Five Ways to Make Cash During the Holidays

Christopher Mims | December 22, 2014 | Extra Money | No Comments

Like many of us, I’m sure your holidays are crammed with shopping, traveling to see family or hosting family, wrapping and unwrapping presents and generally enjoying the end of the year festivities. There are ways to cash in during the Yuletide to make sure you are starting the New Year off with cash in your pocket. Here are five simple ways to make cash over the holidays.

1.) Sell your Gift Cards. Every year I receive multiple gift cards from coworkers, friends and families, and while I appreciate the random card to Office Deport or Starbucks, I sometimes wish I could get have the cash to use on other things. Websites like Raise will buy your unwanted gift cards for cash.

2.) Complete Surveys and Offers for Cash. In between carols by the fire and dinner with the in-laws, drop by one of these sites and complete a short survey or a quick free offer for cash. The sites listed below are among my favorites.

*Find more Survey Sites Here.

3.) Sell Extra (or unwanted) Gifts Online. I’m not sure about you, but I know I’ve received the same gift before from several different individuals for Christmas. And I’d be lying if I told you that I hadn’t received some ugly sweater or a DVD or some awful movie. One of the ways you can cash in on duplicate or unwanted gifts is to sell them online. There are lots of options out there that cover just about any item you want to sell. Some of the sites I regularly use are:

Half.com – One of my favorites to sell books, DVDs and CD’s.
Amazon – One of the largest online marketplaces in the world. You can sell virtually anything.
Ebay – List our items and let folks bid on it.

4.) Download Apps that Pay you Cash Back. Who doesn’t like to earn cash back for purchases you make all the time. These apps pay you cash back when you shop. If you have coupons you can couple with the offers on these apps, you can make even more cash.

Ibotta – One of the best out there I’ve found for groceries, household items, and health and beauty products. Check out my review of Ibotta.
Receipt Hog – Take photos of your sales receipts and upload them for cash. Check out my review of Receipt Hog.
Checkout 51 – Works like Ibotta but isn’t limited to certain stores. Check out my review of Checkout 51.

5.) Write reviews of the presents you receive. Did you finally get that blender you wanted? What about that new state-of-the-art flatscreen television? Write a review of the product and earn cash with sites like Viewpoints.