It’s official – the countdown to Christmas is on.
Before you know it, you’ll be waking up to presents under the tree. Which, to be honest, can feel a little intimidating. Especially if your Christmas savings up to this point are next to nothing.
Luckily I have good news and even more good news.
First, you don’t need to lavish your loved ones with gifts. You can have a fantastic Christmas without putting yourself into debt or spending hundreds of dollars.
The second piece of good news – if you want to spend money on Christmas, there are MANY ways to earn money fast.
Ready to get started? Here are the 29 best ways to make extra money for Christmas.
Make Cash Fast for Christmas
If you need cash as quickly as possible, the ideas on this list will help you get there. These methods will help you earn money within a couple of hours to a week.
1. Sell Your Old Tech with Decluttr
If you’re like the average American, you have plenty of stuff lying around your house that you don’t use anymore. And if you need to make extra money for Christmas, instead of letting those items sit around, you can cash them in with Decluttr.
Decluttr will pay you for:
- Games and game consoles
- Computers
- Cell Phones
- Tablets
- Wearables/Watches
- Books
- CDs, DVDs, and BluRays
To get started, all you need to do is visit the Decluttr website and enter the barcodes of the items you want to sell. After doing so, you’ll be able to enter info about the condition of the item. Then, Decluttr will present you with a price offer.
If you like the price, pack up your stuff, print out their free shipping label, and send it out.
Decluttr will inspect your items within a few days of receiving them. If everything checks out, they’ll pay you the next day.
2. Drive with Uber or Lyft
If you have a four-door car that’s less than a decade old, have a good driving record, and carry at least state minimum insurance coverage, you may qualify to be a driver with Uber or Lyft.
Uber and Lyft drivers earn money via a base rate, plus tips, minus any applicable fees.
The great thing about this gig is that it’s completely flexible. So, if you have free time and are ready to earn some money for Christmas, simply go to the app and make yourself available as a driver.
This gig is best for those who live in medium to large-sized cities.
3. “Flip” Items on Facebook Marketplace
One of my favorite ways to earn money quickly is to flip items on Facebook Marketplace. Mainly because it doesn’t take a ton of extra talent – you just have to be willing to do the work.
And you don’t need money to get started.
Here’s what to do:
- Go to the “Free” section and look for the nicest items
- Go pick up those items
- Take excellent pictures
- List them on Facebook Marketplace for sale
Many people don’t want to deal with selling – that’s why they list items for free or put them at the end of their driveway. If you’re willing to be the seller, you can earn a decent amount of cash quickly.
4. Donate Plasma
If you need cash today, you can donate Plasma. It’s a straightforward process, and they pay you immediately.
To get started, Google plasma donation centers in your area. When you go in, they’ll ask you a few questions then allow you to donate. You usually have to sit there for a couple of hours, but you walk out with cash in hand.
5. Babysit
What would this list be without at least mentioning babysitting?
After all, every parent on the planet needs a babysitter every now and then.
Plus, babysitting pays quickly, and you can easily make it work with your schedule. You can offer before or after-school babysitting, parents’ night out, or watch young kids throughout the day.
6. Find Errands to Run on TaskRabbit
Another very quick way to earn money is to join TaskRabbit. TaskRabbit is a website that connects local people who need help with errands or simple home improvement projects to “taskers” who can complete those projects.
I like this app because you can see the going hourly rate in your area before you ever sign up.
If you decide you do want to sign up, you’ll simply create your profile. TaskRabbit will then match you up with jobs in your area.
You get to set your schedule and list your availability on your profile.
7. Rent Out Your Car
Do you have a new-ish car that you never drive? If so, you can make money renting it out with Turo or HyreCar.
With HyreCar, you rent your car to delivery or rideshare drivers who don’t have vehicles of their own. With Turo, you can rent your vehicle to any approved driver. (Turo cars are often needed by vacationers, those whose vehicles are in the shop, etc.)
The amount you earn will depend on your location, vehicle, and how often you rent it out.
8. Sell Your Old Stuff on Facebook or Mercari
Another great way to make extra money for Christmas is to sell your old stuff. This not only helps you raise funds but clears out unused items to make room for the new ones.
Two of the best places to sell your old stuff are through the Mercari app or Facebook Marketplace.
