25 Practical Ways to Make Extra Cash For Christmas
As the days count down, we all need to make some extra cash for Christmas time. The holiday season is not only the most wonderful time of the year, but it’s also the most expensive time of the year. So, Swoosh Finance has the best advent calendar you could ask for. Here are 25 ways you can make extra cash for Christmas. From cash-in-hand Christmas jobs to passive income ideas, there is something that can fill anyone’s pocket. Read on so that you won’t have to take out a small and fast Christmas loan just to get through the festive season!
Overview:
Making extra cash for Christmas from home
1. Transcription work
If you’re a good listener and fast typer, transcription jobs are a low-effort way to get extra cash for Christmas. You can do as much or as little as you like, all from the comfort of your own home. Companies like Transcript Divas, Upwork, or Freelancer are a great way to pick up some transcription work.
2. Participate in surveys or research studies
If you love quizzes or talking about yourself, universities and companies are always looking for new data. You can get gift cards and vouchers through online survey sites like Opinion World, Survey Junkie and LifePoints.
Platforms like Respondent allow you to earn money doing different market research surveys, interviews, and research projects from home.
Renting out your spaces and belongings
1. House storage
Got some spare storage or garage space with nothing much in it? Lease it out to someone to store their belongings in. Some people might need somewhere to keep their things while they move house, and others might need a long-term storage space. Places like Spacer are great to offer storage for things like:
- Furniture
- Clothes
- Office documents
- Cars
- Caravans
- Boats
- Pallets
2. Car space
Finding somewhere to park seems to be harder and harder to do these days. Take advantage of the lack of car spaces and put your spare parking spot up on Parkhound for an easy side hustle.
3. Extra rooms
Platforms like Airbnb allow you to rent out a space or your entire home for a short term stay. If you are spending time away, make some money during Christmas. Otherwise, spare rooms can also be rented out!
4. Vehicles
Vans and caravans are a great asset to have, not only for the adventures you can have on long weekends road-tripping around Australia but for the passive income you can make from them.
Our busy lives mean we can’t always travel around. So, if you’re deciding to stay home these holidays, why not list your caravan on Camplify or one of the other vehicle leasing sites in Australia?
If you’re lucky enough to have a boat to your name, it can also be rented out to some outdoor lovers these summer holidays. You can list your boat on Floatspace and set the price, availability, and rules.
5. Everything else!
If you need that extra cash for Christmas shopping and have a bunch of quality things lying around that you don’t want to part with, you can hire out just about anything.
You can list your stuff on hiring platforms such as:
- The Volte for clothing
- ToolMates Hire for tools
- Kindershare for baby equipment
If you don’t want to mess about on hyper-specific lending platforms, try something more general like Rease or Appomate.
Providing handiwork
1. Car washing and detailing
If you live around Sydney or Melbourne, you can check out WipeHero and become an on-demand car washer for some extra money.
2. Cleaning and gardening jobs
Got some spare afternoons? Pick up a gardening or cleaning gig with UrbanYou. It might be something as simple as regular plant watering!
3. General handyman jobs
You can also earn extra cash for Christmas in your own time by helping the local community. If you’re a handyman or woman, join your local suburb Facebook groups or Airtasker. These communities are great to both advertise your services or find posts for people requesting a handyman. Busy families, unwell neighbours or elderly residents might need some help with things like:
- Building furniture
- Gutter cleaning
- Lawn mowing
- Taking things to the dump
- Ironing
- Errands and odd jobs
Selling your stuff
1. Markets and garage sales
If you’re creative and love to paint, draw, crochet, knit or cook, you can make some quick cash for Christmas with a market stall. While bigger market events might be harder to get into, apply for your local regular markets. Stock up on your projects, make some prints, price them up and sell, sell, sell!
If you’re short on time, you can take a similar route with a garage sale instead. You won’t need to pay any market fees or pack everything up to transfer it back and forth. Garage sales are also a good opportunity to declutter any other unwanted items from your house.
2. Online marketplaces
Old electronics like phones, computers and gaming consoles are sought after for parts. eBay is a popular platform for second-hand electronics, or you can try more local online places like Facebook Marketplace, or Gumtree.
Of course, on these platforms you can sell anything. Listing on Gumtree is easy for beginners. If you have any high quality or vintage items, furniture, collectibles or creations, get listing!
3. Thrift flipping
Have any skills like woodwork, restoration, mechanics, electrics or sewing? They can all be used to flip second hand or broken items. Find bargains (or free stuff) on Facebook Marketplace, council pickup or op shops and give some items a second life.
