Christmas is an expensive time, and even though I've touched on tips for budgeting and shopping efficiently, there are ways you can get extra money this month, and they are right at your fingertips...
1. Sell your junk
I know for sure that I've got a lot of stuff I can easily do without in my house. It adds up clutter wise, and it can add up money wise too. I've really got into selling my clutter this year and it's a really easy way to get some extra money, and give someone else a Christmas present for someone else!
Firstly I started using depop which is an app for your phone where you can take pictures of your items, and sell them via paypal so you know it's safe. As much as I did get a few items sold, I quit depop a few months ago as people kept asking me to lower the price to way less than I wanted - and then were annoyed when I told them I put postage as that price to get the item to them safely. Plus you really have to promote yourself a lot, as only the nicest looking photos get picked for the front page. Overall, I sold a few items but I just didn't like the bitchiness.
I also used to use amazon which really comes in handy this time of year as a good majority of people do nearly all their Christmas shopping on amazon. The only real con of this is you can't always say the price you want, as on the 'buy used' page, it goes from cheapest to most expensive and obviously if it's in good condition, the cheapest is going to get sold. I would say this really depends on if you just want your clutter gone and aren't bothered that much about how much you can get for it. You can also trade in your old books for amazon vouchers - which can come in handy and you could get a present for someone with the vouchers.
Lastly and probably the most popular is Ebay. You can download the app for your phone and upload the pictures there and sell it right away. You get 20 free listings per month, and if you tag it right you can get the item sold the very same day. You can either do bids or just get it gone with one price - it's totally up to you. Ebay does take a small fee when you do sell an item, however all the ones I've mentioned do. I've had DVD's and clothes sold on ebay, plus it's safe when you do it through paypal, and the better feedback you get, the more chance people will look at your page.
2. Get clicking
If you are on the computer a lot like myself, you could make some extra money or at least get some vouchers by doing surveys. I've signed up to survey websites before and had great success, although the more you do it, the more you'll get out at the end. Here is a link that explains some of the best websites at the minute, what they pay out and what they ask you for.
My tips would be to get a new email account just for surveys - just so you don't end up with your emails being run down by surveys. I would also join more than one, that way you have more of a chance of getting something out at the end and it might be faster aswell. Even just an hour a night doing 5 minute surveys on 3 different websites can definitely add up in the end.
3. Use your skills
Are you amazing with a needle and thread? Can you knit a jumper in a week? I'd recommend getting an Etsy account if you are a creative soul. Etsy allows you to sell your own products, such as jewellery, art or clothes (even some vintage clothes can be sold but they need to be 20 years old) and it would come in handy this time of year when people are looking for unique gifts for loved ones. It obviously depends on how much time you have, however if you are good at something - you might aswell try to get something out of it!
The other thing you can try is baking cakes or making jams. If you are wicked with a whisk, and baking in bulk is cheap for you, you could take it too car boot sales, office parties or even just advertising on facebook could give you some extra cash - you just have to make sure you aren't spending what you earn on the cakes. If you have the equipment ready - get baking!
If you start now you could definitely get some extra cash in handy by Christmas - or even just some extra money that will keep you going in January!
What do you think of these tips? Do you have any tricks?
