DISCLOSURE: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, I GET A COMMISSION IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE THROUGH MY LINKS, AT NO COST TO YOU. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.
Here are 17 ways to make extra holiday shopping money below:
1. Rent out a room in your home.
Renting out a room in your house will not make you rich. Well, not for a few decades. However, I know some people renting out rooms in their homes, and this has helped them pay off their mortgages. If you are interested in renting out a spare room on a short-term basis (such as for holiday vacations), I highly recommend you check out Airbnb. I know people who are making thousands of dollars a month by renting out rooms on this site!
There are many other places where you can advertise your rental. You can put a sign on your front lawn, advertise in a newspaper, or place an online ad on a website such as Craigslist. Everyone and everything is online now, so posting your ad online will most likely be your best choice. When you make your listing, always be honest! You should be honest about how big the room is, what rooms come with the agreement, if there is a separate entrance, and more. Also, be sure to add pictures of what is included. Read more at A Complete Guide To Renting A Room For Extra Money.
2. Offer Postmate delivery services
Postmates is a very cool service that lets you use your phone to order food, drinks, and groceries. So imagine other people doing this very thing. And imagine that you are delivering those items! Holidays are such a busy time, people simply want to make their life a bit easier with delivery services like Postmates.
You can deliver for Postmates with any kind of transportation. Segways? Yes even Segways! So, how much can you make with Postmates? Postmates says that you can earn up to $25 an hour with their platform. Click here to check out Postmates and sign up.
3. Get a retail job for the holiday season
Every year, several hundred thousand holiday jobs open up, so if you are looking for a temporary job, then a seasonal holiday job may be the perfect fit for you. A seasonal holiday job may include working at a place like a haunted house, a pumpkin patch, a Christmas tree lot, Target, UPS, and so on. The holidays are extremely busy for the majority of the businesses around the world, which means that most of them are looking for temporary holiday help to get them through their busy months. According to CNBC, Target and UPS recently announced their plans to hire over 230,000 seasonal workers (just for those two companies alone!). Amazon is looking to hire 30,000 permanent staff, along with tens of thousands of holiday workers. And, according to Forbes, it sounds like retailers are really in need of help so they are offering better pay and benefits. Holiday employees are in high demand! This is one of the best ways to make extra money during the holidays for several reasons, including:
- Obviously finding a great way to earn holiday cash
- Receiving a discount
- Networking
- Making friends
4. Shop with cashback websites.
This is an easy way to earn a little money back while shopping how you normally would online, especially during the holidays. Cashback websites like Rakuten (formally called Ebates) give you a percentage back of every purchase you make when you shop through one of their partner stores. Here are some examples of stores and the percentage of your purchase you can earn back:
- Amazon 5%
- Macy’s 6%
- Ulta 4%
- Kohl’s 3%
- Target 1%
Those are just a few, and these stores and the cashback amount changes from time to time. There are even stores who offer in-store cashback or a dollar amount back on certain purchases. Learn more at Use Ebates For Free Cash Back And Get A Free $10 Cash Back.
5. House sit during the Holidays
During the holidays, many people will be hiring housesitters to watch their house while they are out of town. This may involve taking in the mail, watering plants, and playing with that snazzy brand new air filtration system you noticed when they first walked around the house and showed you everything you should never touch.
No. No I have never personally touched an air filtration system that wasn’t mine. Nope. That has never happened to me. Is it a thing? Hmm. Well I just thought of it for this post. Uh hem.
They really just want you to be around to make sure nothing happens. Most house sitters stay at their client’s house, but some are asked to check in a few times a day. If you’re up for the responsibility, there are a number of websites where you can advertise your services. Related: How We Became Professional House Sitters In Europe & Saved Over $5,000
Ive done this a few times. It’s a great way to get the chance to live vicariously through the owners of the home. Which – is great if the home is amazing… and not-so-great if it’s a step down from your own.
Well, you don’t care about that, in the final analysis. Right? Because you are house-sitting to make some extra green right now. See, I had to remind you because you forgot already. Well you sure appeared to have forgotten it! Okay, so maybe I guessed wrong – you had that look in your eye and I just assumed. But now, I realize the error of my ways.
