The
holidays are just around the corner and I know you may be brainstorming
about how to earn extra cash for Christmas. We're in September now, so
there is still some time!
Below,
I've created a list of the best 25 ways I could think of to earn some extra
money now. And when I say “extra money,” that is exactly what I mean. These
ideas likely won't replace your day job if you have one, but they should be
easy side earners to fit into your daily schedule.
If you are
in need of an actual work from home job before the holidays, you should check
the work from home job leads page to
see what companies are needing help right now.
25 Ways to
Earn Extra Cash For Christmas
1. Rewards
Sites That Pay Fast
Rewards
sites are very popular online right now because they make it super easy to earn
a little extra.
Most of
them will give you redeemable points or cash for doing things like short tasks,
printing coupons, searching the web, playing games, offers, surveys, and any
number of other things.
Here are a
few I've used and love that pay fast:
·
Swagbucks – Pays usually within 5-10
days, often sooner. The Penny Hoarder has a great post you can check
out with more info on how Swagbucks works.
They are the most known and reputable site in this section, and I've used them
personally for years.
·
Prize Rebel – Pays instantly in most
cases. You can redeem for cash, Paypal, and various gift cards.
·
InstaGC – If you
redeem for an Amazon (or any other type) of gift card, you can get it as soon
as you redeem it. Absolutely no waiting at all.
2. Survey
Panels That Pay Fast
Survey
panels are also good for scraping up occasional extra money. After you've
registered with the below panels, you should get occasional survey invitations
to your email.
The panels
below are known for paying quickly and they have low cash-out thresholds. This
is ideal if you are trying to earn extra cash for Christmas.
·
Pinecone Research – This one is a very
reputable company that's been around for years. However, they can be pretty
picky on who they accept and are not always open to all demographics. They pay
$3 per survey and you get paid typically within a few days after you take a
survey.
·
Opinion Outpost – Most of the time you
only have to wait a few minutes to get your rewards from Opinion Outpost once
you redeem. Also, the cash out is just $5 for Amazon codes and $10 for Paypal.
·
MySoapBox – You only need to have $2 in
your account to start requesting gift cards.
3. Rate
Music and Get Paid
You
can use Slice the Pie to earn extra cash for
rating and writing short reviews for new music. It's easy, but take care
to make sure your reviews are very detailed and well-written.
You can
redeem as long as you have $10 earned, and pay outs are made on Tuesdays and
Fridays with Paypal.
4. Install
Qmee On Your Browser
Install
Qmee in your Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, or
Opera browser, and then just sit back and use the internet as you normally
would. When you search for things on Google, Bing, Amazon, Qmee will
occasionally pop up in your sidebar with some sponsored links.
Every time
you visit a sponsor, you'll earn anywhere from two to fifteen cents (most seem
to pay around eight cents).
Qmee pays
instantly when you cash out with no minimum required for redeeming.
5.
Start Doing Usability Tests
You can
get paid quickly for doing short, 15-minute usability tests for companies that
need their websites evaluated.
This
involves speaking into a microphone from your computer and navigating around
the websites you're assigned, stating what you like/don't like about the
usability of the sites you test.
Most of
these tests pay you around $10 to $12 each, and you'll have to watch your email
for invites to do them.
Some sites
to sign up with for this are User Testing, Userlytics, and What Users Do.
Want to
join even more user testings sites? I have a full list of website
testing companies you can check out for more.
6. Get
Cash Back On Your Grocery Shopping
If you
have a smartphone, you can download the Ibotta app and begin earning
cash back on many grocery purchases.
Simply
check to see what the featured products for the week are and how much they pay
if you buy them. You'll probably also have to answer a short survey or watch a
video about the product.
Then, scan
your grocery store receipt proving that you bought the item(s) and Ibotta will
pay you cash. You can redeem your earnings at just $5, and the money goes
instantly into Paypal. Trust me that this adds up if you use it every time you
shop.
7. Start
Turking
Use Amazon
MTurk to get paid for doing short tasks. They have all kinds of
little odd jobs posted, including data entry, surveys, transcription, and more.
You only need $1 to request payment to your bank account or you can just use
the money to shop at Amazon.
8.
Complete Tasks With Your Smartphone
There are
some easy to use apps out now that you can download and get paid for doing
little odd jobs around your town. Example – taking pics of displays in stores,
answering surveys, evaluating your experience at various businesses. Kind of
like mystery shopping.
Also, many
of these apps will pay within just a day or two after your tasks have been
approved.
Some to
try include Field Agent, Easy
Shift, and GigWalk.
9. Trade
Stuff In at Amazon
Did you
know that you can trade in your electronics, books, movies, video games, music,
and iPhones to Amazon? And you don't have to have purchased the item from
Amazon originally to trade it in. Amazon will tell you the amount they'll give
for your stuff after you submit it.
Then, once
you've shipped items to them (free), they will send you an Amazon gift card for
that amount.
10. Sell
Your Crafts & Handmade Items
If you are
crafty and you can make stuff that will sell, you can easily sell it online at
Etsy. The great thing about Etsy is that, as soon as your item sells, you get
paid to Paypal. There is no waiting on your money. Etsy does charge a very
small listing fee per item.
Go here to visit Etsy and get an idea of
what you could sell. I also have a list of other places
to sell your crafts if you want other options.
11. Sell
Your Smartphone Photos
Smartphones
are getting so advanced that many of them are actually capable of taking decent
quality photos. So good in fact, that there are sites that will buy them from
you!
If you're
a good smartphone photographer, you can post some of your pics up for sale
at Foap or Scoopshot to name a few.
