It’s that time of year again! The time when many of us realize all of a sudden that the holidays are here, and we need some extra cash for gift giving. First off I’d like to say that I think everyone should be preparing for the holidays a lot sooner than November and December. When should you begin? December 26th! The day after Christmas is a great day to start for the following year. By shopping the sales throughout the year, I was able to save hundreds or even thousands on my holiday shopping last year.
But if you are just now getting on the Thrifty bandwagon, I’ll give you all some tips for earning extra cash for the holidays. You ready? Here we go.
Tip #1
Sell some of your items that you aren’t using on Craigslist or Ebay. You aren’t the only one looking for bargains this year. Sell your gently used items to others. They will love getting a deal for the holidays and you will earn some extra money for your shopping.
Tip #2
Dig into the bottom of your purse/wallet/drawers for all of those gift cards that have miscellaneous amounts on them. Most of these cards have numbers that you can call to check for total amounts. You might be surprised how much all those random gift card amounts add up to!
Tip #3
Take all that spare change to Coinstar. Right now they are offering you an extra $10 when you cash in $40 in change! That deal is good until 12/6, so get it while you can!
Tip #4
Take back all those items that you have been procrastinating on returning to the store. You know what I’m talking about!
Tip #5
Cut costs where you can: turn down the temperature on the thermostat, drive only when needed so that you save on gas, use coupons and match with sales to save on groceries, and you get the picture…
Tip #6
Start using Swagbucks to search the internet instead of Google or Yahoo. You randomly earn points for your searching and you can use these points for gift cards and other prizes. One $5 Amazon gift card costs only 45 Swagbucks.
Tip #7
Find an odd job or two. Baby sitting, raking leaves or even using your coupon skills to go shopping for someone (did you know people are now hiring couponers to shop for them?) can bring in some extra money.
Tip #8
Recycle your scrap metals that you have lying around. Most of you know what I’m talking about. That garage is filled with junk you could take to the recycling center. And they will actually give you money for it! Who Knew?
So those are just a few ideas to get you guys thinking on ways to get some extra cash for the holidays. Do you have any to add to this list? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
THanks for the tips!
.-= Carolyn G´s last blog ..WINNER – Vaseline Sheer Infusion Lotions =-.
You rock! Thanks a lot!
Hey Crystal! Thanks for the tips! Did you just win the $100 Amazon gift card from Swagbucks? If so, congrats!! I just joined and did the Alice.com deal. Thanks for recommending them.
I’ve been thinking about Tip #7- using my couponing skills to help those who don’t have time, interest or whatever- ever since my husband’s boss asked my husband how much I would charge to shop for his wife/teach her to coupon. We weren’t sure if he was serious or not, but I’ve been wondering ever since, how one would go about doing that? Any suggestions? I wouldn’t even know what to charge to make it worthwhile for both- ie my time and their money.
I’ve never done it Colleen, but I have met women who have. I wasn’t brave enough to ask them how much they charge, but I guess I should have asked. It’s definitely something that can be of value to people. If you save them $200 on their groceries and they pay you $50, that’s still saving them $150.
my SIL attended a “sell your old gold” party tonight. I have heard of selling your old gold but not at a party, so I was curious. She cashed on old jewelry and stuff from HS boyfriends and her 1st marriage and wound up with $300. I just hope when she goes to cash the check it works
Just a thought if any of you have heard of these parties!
I’m also curious about couponing for others. It is such fun for me, and I’d love to do it for others, but it kind of seems like if they pay me for it, it is defeating the purpose of saving money? Although maybe not, if they aren’t shopping carefully at all right now? I would LOVE to know what people charge for this kind of thing, and how they got their name out. So if you have any more information, or could dig some up, I’d love to know! Thanks!
I would also love more info about coupon shopping for others. I have never heard of this before, but I am intrigued.
Hi Emily, as I mentioned above, I am thinking about the same thing. I would love to talk, too, to someone who is doing it to figure out the details. I think people would still save a lot even paying for help. If you can help them cut their groceries/household expenses in half that is usually about $400-500 for the average family of 4-5 and if they paid out $100 a month for the help, they are still saving $300-400. BUT it wouldn’t be right away, as there is the stockpiling time and the time it takes to amass all the coupons needed too. Thinking out loud…..
i like to sell coupons/coupon codes that i don’t need on ebay. i get a ton of formula checks and coupons in the mail that we don’t need. i also sale gymboree codes, company store codes or any other that happen to land in my mailbox. i usually have a nice little stash of cash in our paypal account!
.-= brooke delong´s last blog ..not me! monday =-.