6. Search for one-time gigs on Craigslist.
Don’t want to get a second job? One time gigs may be a better option for you because you can usually work them on your own schedule. There are probably lots of one-time gigs that you can find in your town, and Craigslist is a great place to find them. One of the best things about one-time gigs is that you usually get paid right after you complete the work, which means this is quick cash for the holidays! To find random gigs in your area that will help you make extra money for the holidays, just go to Craigslist and find the “gigs” section. Here are some jobs I found through a quick search:
- Remove yard debris
- House cleaner
- Restroom attendant
- Focus group help
- Moving big plants
- Help towing a vehicle
- Passing out flyers and brochures
- Motorhome hauler
Here are screenshots of some of these easy to find Craigslist gigs:
These were all extremely easy for me to find. It literally took me less than five minutes to find several different gigs that were needed for the following day. No, you’re not going to get rich with these jobs, but if you were to spend your weekend doing gigs like these, you could save a lot of money for holiday spending. Related read on how to make extra money for the holidays:How I Earned $655 From Random Craigslist Jobs
7. Become an Uber driver-partner or Lyft driver.
Now I forget how it goes – that classic line from the movie “Airplane!”. Is Uber “over Under, or is Under over Done?” One thing I do know – Uber isn’t over or under Lyft. They are both great companies that you can spend your spare time driving others around town and whatnot. can be a good way to make money, and it’s an interesting way to make money as you can meet all sorts of people as a driver. Read more about this in my post How To Become An Uber driver-partner Or Lyft Driver. Click here to sign up to become an Uber driver-partner and start making money. Here’s a quick snippet from an interview I did with an Uber driver-partner: “For those unfamiliar with rideshare, it’s basically a way to hail a ride with a smartphone app. There are thousands of drivers out there just like me who work full-time jobs, part-time jobs, etc. and whenever they want to drive, they can just turn their app on, and they’ll be matched with passengers in need of a ride. The entire transaction is cashless, and everything is done over your mobile app. You can every day if you’d like or you can take an entire month off from driving. Everything is handled by the app, and you are paid via direct deposit weekly. Some customers will tip in cash, but for the most part, the entire transaction is cashless. As a driver, you have to pay for pretty much everything, including gas and maintenance on your car, but typically, I don’t use more than a few dollars worth of gas per hour. The big ‘hidden cost’ is probably the depreciation of your car ” The other thing about becoming a Lyft or Uber driver-partner is that the holiday season usually means more people may need rides to and from the airport, to holiday gatherings, and so on. This means there are even more opportunities to make extra money for the holidays.
8. Become an online tutor.
Okay, stay with me. Yeah you may not have a teaching degree. Don’t need it. You may never have thought of yourself as the Professor-type… don’t need to be. Virtually anyone can be an online tutor. You just need to have a fairly strong interest in helping others learn. This could be a great way to earn extra cash for the holidays because lots of college and high school students will need help before they take their finals. I like Course Hero for such scenarios. It’s a great website that helps high school and college students with course-specific questions. Using the website, students connect with Course Hero tutors on a wide range of subjects and classes, which makes this a great side hustle for people with different educational backgrounds and experience. Tutors earn an average of $3 for each question they answer on Course Hero. Earning between $12-$20 per hour, Course Hero tutors earn an average of $300/week. Learn more at How To Make $300+ Weekly As An Online Tutor With Course Hero.
9. Get paid to fill out online surveys.
This one won’t earn you actual cash overnight, but it’s an easy way to make a little extra cash for the holidays. With most survey companies, you’ll get your check or payment at the end of the month. That’s cash from answering surveys and testing products. To increase your chances of making money, I recommend signing up for as many online survey companies as you can. I say this because individual survey companies may only send a few surveys your way each month, so the more you sign up for, the more money you may be able to make. By joining as many sites as you can, you’ll receive the most opportunities. It’s really that simple! The paid online surveys I recommend signing up for include:
- American Consumer Opinion
- Survey Junkie
- InboxDollars
- Opinion Outpost
- OneOpinion
- VIP Voice
- Pinecone Research
- Prize Rebel
- Product Report Card
- Survey Club
These survey companies are all free to join and free to use!