For clothing and jewelry, Depop and Vestiaire are very popular for selling unique and second-hand fashion.
Side hustles
1. Babysitting and nannying
Side hustles like babysitting are great if you feel like you can’t afford Christmas. Especially around this time of year, working families are busier than ever. While it may be school holidays, the working calendar does not stop! Take care of the school pick up and drop off routine through a nannying company or babysit for some friends and family and take the load off stressed parents.
2. House sitting, pet sitting, and dog walking
If fur babies are more your thing, you can have somewhere to stay for free and get paid to look after cute pets. You can even board pets at your house if you’re not keen on travelling.
There are a bunch of sites for you to look for jobs on including:
3. Refereeing
This one is for the sport lovers. Whether it’s netball, soccer, volleyball or rugby, there are always competitions being run – and they need referees. Check out university social sports or local leagues to make some money while exercising.
4. Rideshare and delivery
There is no shortage of rideshare apps these days. You can pick your own hours and do as much or as little as you like for the Christmas holidays. While rideshare is more popular for men, there are some women-only companies for women who are worried about safety, like Shebah and SheSafe.
If people aren’t your thing, food delivery through UberEats, Menulog or Doordash is another flexible option for extra Christmas cash.
And if you don’t want your car smelling like food either, you can become a courier on demand and deliver packages for Christmas with companies like Zoom2U!
5. Tutoring
If you have any particular skills or areas of knowledge and you’d love to teach, you can offer tutoring services for students. You can meet up at the local library, go to their house or even do it online over video.
6. Events
Christmas isn’t the only event in summer. There are always so many special events, festivals and shows in the area that need staff for one off events. Try Partistaff to get started.
7. Santa for hire
What could be a better Christmas job for extra cash than being Santa himself? Check out some Santa jobs and get paid to bring joy to the world!
Other ways to make quick cash for Christmas
1. Recycle for money
Recycling your cans and bottles as a way to make some cash has been around for a long time. But it’s finally starting to become easier to do so. All you need to do is keep a box to the side to stock up, then drop it off at a collection point to get paid instantly. Ask friends and family to help out and do the same. It’s a great way to get some cash in hand for Christmas!
We’ve listed some of the most popular recycle options below for you to try.
- Return it: Get a 10c refund for every eligible item given to a return depot or participating store.
- Re-collect: Both self-serve return points and a pickup service is available for bottles, cans, mobile phones and electronics. You’ll get paid or have the money donated within 48 hours of having the items picked up.
- Environbank (QLD, NT and NSW): Get a membership and trade bottles for cash or points for other goodies on offer.
- Containers for Change (QLD and WA): You can scan (or enter) the barcode to see if it’s eligible for a cash refund.
- Return and Earn (NSW): Trade in bottles, cans and cartons for a retail voucher, cash refund, or electronic refund at 10c an item.
2. Advertise with your car
You can earn up to $600 a month when you use your car to advertise with Wrappr. There are a number of car advertising agencies popping up in Australia, so do a quick search to find where you’ll get the most bang for your car.
3. Savings accounts and cashback rewards
If you need extra cash for Christmas quick, some banks offer incentives and rewards for opening a savings account with differing requirements and terms. Some also have cashback rewards schemes while you spend with them.
While you do your Christmas shopping, you can also make some cash back with Shopback.
4. Cut out other expenses
This one is a little obvious, but a good way to make some money for Christmas is to cut another expense somewhere else. For example, you can give up a subscription streaming service for the month. You can even drop to a lower subscription tier or use a free trial on a different platform. Another idea is to skip takeaway nights and use up what is in your fridge and pantry.
You also might want to consider the average Christmas budget for Australians to check your own spending habits.
5. Enter Christmas giveaways
Last but not least, Christmas is the season of giving – and giveaways. Win some last minute cash for Christmas by keeping an eye out for any giveaways from your favourite stores and companies
Follow us on Facebook or sign up to our newsletter to be the first ones notified about our giveaways. We run them pretty regularly throughout the year, so there is usually something up for grabs!
Now you know how to make extra cash for Christmas. Just keep in mind that you may need an ABN to provide some services as a sole-trader, so it’s a good idea to check with the ATO before you start.
Quick Christmas cash loans
At the end of the day, if you need some last minute cash for Christmas, we’ve got you. Check out our online Christmas Loans. It’s super easy to apply and you could get your cash that very same day!
