Ways to Earn Extra Money for the Holidays

If you are looking for ways to earn extra money for the holidays, you’ll be surprised to find out there are so many ways to do it. If your goal is to get through the holidays without debt, then finding ways to earn extra money could definitely help. Sure, you could bake pies or dress up as Santa at the local mall but nowadays, there are so many other options to choose from!

This year, you can truly commit to having a debt-free holiday season. Instead of starting the new year owing more money to the credit card companies, you can enjoy peace and joy this holiday season by planning for all the added expenses ahead of time with a few, carefully planned side-hustles.

Here are the best ways to make extra cash for the holidays without sacrificing too much of your time.

Related reading: How Can I Find Seasonal Jobs?

Earn Money with a Side-Hustle

Starting a side-hustle is a great way to earn extra money to cover the holiday festivities. Chances are you already have a skill or talent that can benefit someone else. Whether it’s running errands, office or administrative work, or simple pet care, there’s always an opportunity to put more money in your pocket.

1) Drive with Uber

Driving with Uber gives you flexibility and allows you to offer rides to people around your schedule. You can also earn money delivering food with their UberEats service (where you can deliver the goods with a car, bike or even motor scooter!)

2) Make extra money with extra space

Rent out extra space on Airbnb. If you have an extra room, an apartment above your garage, or a rental property that’s empty, you can make money by renting them out by simply creating a listing on Airbnb. Click here to find out how much you can earn in your areas and create your AirBnb listing just in time for the holiday rush of travelers.

3) Get a flexible job

The holidays are a prime time to find seasonal work. During this time, retailers are hiring like crazy for all sorts of positions ranging from shipping to customer service. There are even many jobs you can do from home to pad your holiday bank account. Want the skinny on these jobs? Get more information on flexible-schedule jobs you can do from home at Flexjobs.com. You can also check out their article, How Can I Find Seasonal Jobs?

4) Get paid to “play” on Pinterest

Pinterest is one of the most visited websites during the holidays. People are looking for crafts, party ideas, recipes or just any way to make their lives better. You can make money on Pinterest by becoming a Pinterest VA and helping out thousands of bloggers trying to be seen during the holiday season.

Another option is to create your own Pins to promote your personal referral codes or Pins that lead back to affiliate marketing links. While it’s ideal to start a website to lead Pinterest users back to, it’s not necessary. If you have referral codes (think sites like StitchFix, Ebates, Swagbucks, etc.) or personal referral links, you can post them on Pinterest to get more exposure and earn more referral credits/money.

Finally, you can use Pinterest to promote your hand-crafted creations to millions of gift-givers that will be searching for online for holiday wares. If you’ve got neat handmade products, now is the time to create your Etsy store and start pinning to promote!

5) Write short stories for the holiday rush

With the holidays coming up, people will be traveling and reading like crazy! Whether on the plane or in a closet to escape crazy family antics, the demand to read and take a break will be huge this holiday season.  Take this super quick course to get started on your first short story to sell on Amazon.com just in time for the Holidays. It doesn’t take long to create and upload your story so the sales can start coming in! Click here to check out the eCourse, Make Money with eBooks.

Related resource: 9 Ways to Earn Money as a Freelance Writer

6) Childcare, babysitting, pet sitting and elder care

People like to party, travel and go out during the holidays. If they are caring for kids, pets and other loved ones, they will need help. Create a free profile on SitterCity.com so you can be matched with people and families that will need your help this busy holiday season. You’d be surprised at what you could make caring for kids, pets and elderly family members. You could also use an app like Rover to connect with nearby pet owners for pet sitting jobs, too. 

7) Pick up digital gigs (freelance work)

Create a profile on Fiverr or Upwork to make money from writing, editing, graphic design, or data entry. It doesn’t hurt to check out Craigslist for work in these areas, too. 

Related reading: 19 Streams of Income You Can Start Right Now

8) Create and Sell Stuff

Christmas time is the perfect time to turn your crafting hobbies into money. The good news is that there are some many ways to start a business and market your wares that you can’t go wrong with the right product and the perfect time of year.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Set up an Etsy shop and promote items on social media
• Create and sell custom t-shirts (start with no money!)
• Create custom items and sell them on Amazon
• Find things around the house, then sell them on eBay

9) Become a freelance Bartender

If you reside in a major (and even smaller city,) the BartendGroup, may have some freelance bartending gigs for you. With the holidays coming, you’ll probably have plenty to do. The bonus here is that you are not required to complete bartending school. Check out the Bartend group’s website to see if there are open bartending gigs in your area.

