be expensive. But finding ways to make money for Christmas, before the holiday season, can help you to alleviate stress. Making that extra money early on in the year will also allow you to plan out your holiday budget and expenses.
It’s easy to get caught up in the holiday season of gift giving. You want to find the perfect gift and sometimes that means overlooking that price tag and completely throwing your budget out the window.
Unfortunately this can be a problem for those who have a financial goal that they want to meet, someone who lives more frugally, or one who is really serious about sticking to their budget. Or it may be difficult for someone who is on a low income and is not able to just throw money out the window, spending big on this one day out of the year.
So what’s the solution?
Start finding ways to make money now.
Create a plan before the shopping craze starts so that you are not overwhelmed. Know what your budget is going to be and don’t get caught up in all of the sales and deals being thrown at you.
Remember that every little purchase adds up.
The Best Side Hustle Ideas To Make Extra Money For The Holidays
Side hustles come in many forms. From online surveys, to delivery services, to freelance work. There are a lot of different opportunities to make a little extra money when you need it.
Some side hustles take more time than others. Some take skill. Others can be done by anyone from anywhere.
There are a myriad of ways to make extra money. But there are a few factors to take into consideration.
- How quickly do you need the money?
- How much time do you have to dedicate to a side hustle?
- Do you need to make money from home?
Once answering these questions, you can narrow down your options.
Creative Ways To Make Money
Rent out something that you own
If you have something that you own and don’t need or use often, then why not rent it out?
Some ideas of things that you can rent:
1. Rent your Car on Turo
2. Rent a room in your house on Airbnb or Booking.com.
3. Rent out your garage: If you don’t use it, you can rent out your garage as storage to someone else.
So this is not something that I have personally done, but have known other people to do. Someone may rent your space for their extra car or outdoor gear that they just don’t have the room for.
4. Rent your parking space: In the big cities where there is no parking or ridiculously expensive parking, this could be a gold mine.
5. Rent your land: Do you have land on a beautiful property that people would love to spend the night on?
So we have all heard about renting a room or an entire house on Airbnb, but did you know that you can also rent out a tent or yurt on your property?
Or you can also rent out your land on HipCamp, to those wishing to tent or RV camp.
Join a Focus Group
So you may not qualify for all the focus groups but those that you do qualify for pay pretty good money.
I once got paid $100 for a 60 minute in person focus group talking about work that I was already doing. It was easy money. Another time I got paid $150, from home, for reviewing a website then having a phone interview to critique the website. So easy.
Search online for focus groups in your area and get signed up to see if there is anything that you can participate in. If you have an opinion about something, why not get paid to tell someone about it.
Become a Mystery Shopper
Go undercover at a store or restaurant then fill out a questionnaire or submit a review after your experience and get paid.
I’ve actually done this in the past at restaurants and essentially got the entire meal paid for just by submitting a receipt and writing a review after.
The Mobee App, Field Agent App, and Marketforce are three that you can check out to get started.
Review New Music
Love music? Then this may be the gig for you. Earn money by listening to music from unsigned artists and bands who are looking for your honest opinion.
You can do this on Slicethepie. They state that “the better your reviews, the more you will earn.” Sounds like a win win way to earn a little extra cash.
Get paid to walk
Ok, this one is not going to make you millions (not even close) but why not get paid for something that you do everyday anyway.
There are apps such as Sweatcoin, Lympo, and Lifecoin that will reward you for every step that you take.
Start Your Own Blog
Blogging is a great creative outlet. It gives you a place to speak your mind, share your ideas, and connect with others.
Some ideas on how to make money with blogging include affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, and creating products to sell.
It is definitely not a get rich quick scheme but it is rewarding, fun, and does not have a big start up cost.
To get started you will need to pay for your domain and hosting. That’s it.
We use NameHero for hosting – The price is reasonable and we have had zero issues with them. You can check out info about their hosting HERE.
What Can I Sell To Make Money?
Selling your items is one of the ways to make money quick
It is a way to get cash in hand immediately so you don’t have to wait for payday and it is usually something that takes very little effort.
So what items can you sell to make extra money?
Sell All Of Your Unwanted Stuff
Sell everything that you don’t want or need anymore. The clothes that don’t fit, the old baby items that your 5 year old no longer uses, and even the kayak that collects dust in the garage.
Have a yard sale, list on Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, Mercari, or even Craigslist. It only takes a few minutes to take some pictures, write in the details, and hit “publish.”
You know the saying – “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” Well it’s true. Someone wants to buy your old stuff, so just list it and see what happens.
Sell Food or Baked Goods
Do you love to cook or bake? Then this side hustle may be a good way for you to earn money.
People purchase food everyday. And if you are great at making something – Cakes, Pies, Bread, BBQ, etc – then you may be able to use your talents to make a little extra money.
You will have to search for your state’s Cottage Food Laws first before you start. This will give you information on how to legally make and sell food products in your state.
Another idea is to create food products that people use all the time such as spice blends. Or if you happen to roast your own coffee beans, then why not try to sell that?