You can sell your old clothes, shoes, home decor, kitchenware, toys and more.
9. Pick Up Open Shifts at Local Businesses with Wonolo
Have you ever thought it would be fun to work a different job every day?
If your answer is “yes,” you now have the opportunity to do so through the Wonolo app.
Here’s how it works:
When an employer is facing an employee shortage, he posts shift openings on the Wonolo app. These shifts are one-off, temporary, or part-time. As a Wonolo app user, you simply claim a shift on the app when you see one you want to do.
This is an excellent way to quickly earn money for Christmas shopping. Whenever you have free time, you can log onto the app and see what work is available.
This is also a fun way to test out jobs and meet new people in your city.
10. Walk Dogs with Rover
If you’re a dog lover and want to up your exercise game, you can become a paid dog walker. In some cities, this gig pays surprisingly well. (Go to Rover and look at walkers in your area for specific pay.)
Through the Rover app, you can also make money offering dog daycare, boarding pets, and house sitting.
11. Sell Crafts
If you’re crafty, put your skills to work and sell your creations.
Some popular crafts to sell include:
- Thanksgiving or Christmas decorations
- Handmade soap
- Handmade hats, gloves, and scarves
- Themed masks
- Lotions, lip glosses
- Slime
- Handmade jewelry
Start thinking of ideas that other people could use as Christmas gifts or stocking stuffers. You can sell your creations on Etsy or Facebook Marketplace.
12. Offer Tutoring Services
If you’re an expert at something, you can offer tutoring services. Your services can range from helping struggling second graders read to teaching guitar lessons.
The best way to find clients is through word of mouth. Let your friends and family know and post about your service on your social media networks.
If you want to tutor in an academic subject, you can also sign up with companies like Tutor.com or TutorMe.
Make Extra Christmas Money with a Flexible Online Job
If you prefer to work on your computer but want a flexible option, these jobs are great solutions. Each has a different minimum cashout, but most allow you to set your schedule so you can earn Christmas money on your terms.
1. Become a Virtual Assistant with FancyHands
FancyHands pays virtual assistants to complete tasks on behalf of their clients. Many of these tasks will require you to be on the phone to book appointments, cancel services, or make phone calls on behalf of someone else.
Other common tasks include internet research, price checking, and booking hotels.
The pay is $3-$7 per task, and as an assistant, you’ll get paid every other Tuesday.
2. Complete MicroTasks at MTurk
MTurk is an Amazon-run company that allows business owners and professionals to post micro-tasks on their job boards. Then MTurk workers can claim the tasks they’d like to do.
Some of the most popular tasks on MTurk are product categorization, image processing, and data entry.
The pay for these is usually pretty low, but the tasks don’t take much time to complete. You can learn more about working for MTurk here.
3. Transcribe with Rev.com
Rev.com hires freelancers to transcribe audio and video (type out what you hear) and create closed captions.
If you want to work with Rev, you’ll need to fill out an application, pass a grammar quiz, and submit a sample. Then, if approved, you can start taking on work. And best of all, you can work as much as you want, whenever you like.
Rev pays its transcribers $0.30-$1.10 per audio minute and captioners $0.54 to $1.10 per video minute.
4. Offer Freelance Services
If you’re not familiar, freelance simply means to work as a contractor for one or more clients rather than working as an employee for one company.
If you need to earn money fast, there are a lot of benefits to freelancing – you can work when you want as much as you want, and you get to set your own rates.
Some popular online freelance services are writing, editing, video editing, creating graphics, web design, and tech help.
If you’re good at any of these things, you can get started by setting up freelancer profiles on Fiverr, Freelancer.com, or UpWork.
If you already have a bit of experience, you’re best off looking for your own clients. You can do this by checking out the most popular freelance jobs boards.
5. Test Websites with UTest
UTest is a company that contracts user experience testers to give honest feedback about business and e-commerce websites.
As a tester, you’ll screen and audio record yourself as you visit a website and give your honest opinions. Some tests will require you to do specific things like find or order a particular item, for example.
These tests usually pay $10-$15 for a 20 min test, which is pretty good. The downside, though, is that tests aren’t always available.
6. Take on a Seasonal Customer Service Job
Did you know that many top companies hire seasonal customer service reps to work from home?
It’s true.