Get Free Money with Sign-Up Bonuses

The easiest way to make extra money for Christmas is through sign-up bonuses you can earn for trying new money-making and money-saving apps. The best part is that it takes the least amount of time and effort on your part and will put you on the right path to save even more money after the holiday season.  

10) Get $50 with a Chime bank account

You can get an extra $50 just for signing up and opening an account with Chime a premier online bank with tons of perks. Plus, for every friend you refer, each of you will get an additional $50 bonus when they open an account with Chime and set up direct deposit within 45 days. 

Need more info on Chime? Check out my review of Chime here.

11) Get $5 by opening a Stash investing account

Open a free investing account with Stash and you’ll get $5. Stash is a micro-investing app that makes it easy for you to invest with as little as $5 at a time. The goal is to make investing accessible and relatable right from your smartphone. Click here to open a Stash account and claim your $5.

12) Get $5 to open an Acorns investing account

When you open an Acorns account, you’ll get $5 for yourself plus $5 for every friend you refer to the investing platform. With the sign-up bonus and referral rewards, Acorns is an easy way to give an investment gift while piling up money to invest through the app itself. Open an Acorns account to start investing and referring friends today.

13) Open an eBates account and get $10 while saving at major retailers

When you open an eBates account and make your first purchase of $25 or more in the first 90 days of becoming a member, Ebates gives you a $10 signup bonus. Shopping through the eBates portal doesn’t cost you extra money, yet you’ll get access to popular retailers like Home Depot, Kohl’s, eBay, Macy’s, Walmart and more. In fact, it saves you money with discounts and special bonuses just for eBates members.

There’s also a $25 bonus for each new member that you refer to eBates. Create an eBates account to get your $10, start saving money on your purchases and referring friends at $25 a pop.

14) Create a profile with Swagbucks to get $5

With Swagbucks, you earn money by opening an account and taking surveys.  With Swagbucks, it’s easy to earn an extra $5 toward your debt-free Christmas when you create a new account at Swagbucks. You also earn by referring friends to Swagbucks: 

15) Create an Ibotta account to save money and earn referral bonuses

Ibotta is a grocery-saving app that will give you $10 to sign up and offers a $10 referral bonus for friends who signup with Ibotta, too. Create an Ibotta account to save on your groceries and earn with friend referrals. 

Make Money with your Smartphone

You spend hours on your smartphone every week, but did you know there’s a way to earn cash while doing it? Some companies will pay you for sharing your opinion online, and completing online surveys will earn you cash for doing it.

Don’t forget to invite your friends! Not only can they earn extra money, but you’ll earn referral bonuses to put in your pocket, too.

16) Take surveys on Inbox dollars

When surveys are sent straight to your inbox with Inbox Dollars, making money is easy. You get a $5 signup bonus and $5 for everyone you refer, too.

17) Complete surveys with Fusion Cash

With Fusion Cash, you can get paid for completing online surveys, plus a $5 bonus when you signup. Their program also gives you a bonus of $1 to $5 for everyone you refer. Create an account with Fusion Cash and start earning today.

18) Complete surveys with Survey Junkie

With Survey Junkie,  you can earn cash for doing surveys with the option to earn a higher payout for being a frequent survey taker. Create your Survey Junkie account here. 

19) Take online surveys with ShopTracker

ShopTracker is backed by The Harris Poll, one of the oldest and most respected polling companies, you’ll earn money online to help you this Christmas. Create an account to start earning money today.

20) Take surveys with PanelPlace

PanelPlace doesn’t send you actual surveys. Instead, they will match you with new survey companies for even more opportunities to get paid for doing surveys online. Get matched with top-paying survey companies by creating a PanelPlace account here. 

21) Become a secret shopper

This is a thing and you can get paid to do it! Check out this resource for more information on becoming a secret shopper.

Once you start spending for the holidays, it’s easy for your budget to spiral out of control. If you rely on credit cards to cover everything, your finances could end up in serious jeopardy. Spend some time now to earn a little extra now to create a buffer between you and the holiday expenses that are coming.  

Whether you’re looking for easy ways to save money or to avoid debt holiday season, keep in mind that every lit bit adds up. With these money-making and money-saving ideas you can make having a debt-free holiday season a reality this year.

Want more ideas on saving, earning extra money and just getting your finances together in general? Check out this free guide, Money Hacks 101: 50+ Ways to Find, Save and Earn More Money.

Click here or the image below to get instructions on how to access it:

Amy Beardsley

Amy Beardsley is a writer who specializes in small business, student loans, and personal finance. With a background in the legal field, she transforms complex ideas and information into engaging easy-to-understand stories. Amy also owns Early Morning Money, where she helps others end the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck and build financial independence.