Regardless of the state of the economy, many people find themselves a little strapped for money around the holidays. Heating costs, food for holiday gatherings, holiday travel costs, and gifts all factor in to making November through January the most expensive time of the year. Luckily, as much as this time of year can cost more, there are more opportunities to make a little bit of money to offset these inflated expenses. Below, we’ll share with you the top five ways to earn a little extra cash over the holidays.
Tip 5 – Manual Labor
Fall is called “fall” for a reason. Leaves fall off of trees and if they just stay on people’s lawns it is bad for the grass underneath. That’s why they invented rakes. One thing about raking – people hate to do it. That’s why they invented leaf blowers. So, if you invest in a leaf blower, you can take care of people’s leaves for them without having to rake people’s leaves? Easy enough, right? Once the snow starts falling; you can shovel snow for extra dough – or use a little of your leaf-blowing money to invest in a snow blower. Other things to consider – cleaning out gutters, hanging holiday lights, and winterizing windows with that shrink wrap stuff.
Tip 4 – Babysit
Let your friends, family, and coworkers know that you’re available to babysit during holiday shopping excursions ( a nightmare chore when you have to bring the little ones along), and during holiday parties. If you’re a bona-fide adult with some experience taking care of kids you can likely charge about $10 per hour. And once people find out you’re willing to babysit word travels fast. You’ll be fielding calls left and right. Just make sure you keep plenty of crayons, coloring books, and kid-friendly movies on hand you’ll be their favorite babysitter in no time!
Tip 3 – Hawk Your Stuff
You could start randomly selling stuff on Ebay, but remember that you have to pay to put stuff up there. If you’ve already got an account that’s great, and you can start your spring cleaning a little early and get rid of unwanted, but still good quality stuff. Of course, if you’ve got lots of good stuff, don’t forget about the option of re-gifting. One man’s trash, et cetera…Another great idea is to sell your old gold through a respectable online company. You can contact them and they send you a bag to put your stuff in. You put your old gold, silver, your old silverware, and your old gold coins in the bag, send it off, and payday! Pretty easy, if you’ve got that kind of stuff sitting around your house.
Tip 2 – Get Crafty
Etsy.com is a website that sells exclusively hand-crafted items. For a small fee you can sign up and post your wares. If you’re a craft-type of person, this is a good way to sell your handmade goods and make a name for yourself. If you are in need of a little more instant-gratification cash, sign up for a craft fair or holiday bazaar and man a booth with your stuff. If you are more of a Betty Crocker-type, try making some cookies or candies to give as gifts or sell to friends and coworkers. Everybody loves a little sweetness during the holiday season.
Tip 1 – Retail
Many retailers hire on extra help for the holiday shopping season. You could get hired and trained before Black Friday, and work those crazy holiday shifts to get some extra money. The best part of all of it? You will likely get an employee discount, so don’t apply for places you don’t want to shop. In addition to making some money, you can save some money too. Talk about getting more bang for your buck!
Whatever ways you decide to bring in extra cash this year, make sure you do it safely, and make sure you save enough time and energy for your friends and family. Because that’s what the holiday season is really about, after all.

The best online resource to sell Gold or sell coins can be found at refinity.com