The downside, though, is that these jobs are not nearly as flexible as the others on the list. Still, if you’re getting a head start on your Christmas savings, these may be worth a look.
Some companies that hire for these positions include HSN, Victoria’s Secret, Amazon, Vans, and more. Starting in October-November, you can find a lot of these positions posted on Indeed or LinkedIn.
7. Test Apps from Your Phone
In addition to testing websites, you can also get paid to test apps.
The premise works pretty much the same – you test out the app and give your feedback. While these jobs are not consistent, they can be a fun way to earn extra cash for Christmas.
Testing apps will pay you about $15 for a 20-minute test.
You can learn more about testing apps and other jobs you can do from your phone here.
Earn Gift Cards for Christmas
An easy way to earn extra money for Christmas is to take advantage of rewards apps that pay you with gift cards. Most of these apps pay you for things you’re already doing, like searching the web, grocery shopping, going into stores, or using coupons.
They also offer additional ways to earn money, such as watching videos, reading emails, and listening to music.
The downside is that these aren’t *quick* ways to earn. Each will probably take a couple of months to reach the gift card minimum threshold.
But, I still recommend picking 1-2 of your favorites, downloading them, and using them to go toward Christmas shopping.
With relatively minimal work, you can earn $100+ off of these within a year.
1. Swagbucks
Swagbucks is the OG rewards site that’s been in business for over a decade. They reward users for searching the web, using their shopping portal, printing coupons, playing games, and watching videos.
Most of Swagbucks’ gift cards have a $3-$5 minimum cashout value, so you don’t need to accrue many points to get a reward.
2. InboxDollars
InboxDollars is similar to Swagbucks. They reward members for searching the web, completing offers, and watching videos. They also have a “paid to read email” service where they send members advertisements via email, and members get paid $0.02 for viewing them.
Some of the gift cards at InboxDollars have a minimum cashout as low as $10. However, your first cashout has a $15 minimum.
3. Survey Junkie
Survey Junkie rewards members for completing surveys. They also have a market research opportunity called SJ Pulse that will reward you for letting them anonymously track your internet usage.
Their cashouts start at only $10.
4. GrabPoints
GrabPoints gives users points for watching videos, completing offers, and downloading specific apps. They also have surveys and a referral program.
The minimum cashout thresholds vary by gift card, but some, like Walmart and Amazon, start as low as $5.
5. MyPoints
MyPoints used to be known primarily as a cashback website but now has many of the same opportunities as Swagbucks or InboxDollars. With MyPoints, you can earn money for watching videos, shopping, and more.
You can cash out for a $10 gift card once your account has accumulated 1,580 points.
6. Ibotta
If you do any of your family’s grocery shopping, you need to download Ibotta.
Ibotta will reward you for completing special grocery offers. All you have to do is select the offers you want to complete before heading to the store and then submit proof of purchase afterward.
You can cash out once your account reaches a $20 balance.
7. Fetch Rewards
Fetch Rewards will pay you for uploading your receipts, regardless of where you shop. Getting started is super easy. Just download the app and before you throw away any of your receipts, upload them to Fetch Rewards.
Gift card cashouts start as low as $3.
8. DropApp
Drop is the most passive cashback app. To get started, all you do is link your credit or debit card to the DropApp. Then, when you make a purchase at a qualifying store, you’re automatically rewarded.
You’ll need to accumulate $25 before being able to cash out.
9. TopCashback
TopCashback is one of the highest-paying cashback sites available.
You can use TopCashback by installing their browser extension on your computer or shopping with them through their app.
The minimum cashouts depend on the gift card, but some options start as low as $0.01.
10. ShopKick
ShopKick is a unique app that rewards you for simply walking into certain stores. You can also up your earnings by scanning products, making purchases, and shopping through their app.
ShopKick has a super low cashout at only $2.
Final Thoughts on Ways to Make Extra Money for Christmas
If you need to make extra money for Christmas, you have tons of options. Some of these ideas (like earning gift cards) can take months. But most of the ideas on the list will help you earn Christmas cash fast – sometimes as quickly as within a couple of hours.
If you need cash as quickly as possible, focus on the first list in this article. Babysitting, flipping items, and picking up extra shifts at local businesses can help you secure the cash you need by the end of the week.
Looking for more ways to make money? Check out the video below:
