Since the holiday shopping season officially began with Black Friday, you may be concerned that your bank account is running a little thin to pay for all of those gifts you wanted to buy for Christmas. If you’re a few hundred bucks short this year, here are 10 smart money moves to help you make some quick cash and clean up your deficit so you don’t have a financial ‘hangover’ come January 1st.
- Garage Sale- This is the time of year you might end up cleaning out your house anyway, so why not have a garage sale even if it is a little cold outside? People will still show up and you can possibly make some decent cash quick.
- Sell on eBay or Amazon- Yeah, I know you are thinking that Hank Aaron baseball card or your Cabbage Patch Doll collection is going to be worth millions some day. Unfortunately, it might not even be worth thousands. Clean up some space in your closet and start selling some of that stuff.
- Sell Some Gold- Even Momma Jenkin did this recently (this is the absolute truth!) and made $1,100 getting rid of some stuff she didn’t wear anymore. If my mom can sell some of her unused gold jewelry, so can you. It’s easy and can get you that extra cash ASAP for the holidays.
- Housesit- You might be beyond your babysitting years, but housesitting over the holidays might just be the thing for you. Try www.housesitters.com or www.mindmyhouse.com as a starter. This could be a neat way to pick up some needed cash.
- Sell Your Crafts- With websites today like www.etsy.com, you can make just about anything at home and sell it online. I’ve got great clients who make super cool items from turkey decoys to bullet-shell earrings, and so much more. Turn your craft hobby into some side cash, or make a quick buck from that Pinterest project you’ve been working on!
- Sell Your Photos- I’m not suggesting you get up in a tree and get a Paparazzi shot, but there are websites out there like www.foap.com who will pay you for your photos if they are good enough. Remember, bloggers and other websites are looking for stock photos, so websites that sell them need a source for all types of things!
- Find Out Who Offers Referral Fees- You do business at many different places. Find out if any of your vendors offer cash referral fees if you send them new customers. If you can get $50 or $100 a customer, that could be a great place to start making some cash. Sidenote: Don’t ask oXYGen Financial . . . we have rules that prohibit us from doing this.
- Tutor- Many kids are taking SAT’s or may need some other help with their overall studies. Perhaps you can make $30 – $40 an hour doing some tutoring, whether it is around a school subject or sports. If you have great presentation skills you can make money for a quick speaking engagement as well!
- Cut A Habit For A Month- You know the thing you spend the most money on every month? Just cut it for the month! Starbucks, cigarettes, or even getting your nails done. Just cut out the money draining habit for a month and use the dough to pay for holiday gifts. (You may even end up kicking the habit for good and saving a couple hundred, or thousand, a year!)
- Play Sanford & Son- This won’t seem like the easiest of suggestions, but scrap metal recycling is a big business today. You might want to get a truck and load up on finding as much scrap metal as possible. Most places will pay you cash on the spot.
Written by:
Ted Jenkin
Request a FREE No-Obligation Consultation: www.oxygenfinancial.net
Ted Jenkin is a frequent guest columnist for the Wall Street Journal and Headline News Weekend Express. He is the co-CEO of oXYGen Financial. You can follow him on LinkedIn @ www.linkedin.com/in/theceoadvisor or on Twitter @tedjenkin.
