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‘Tis the season to be jolly… and make extra money! That’s right—while others are out emptying their wallets shopping for gifts, you can take advantage of the busy season and earn some extra cash to either beef up your savings or shop for your own holiday gifts. Check out our tips below on how to make extra money during the holidays.
DRIVE FOR LYFT
Lyft lets you earn money by using your car to shuttle people from place to place. It’s a great, flexible option for people who want to set their own hours and work whenever they want. The money you earn while driving gets deposited into your bank account every week, or you can cash out instantly with their Express Pay feature. Hot tip: go above and beyond for your riders by offering water bottles, gum, phone chargers and a smile—they can add a tip to their total. Turn miles into money and sign up to drive with Lyft. You can get a $300 bonus when you complete 100 rides, which will help you recover from any extra holiday spending.
RETAIL
Spend your free time helping others shop for gifts (like holiday sweaters) while also getting paid. Retailers like Target, Crate & Barrel, Best Buy, Gap, Old Navy and so many more are all looking for extra employees to help out during their busy season. Plus, you can take advantage of their employee discount (just don’t go overboard.) Want to help Santa get those gifts get delivered? UPS is hiring seasonal package handlers, drivers and driver helpers.
RUN ERRANDS
To-do lists fill up especially fast during the holiday season. Get paid to help people with holiday errands or everyday chores by advertising your services in the local paper or neighborhood newsletter, or by signing up for TaskRabbit. With TaskRabbit, you can get paid to put together furniture, pack and/or move someone’s belongings, mount a TV, shovel snow, run errands, act as a personal assistant and more. You can make your own schedule and sign up for the jobs you want on the go using the app.
SELL YOUR SKILLS
Fiverr is a great site for making money as a creative freelancer. Are you a talented copywriter, video editor, web developer, graphic designer or social media marketer? At Fiverr, you can get paid for these services and 100 different others including drawing pet portraits, singing jingles, recording voiceovers and wishing someone a Merry Christmas. There is no fee to join and you get paid 80% of each transaction.
GET RID OF STUFF
Make money by ridding your house of extra stuff. If you’ve noticed you’re low on clothing hangers, it’s time to go through your closet and donate or sell. Clean any unwanted clothing, bags, shoes and accessories and take them into a resale shop like Buffalo Exchange. They will either give you cash or give you credit you can use in the store. Running out of space in your garage? Sell some oldies but goodies on Craigslist or LetGo. LetGo has an app that lets you easily snap pics of your items, list them and communicate back and forth with potential buyers.
RENT OUT YOUR HOME
If you’re headed out of town for the holidays, earn money by renting your home out to others as an Airbnb host. You can set your own availability, rates, house rules and check in and out times, plus the Airbnb team offers 24/7 customer support. You get paid automatically via PayPal, direct deposit or international money wire after guests check in. Visit the Trust section of their website to learn more about their up to $1,000,000 Host Guarantee and Host Protection Insurance.
PET AND HOUSE SIT
If you’re staying in town for the holidays, make some money while caring for a neighbor’s pet (or pet and house) while they are away. Rover lets you get paid to take dogs on walks, drop in to say hi and even stay overnight. Want to stay at your place? You can also host a pup in your own home. The Rover app makes it easy to send pet owners updates like maps of your walks, potty breaks and photos.
How are you making extra money during the holidays? Let us know in the comments below!
Melody Rose Rowan is the CEO + hostess with the mostess at @CuteStays. When she isn’t blogging about style and interior design for her blog MustacheMelrose.com, Melody can be found renovating @MaxineTheAirstream with her husband, Scott, or playing with her two rescue dog-sons, Jake and Finn. Say hi at @mustachemelrose!
