Quick Ways To Make Extra Money For Christmas

At this time of year, it can be tight on the old purse strings. There seems to be extra things that we need to spend our money on, coming at us left, right, and centre. I have just had an email from my son’s school and even just this week they need us to take in a bottle of drink, homemade jars decorated and filled with sweets, as well as a tree decoration and homemade cakes. All of that may seem like small things. But it is above what I would normally spend.

While I try to put money aside each month for Christmas, little extra things do crop up. So if you are looking for some easy ways to save money at this time of year, here are a few ideas.

Sell Old Jewellery

If you have things that you no longer make use of, selling them will give you some quick cash. If you have old jewellery that you no longer need, then that could make you even more. Quite often, if the jewellery is in good condition, then it will be sold on. So it means you as a seller would get more cash. It is pretty instant so is a good idea for some money if you needed some in these coming weeks. So look online for somewhere that will give you cash for your gold, silver or other sparkly bits.

Be Savvy When You Shop

If you are smart about what you shop for and where, you can really save money. For me, shopping online is really easy for me. It helps me to save too. I can browse lots and lots of sites all at once to make sure that I get the best deal or the best price. It makes it much quicker than traipsing around lots of different stores and comparing prices as well.

I have also been using an app called Shoptagr which is an app, a little bit like Pinterest (you can use it on  desktop too, not just on the app). So you can bookmark and save the links of things that you want to buy. It works for most websites as they support over 700 stores. So it is perfect for wish lists and Christmases and birthdays. But the bonus is that you get notified when those items go in the sale or go down in price. It also tells you when out of stock items are back in stock. Then you can get on and buy them straightaway. If you want to receive alerts directly to your phone, it is easy to set up, and then you get notifications by text message. You just go go to ‘My Settings’ on your account and confirm your phone number. I think it is a great little app to have on your phone or use on a desktop. Then you can save things that you want, as well as things for family and friends. Why pay more for a gift if you don’t have to?

An example from one of my wish lists below (here’s hoping that I can get these in the sale after Christmas, ready for next Christmas)!

Sell Homemade Crafts

One other thing that you could do, is to sell some homemade crafts or goodies that you make. It could be as simple as getting a stall at a Christmas fair (only for crafts anyway. Selling food is a different thing). Or you could set up a little store on Etsy or eBay. There are small costs to setting those up, though. With the rise of social media, you could sell things on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. There are lots of stores like that, that are social media only. Promote to your friends and you could be making more than just the extra you need for Christmas!

Pick Up Some Seasonal Shifts

There are a lot of places that recruit season staff to deal with the busyness that comes with Christmas. A lot of places do start to recruit around October. But they will still take people on throughout the season. So if you live close to some department stores or supermarkets, they would be worth looking into. Even if you’re not free for many hours, they will usually take you on. So you can work it around existing commitments. When I was a student I worked seasonally at a department stores big sales. I wasn’t till trained or anything but dealt with putting stock out, changing rooms and keeping the shop floor looking tidy. I was paid with gift cards, so it was a win-win for me!

Have you got any tips that work for you when you need extra money for Christmas?

*collaborative post