I also recently saw a charcuterie business. The owner purchases all of the meats, cheeses, and accompaniments then creates a beautiful charcuterie board for your event. How fun and unique is that?
Maybe you have chickens and always have an excess of eggs. Sell the eggs locally instead of just giving them away.
Use Your Hobby To Create A Product To Sell
There are so many hobbies that people have but they don’t always think about monetizing them.
Some hobbies that you may be able to turn into a money making machine:
- Woodworking
- Painting
- Pottery
- Refinishing/Flipping Furniture
- Crocheting, Knitting, Weaving, Sewing
- Jewelry Making
- Selling your photographs on sites such as Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, and Alamy.
- Making soaps and candles
Use A Skill To Make Money From Home
Sell your services on Upwork and Fiverr.
Use these sites to pick up freelance work including IT, voice over, translation, writing, digital marketing, video editing, etc. And by offering your work on these platforms it just may give you a lead to a more full time gig.
Teach English Online
There are many companies such as VIPkid and DaDa that are great places to get started in this field. In most cases, you just need to have a Bachelor’s Degree as an educational qualification (even if that degree is not in education). Pay can average about $20/hour.
Online Tutoring
There are plenty of parents out there who are looking for an online tutor for their kids. Register your profile and showcase your qualifications on Wyzant and find potential students today.
Graphic Design and Website Design
Sell your services to small businesses who need your help. Create logos, business cards, pamphlets and brochures.
Create, fix and optimize websites.
The Best Ways To Make Money Online For Christmas
Sell on Ebay
You can sell almost anything on Ebay. But when selling on this platform you have to take into account the amount of money an item will take to ship. Adding that cost into your price or putting in an appropriate shopping cost will ensure that you make some money from a product that you are selling.
Did you know that you can also sell things on Ebay for no shipping/local pickup? This is great for those items that you can’t ship or for those that would just cost too much to send in the mail.
Create Digital Products To Sell Online.
Some great platforms to sell your digital products online include Etsy, Creative Market, and Amazon..
You can create anything from Money Saving Challenges to Planners and Journals.
Publish an ebook or create a online course.
The startup to selling digital products can be very low cost and only initially takes your time to create the actual product.
I started this side hustle (selling Printables on Etsy) in February of this year and in five months I have had pretty decent success with it. I have made a good profit so far so it is something that I will continue to pursue.
If you’d like to start your own Etsy shop, click my referral link below to get your first 40 listings for free.
Online Surveys
(Insert eye roll and sigh here)
Yeah yeah, I know. I get it. Surveys are not only boring but typically pay peanuts.
So I will only tell you about the two survey sites that we use.
As you can probably tell, I am not a big fan of the online surveys. Typically they want you to take a lot of time answering questions only to get disqualified or make a very small amount of money.
So why would I take surveys on this app? Because everytime I get disqualified they still give me $.10. Which means that every time the first question is “What day of the week is it?” My answer is always “6.” Yep, not gonna make millions, but I just “answer” the questions while I am standing in line at the grocery store and make a tiny bit of money each time.
They also occasionally conduct surveys where you can qualify to receive physical products + $12-$16 in exchange for taking 1-2 surveys about the product. I have done those as well and that seems worth my time.
2. E-Rewards
Jason is a member of E-Rewards Medical which has been pretty lucrative as far as survey sites go. Unfortunately E-Rewards is by invitation only so if you are a healthcare worker and happen to get an invite for this particular segment of E-Rewards then you should definitely sign up.
Their surveys require you to answer based on your healthcare experience and medical expertise. And for this, they pay really well – between $10 – $75 per survey.
But even if you are not a healthcare worker, they have a general survey site that you be a part of. As stated above, this too is “by invitation only.” But the invitations are from their partners, including airlines such as Southwest and Air Asia. So you can search for their partners online to see if you can get an “in” with this survey company.
Start A Small Business From Home
You can start by identifying a need in your community. This will help you to come up with ideas for a successful business and services that you can offer.
Some ideas:
- Powerwashing
- Landscaping/Lawn Care
- Pet Sitting/Dog Walking/
- Handyman Services
- Sewing and Alterations
- Virtual Assistant for Local Small Businesses
- Photographer
- Meal Prep / Personal Chef
- Car Detailing
- House Cleaner
- Property Manager
I’ve even heard about someone who started a side gig cleaning out dryer vents. And he seemed to have a lot of business.
Another interesting business that caught my eye was someone who plans beautiful picnics for people. She provides all of the decorations, furniture, and food.
It’s all about finding the gaps in the services that currently exist and the services that should exist in your community.
Final Thoughts On The Best Ways To Make Money For Christmas
As you can see there are an unlimited number of money making ideas out there. They range from stating your own business, to part time side hustles, to passive income ideas.
The side hustle that you choose depends on your financial goals, your lifestyle, and the amount of time that you have to dedicate to making extra money.
If you are looking to make extra money for Christmas this year then the key is to start early. Don’t wait until the last minute to realize that your holiday budget is low or non-existent.
Finding a way to make money on the side is not difficult. Decide on a side hustle that works for you and give it a try.
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