Christmas is just around the corner and for some people, the strain of finances at this time can be a big burden. Although there are many ways to keep the costs down, Christmas can be an expensive time of year, even for the savviest of shoppers. According to the Business Insider, the average family will spend £796 on Christmas this year, which is a big chunk of change. Even if you are trying hard to keep costs down, they seem to creep up without you doing anything special. With the cost of food rising and the social pressure that Christmas seems to bring, money is, unfortunately, a crucial part to the holiday.
But, there are lots of ways to earn some extra money by Christmas which are easy to do and you can cash out immediately once you’ve hit the pay out figure. There are so many places online that will help you to do this, just in time for you to purchase your Christmas presents. Some of you might have already started your shopping, or perhaps you leave it to the last minute. Either way, here are 4 easy ways to make money by Christmas.
Sell your unwanted stuff for cash.
Having a declutter and selling your unwanted goods can bring in some money just in time for Christmas. The most obvious place to try and sell your things is eBay, though there are lots of other sites to try. As an alternative there is Gumtree, or you can use Facebook to sell to friends or family. There are local Facebook selling groups too, so that you can advertise to people in your area. You can also sell CDs and DVDs on Music Magpie in exchange for cash.
Related post: 3 Tips For Being A Successful eBay Seller
Use Cashback websites to earn money on your shopping.
There are websites you can use that will give you cashback on your shopping. The most popular ones are Top Cashback and Quidco, both of which will pay out money. Now, this can take a while to pay out, but if you start using these now and do all of your Christmas shopping via these two sites, you can get some good payouts just in time for Christmas.
Related post: Boost Your Income With Cashback Sites
Complete online surveys.
In this day and age, you can get paid for your opinion on a whole range of things. There are many online survey websites to choose from, but my favourite is Swagbucks. I have written before about Swagbucks but it is definitely possibly to earn £15 a month from completing surveys and searches on Swagbucks. This doesn’t take too much time, and £15 a month can soon add up!
Related post: Boost Your Income With Swagbucks
Use a cashback credit card for your purchases.
If you are disciplined with your money and know that you can pay off your balances in full, then do your Christmas shopping on a cashback credit card. There are a variety of options for cashback cards which pay up to a certain % depending on what you are buying. If you combine that with a cashback website, the percentage of cashback you earn could be quite substantial!
All of these options provide easy ways to earn extra money in time for Christmas, for you to spend on what you wish. In fact, these ways are not just for Christmas; you could do these all year long and earn yourself a nice little side income with a tiny bit of effort.
Related post: How To Survive Christmas On A Budget, Part One
Related post: How To Survive Christmas On A Budget, Part Two
Are you doing anything to earn extra money in the run up to Christmas? I’d love to hear from you!
I am planning to sell Christmas DIY gifts and cookies as well as other pastry products. Right now, I have already had a list of DIY ideas and all I need to do is to get these things ready. Nicola, I have tried taking survey and got some extra money from it to cover some expenses during this holiday season. I think I would still take more survey.
DIY gifts sound interesting – what are you hoping to make? 🙂
I’d say selling unwanted stuff is pretty interesting. Haven’t thought of that one yet.
I recently racked up a good amount of points on my cutback credit card. Will have to see what I can do with that 🙂
Peter
Most of us have lots of unwanted things in our homes that could be sold 🙂 and congrats on the points!
In the U.S., eBates is our top cash back site and I love it.
I think the main thing about trying to make a little extra money for Christmas is just to DO IT. There are plenty of options, the real struggle is getting started.
That’s very true; once you’ve started the possibilities are endless!