10. Get rewarded for being online with Swagbucks.
Swagbucks is a company where you can earn free gift cards and cash for the things you normally do online, such as shopping, searching the web, and taking surveys. They give out 7,000 free gift cards every day and have given out $372,921,474 in cash and free gift cards since they were created. I’ve been using Swagbucks for years and it’s great! You’ll receive a free $5 bonus just for signing up today!
11. Babysit or nanny for a family.
Parents are almost always looking for good babysitters, and they are willing to pay well for a night out. Leading up to the holidays, parents often have more events and evenings out that they need sitters for, which means there are more opportunities to make extra money for the holidays. Websites like Care.com and SitterCity.com allow you to advertise your services, while letting you see if there is anyone in your area looking for help. This means that you may be able to find a one-time job or even a permanent babysitting gig, just by searching online. When I was only 14, I was making $10 an hour babysitting for a neighbor. I babysat 40 hours a week, and it was a great way to make extra money! And, I found this babysitting gig by just looking at the bulletin board in my neighborhood. If you have any special skills or can provide extra work, such as cleaning up around the house, teaching the child how to speak another language, tutoring, picking up the child from activities, and so on, you will most likely be able to charge more than $10 an hour.
12. Shop as a mystery shopper.
At first glance, I almost thought the sub-title above said “It’s a mystery why people shop” and I would have been one to ask such a thing. When my wife and I shop – I race through the store with my list (as stated earlier) while she is off in a “la-la-land” kind of fantasy world for shop-o-holics – much like a crazy ride at Disney World. But who am I to judge?
No I speak not of that mystery.
Rather – I speak now of “Mystery shopping” where stores pay you to shop! What? This can be one of the more fun ways to make extra holiday cash while also getting paid to eat at restaurants or to go shopping. Now calm down. (I’m talking to myself.) While you likely won’t make your money back right away, you can sign up for mystery shopping companies today and get your first mystery shop done pretty quick.
Some don’t require you to spend money either, such as if you do a phone call mystery shop where you just have to call a store and pretend to be a customer with questions. Now, we aren’t only talking about being paid to shop, but we are adding to this glorious gig, a game of pretending to be anyone you want! (Well, within reason.) I know people who payed off student loan debt by mystery shopping.
They made anywhere from $150 to $200 a month mystery shopping and received free meals, makeup, and more. What they told me was this – they only used Bestmark for mystery shopping, so I know that they are a 100% legitimate company. There are other legitimate mystery shopping companies that exist, but you should always do your research. Learn more at Want To Make An Extra $100 A Month? Learn How To Become A Mystery Shopper.
13. Become a dog walker or pet sitter
Do you love dogs? If so – then what are we even talking about here? Get yourself out of that empty-wallet depression because – you are about to make some nice moolah!
For people who will be out of town for the holidays or perhaps very busy, or just socially distant for long periods – hiring a dog walker or pet sitter just might be what the doctor ordered, so to speak. It might take someone alot like – you, for example, to help them get through the season. Another idea is dog boarding. LOL. Yes, I mean it. No lie – you may be able to make around $25+ per day by watching someone’s dog or another pet in your home.
If you love pets, this is the side hustle for you. It’s a great service to offer, and if you love animals (which you should if you are going to do this), then it could be fun as well! To find dog walking, pet sitting, dog boarding jobs, and even house sitting jobs, I recommend reading this blog post: Rover – A Great Way To Make Money And Play With Animals. Other than Rover, you may be able to find pet watching gigs through Craigslist, Facebook, and more.
14. Sell items laying around your house.
You know all that junk you got in the spare bedroom? Well – that is actually one of the easiest holiday money making side-hustles. True. Start hunting around your home for items to sell. It seems to me most folks have an inordinate amount of extra stuff in their life. What kinds of stuff? Books, appliances, old clothes, outdated electronics, old cell phones, useless furniture (sorry, someone had to break it to ya), gift cards that will never be used, and more. Look if you’re serious about how to make extra holiday cash, lets begin searching around your dwelling place for stuff to sell.
You know the saying “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”? Well, okay then. Someone wants to buy the junk you don’t even want. That’s a crazy thing to realize, right?
