We’re in the home stretch of the holidays. Thanksgiving is in the rearview mirror and Christmas is right around the corner. If you didn’t plan your spending for the holiday season you may find that you need to put gifts on credit cards. That may seem harmless, but it can lead to unnecessary debt come the next year. You have another choice. It’s still possible to make money before the holiday season ends to help defray costs. Here are 12 proven ways to earn cash on the side before the year ends.
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Deliver Groceries
If delivering meals or driving people around in your car doesn’t interest you, consider grocery shopping for others. Using apps like Instacart Shopper, you can get paid to do people’s grocery shopping. If you enjoy being in the grocery store and have a car, this could be an easy way for you to earn some extra money.
Become a Dog Walker Or Sitter
There are apps to make money on the side that go beyond delivering food. If you’re an animal lover who wants to earn extra money before the holidays, you can supplement your income by walking or boarding dogs.
Many dog owners are willing to pay contractors to walk their dogs while they are at work. Plus, you can earn even more if you can board dogs in your home when their owners travel.
The Rover dog-sitting app is an excellent resource if you want to find gigs near you and connect with local clients. It lets you create a profile to showcase your experience and locate jobs.
Rover claims that you can earn up to $1,000 per month through its platform, making it one of the top high-paying apps in the animal care niche. This income can go a long way to help with Christmas expenses.
Be a Carpool Driver
Are you a stay-at-home parent who wants a part-time side hustle? Driving for HopSkipDrive is a terrific way to earn cash on the side.
As a CareDriver, you use the app to drive school children to their various extracurricular activities. If you do the same for your children, this can be a fantastic way to monetize that time.
HopSkipDrive has extensive requirements, including a rigorous background and driving check. CareDrivers must be at least 23 years old and have a minimum of five years of caregiving experience.
Furthermore, your car can’t be more than ten years old. Pay is released instantly via the Cash App.
Sell Your Used Electronics
Do you have old electronics that you no longer use? If they’re still in working condition, you could be sitting on hundreds of dollars.
You can sell those items and make easy money. While it’s possible to find buyers for used electronics locally, it’s usually best to sell items online.
SellCell is a top choice to sell electronics. They are a marketplace that connects users with 30+ companies that buy back used devices. You can sell various items, including phones, tablets, laptops, cameras, game consoles, and more.
Upon accepting an offer, the company sends you a shipping label. You then send the platform your items. When they receive them, they pay you via check or PayPal.
Do Small Tasks Online
If you don’t want to take surveys for money, micro-jobs are an excellent alternative to earn extra cash for Christmas.
Get-paid-to (GPT) sites like Swagbucks let you earn money for your search activity. When you set Swagbucks as your default search engine, you earn points to get gift cards or cash.
Your search activity isn’t the only way to earn money either. Swagbucks offers numerous micro jobs you can do to earn cash, including using their online shopping portal, watching sponsored videos, playing online games, completing various online jobs, and reading sponsored emails.
Swagbucks gives users a free $10 when they open an account. You can redeem earnings starting as low as $1 for an Amazon gift card.
Get Cash Back on Your Shopping
What better way to get Christmas spending money than to receive cash back on your online purchases? You can do this with a rebate site like Rakuten or Honey.
Both apps work with thousands of online retailers and gives you cash back when you make a qualifying purchase.
You shop online as you normally would. Then, after you make a purchase, your account will be credited with a rebate, depending on your purchase category.
Both also have an easy-to-use app if you’re shopping on the go. You won’t earn a lot this way, but it’s an easy way to defray some of your gift-giving expenses.
Test Products For Cash
Market research companies pay significant sums of cash to learn consumers’ opinions about products. If you’re looking for ways to make extra money, you can test products at home.
Pinecone Research is a paid survey site, but it specializes in product testing. The company sends you the product. Then, you test it and provide your feedback by completing a survey. You can earn up to $75 per product test.
Babysitting
When you’re looking for quick ways to make money, babysitting is a classic side hustle to pursue. As the holidays approach, there is more demand for babysitters.
If you enjoy spending time with children, this is an excellent opportunity to make extra money for holiday shopping.
You can advertise your services on social media or through word of mouth to find local gigs.
Write Articles For Money
Freelance writing is one of the top work-from-home gig economy jobs to earn cash before the holidays. You don’t need a specialized degree, and you can make money from home.
Many businesses outsource writing needs, and some assignments pay extremely well. Content can include blog posts, white papers, speeches, and more.
Proofreading
All content written by freelance writers needs to be edited. Content that’s incorrect or has poor grammar can cost companies significant money. This creates at-home jobs for proofreaders to make extra money on the side.
A proofreader reads through various forms of content to ensure everything is correct. You won’t copyedit, but proofreading is the final step before content is published to verify there are no errors.
Like writing, you don’t need a specialized degree to proofread. You can also work remotely since all you need is a laptop and an internet connection to complete work.
Find Local Day Jobs
Online side hustles from home aren’t the only opportunity to earn extra income. If you have mechanical or technical skills, you can try making money doing odd jobs in your city.
Taskrabbit is the top platform to find handyman jobs near you. Money-making opportunities you can find on Taskrabbit include cleaning, delivery services, furniture assembly, heavy lifting, home repair (electrical/plumbing work), moving help, waiting in line, yard work, and painting.
Similar to other side hustle ideas, you create your own hours. You can also set your own rates.
Pay is distributed weekly. You get to keep 100 percent of your earnings, including tips. The platform manages payments, so there is no exchange of cash with customers.
Pick Up Online Gigs On Fiverr
Fiverr is the ultimate resource to make extra money before Christmas. You can earn cash by offering nearly any service, from writing a thank you note to programming a website.
Services start at $5. However, the real earning opportunity is in the add-ons you can offer because those have no set price.
Similar to other app-based job options, you will want to land a few clients who give good ratings to increase your chances of success.
Fiverr is free to join, and you can make money without leaving your home once you start accepting gigs.
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I’m John Schmoll, a former stockbroker, MBA-grad, published finance writer, and founder of Frugal Rules.
As a veteran of the financial services industry, I’ve worked as a mutual fund administrator, banker, and stockbroker and was Series 7 and 63-licensed, but I left all that behind in 2012 to help people learn how to manage their money.
My goal is to help you gain the knowledge you need to become financially independent with personally-tested financial tools and money-saving solutions.
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