I walked into Costco the other day and BAM… Christmas trees, wreaths, bows, garlands, lights… All right there when we walked in. It’s a painful reminder thatChristmas is almost here!
Which of course brought up the question:do I have myChristmas money yet?!
Long and short is yes, I do. Thanks to a few easy places to earn a few extra bucks that will add up way before the holidays.
1. Swagbucks
Swagbucks is the super-easy way to earn money just by being online watching Youtube clips, listening to music, answering surveys, interacting with ads and other links. If you get 100 points a day (totally doable to double that in a day) between now and Christmas, you will have more than $60 that you can redeem at Amazon (they have a deal where you can get a $25 gift card for $22, or 2300 points), Walmart, Target, Paypal, and Starbucks!
If you have tried Swagbucks but hate how long it takes to earn, check out this super in-depth post about how I make the most of my time on Swagbucks.
If you use the code “cowcountry15” you’ll get 300SB to help get you started.
2. Ebates
Ebates is a cash back website that I absolutely love. If you do any shopping online, you’ll want to try out Ebates. If you’re already going to buy things online, wouldn’t you rather make 8% back on the toys or clothes you were going to get? I know I would!
If you buy anything online, chances are Ebates has a cash-back opportunity for that store. Sephora, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Overstock, and so many others have cash back deals with Ebates.
Plus, their holiday referral program is amazing. You don’t need to be a blogger to benefit from their referral program. If you can get 3 people to sign up (and all of them will get $10 gift cards, too), you’ll earn $75. That’s you mom, sister, and sister-in-law, and boom, you have $75!
Check out more of the best ways to save using Ebates. Plus you get a free $10 gift card just for signing up here!
3. Have a yard sale.
It might be a pain to set up, but it’s a great way to clear out space in your home while making money. Check with your local church or moms group to see if anyone else would want to get together to do a community yard sale.
4. Craigslist
If you can’t sell your stuff at a yard sale, try your hand at Craigslist. Post pictures of the item, and post it along with your email. Never use your phone number on your listingor your address. Cash only. And always meet in a public place, and bring a friend along when you do the transaction. Police stations offer safe places to conduct Craigslist transactions for free. Craigslist is usually safe, but better to be safe than sorry with all the weirdos out there!
5. eBay
I really love eBay, both for buying AND selling. I got my husband AND sons brand new football jerseys that had some “defect” (that we still can’t find after 2 years, by the way) for $19 and $11. Can’t beat that!
Selling is super easy there, too. You can even do it right from your phone. Take pictures, write a description, ask price, set shipping price, and you’re done.
Once it’s sold, you get your shipping payment and print your label, andviola! Super easy. You’d be shocked what people will buy off of eBay, so list everything from used clothes to diamond jewelry.
6. Bloggers
Have you started using Amazon affiliates yet? If not, you need to! It’s a great way to earn affiliate income even if you’re just starting out. The best thing about amazon affiliate is that after someone clicks on your link, you get an affiliate commission from everything that they purchase. Not just the one item you linked to!
7. Amazon
Ilove Amazon. I did almost all of my Christmas shopping online last year and discovered Prime on December 22. (Yes, bad mommy moment not shopping for gifts before 2 days before Christmas!) But I started a free trial for Prime on December 22 and I got my packages on the 24th, in enough time to wrap them and everything. They even deliver on Sundays!
If you’re in a pinch and need a gift in 2 days, Prime is awesome. There’s a lot of other fantastic things that come with Prime, but I don’t want you to think that this is a commercial for Prime (because it’s not!), I just love Amazon!
8. Amazon Trade-In
If you’re getting a new Xbox or a new phone or camera for Christmas, you don’t really need your old model, right? Why not make some money off of it? I used to use the Amazon trade-in programfor my old textbooks from college. Amazon paid so much more for them than the stupid University store did. And they paid for the shipping label and everything. All you had to do was put it in a box and take it to the post office.
Now Amazon’s trade-in covers almost everything from old cell phones to DVDs, CDs, old books, and plenty of other stuff. And if they don’t like whatever it is you sent them, they’ll send it back for free, too. So basically you have nothing to lose here with trading to Amazon.
Have you started saving for Christmas? What have you done to bring in some extra cash?