Just take an hour driving around your neighborhood some summery Saturday and methinks you will come upon not one, but several “garage sales” and when you do, remember what I’m saying to ya here.
Selling your stuff is definitely one of the easiest ways to make some cash. Cash flow is a major secret to wealth. And no time here to get into that. But if you can generate a few hundred dollars cash a month by selling old stuff – you just graduated from “wealth-building 101” but don’t ask me what “201 and 301” are. Oh, I know WHAT they are. But one thing at a time. Baby steps. If you want more info on that – you need to discover other blog posts on the right sidebar.
Bottom line – we all have things around the house we can sell, and there are many ways to sell your things. These include:
- eBay– This is my favorite online auction site. It is a great way to reach a larger market. Just learn to take a lot of quality pictures and competitively price your products and – well, I just gave you two huge secrets right there!
- Garage sales– See! Told ya. So popular. I guess I am listing this near the top because it is so easy to have a garage sale – right out of your garage. Bad thing is – everyone is doing this also and – the pay is usually lower.
- Thrift stores– Its fun to take some quality stuff you don’t want, bring it over to a Thrift store where they may pay on consignment, or hand you cash or store credit. This is a fast turn-around way to get paid since they will likely offer you cash for whatever they think will sell.
- Facebook– There are specific groups on Facebook dedicated to selling items in your area. Facebook makes it SO easy to sell things you no longer want. Just again make sure to take great pictures with good lighting that shows the quality of said item.
- Craigslist– People still use this site to sell stuff. But be safe and don’t fall for any Craigslist scams.
15. Teach English Online
It seems like every time I turn my head – online teaching jobs are growing every single day. Oh! It happened again right there as I turned my head! Okay all kidding aside: learning how to teach English online has become very popular. It is one of the best online jobs for many good reasons – it’s quite flexible, there’s a big demand, and you can make some good cash. Amazing to discover – you don’t even need to be a teacher to learn how to teach English online! What?
You also don’t need to speak two-plus languages! That’s right – you only need to speak English. Those incredible facts are why I’m saying to you – teaching English online is officially a really great side hustle. How much can you make per hour? Good question. Actually the amount of money you can earn teaching English online will fluctuate around $13 to $25 per hour. This side hustle is becoming to popular that there are some great companies that you can connect with to teach English online.
Which are my top pics? Glad you asked! Ha. My top three picks are as follows:
Learn more at Make Extra Money By Learning How To Teach English Online.
16. Sell items on Amazon.
Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer. Yes, they own you now. Oh well. When in Rome! Seriously, I really, really ike Amazon for the most part. There are so many people who sell items on Amazon – like me! True. s many, many people who sell items and earn money from home. Jessica Larrew, of The Selling Family, explains how selling on Amazon may be a possibility for you. She is a friend of mine, and I am blown away by her success! In the first year that Jessica’s family ran their Amazon FBA business together, working less than 20 hours a week total, they made over $100,000 profit! Jessica also has a FREE 7-day course that will teach you everything you need to know in order to start selling on Amazon. I recommend signing up for it now! This is one of the best online jobs to work as a side hustle, and if you want more information, click on the interview link below. In my interview with Jessica, How To Work From Home Selling On Amazon FBA, we talk about:
- How Jessica started selling on Amazon FBA
- What exactly Amazon FBA is
- How to choose what to buy and sell
- How much a person can expect to earn
- The positives of selling on Amazon, and more
17. Start an Etsy shop
Etsy is an online marketplace for handmade and vintage items, and it’s one of my wife’s favorite places to shop. And everyone’s doing it. So why aren’t you yet? If you’re creative, it’s a no-brainer.
Many are selling items on Etsy and it can be a great way to make money this holiday season. What can you sell? Well you can sell knit hats, printables, customized mugs, prints, embroidered items, jewelry, and so much more. How do you typically save for the holidays? What are you doing to make extra money for the holidays?
How To Start A Blog FREE Email Course
In this free course, I show you how to create a blog easily, from the technical side (it’s easy – trust me!) all the way to earning your first income and attracting readers. Join now! Subscribe to our newsletter to receive regular updates and get access to the free course.First Name Email Address We use this field to detect spam bots. If you fill this in, you will be marked as a spammer. JOINPowered by ConvertKit