12. Have a
Virtual Yard Sale on Facebook
Most
cities have a virtual yard sale group or page on
Facebook where you can buy, trade, and sell items with people in your local
area. This is a way to earn extra cash for Christmas if you have a lot of stuff
you want to unload quickly.
Just do a
search on Facebook for “(name of your town) online yard sale.”
If nothing
comes up, try the name of neighboring town or even the name of your county.
13. Help
Others Learn English
If you
know English, you can earn money chatting online with others who are trying to
learn it through a site called Cambly. You don't need any teaching
experience, and you can work whenever you want.
You will
need either a computer with a webcam or a smartphone with recording
capabilities to do this.
They pay
.17 per minute of talk time, and you can get paid twice a month with Paypal.
If you
have some experience in teaching or tutoring and a degree, VIPKid is another option that I'm hearing
good things about from readers. They are open to US (except California) and
Canada.
14. Do
Some Ghostwriting
If you
have at least average writing skills, there are a few sites you can apply with
online and get paid to do ghostwriting.
If you're
not familiar with what ghostwriting is, it's basically getting paid to write
content for people who need it. You get paid, but you don't get credit for
writing.
One popular
sites like this that tends to have lots of work and pays weekly is Textbroker.
15. Start
a Home Business
If you've
been tossing around the idea of starting a home business based around something
you're skilled in, now would be a great time. You may be able to line up some
clients between now and Christmas and begin getting paid for your services.
Not sure
what type of home business to start? We have over 50 home business ideas listed to get your
wheels turning.
16. Get
Paid For Doing Research
There are
a couple of sites that regularly need researchers to work at home. And while
this is just extra money for most people, it's not shift-based work.
You're an
independent contractor and you can work anytime you want, which makes it ideal
for building up cash for the holidays.
17. Sell
Your Textbooks
If you
have any used textbooks laying around that you don't need, there are several
sites that will pay you pretty quickly if they can use them. The books will
need to be in excellent or good/gently used condition to be accepted.
Some good
options for this include Cash4Books and eCampus. Note that Cash4Books may also accept
other types of books — not just textbooks.
18. Sell
Your Old Phones
You can
sell your old iPhone — or any phone — and earn some money whether it's in
working condition or not! There are many sites that will pay you for your
outdated phones and they don't all pay the same.
I
recommend using Gazelle or BuyBackWorld.
19. Take
Video Surveys
Mindswarms is
a reputable site that pays $50 if you qualify for and complete their mobile
video surveys.
I believe
that most of the time they send payment via Paypal within 24 hours after you've
done a survey for them. I have not used this site myself, but many of my
readers have and claim to have been paid.
There's no
guarantee how often you'd get in on a study, but it's a quick and easy $50 if
you do get in on any between now and Christmas.
20. Give
People Rides In Your Spare Time
Ride-sharing
apps are HUGE right now. Everyone is catching rides with services via their
smartphone apps. You can actually sign up to drive with Lyft and earn in your spare time giving
rides to people in your local area.
This is a
great idea for Christmas earning because you can drive whenever you want to,
and Lyft also has an option to cash out your earnings every single day.
21. Do
Some Mystery Shopping
Want to
earn extra cash for Christmas and don't mind leaving your house to do it? You
can also earn some extra money doing some in-person mystery shopping.
You'll
most likely get invited to do more shops if you live in an area where there are
lots of stores, so if you live in a very rural area, making money with this
will require some travel that may or may not be worth it depending on the price
of gas.
There are
lots of mystery shopping scams out there, but some reputable mystery shopping
companies you can feel safe applying to include Market Force, A Closer Look, The Source, and BestMark.
22. Sell
Your Unwanted Makeup and Skincare Items
It happens
to many of us — you get the wrong color by mistake, or a product just doesn't
work for you as well as you thought it would.
We have
more info on where to sell your makeup if you're interested in
other options.
23.
Deliver Food On Your Own Schedule
There are
a lot of people out there these days who are taking advantage of various apps
that allow you to place restaurant/fast food orders from businesses in your
town and get them delivered straight to your door. As a result, these apps need
delivery drivers, and that's where you can come in!
You can
sign up to deliver with Shipt or Postmates and deliver whenever you want,
getting paid weekly for delivering food and groceries to people who request
them via these apps.
24. Clean
Out Your Kid's Closet
If you're
like me, most of your kid's outgrown clothes get sent straight to the
goodwill store. However, if you have any that are in good or very gently used
condition, you could send them to ThredUp and get paid for them instead.
The way it
works is you have to order a bag from them, stuff it with the clothes you
want to sell, ship it to ThredUp (the shipping is pre-paid) and then wait
for them to appraise your items.
Once they
have, you can get in cash the amount they think your clothes are worth.
25. Share
Your Expertise and Get Paid For It
You don't
have to have a teaching degree to get paid for sharing your skills with others.
The internet is also filled with ways to do this.
One way is
to spend time creating an online course that you can sell over and over
again at Udemy. You just create
the course, and they provide the platform and tools to help you get it sold.
This is a great way to earn extra cash for Christmas.
More
“Extra Money” Resources
First off,
my sister has a blog called Extra Cash & Rewards where there are
many reviews and lists posted for things like survey panels, smartphone apps
that pay, product testing sites, and more.
That site
has been around since 2011. There are a lot of posts, so you may find some more
ideas there.
Second, I
have found a little gem in the “Beer Money” sub-Reddit
on Reddit. This is a very active community filled with people who are looking
for extra money.
These
people have not only great ideas for getting it, but also strategies for making
those great ideas work. Many apps and sites I listed above are mentioned there,
along with tips for making the most of them. Definitely check it out.
I
genuinely hope this post has given you some ideas to earn extra cash for
Christmas! Every little bit you can earn will help!
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