Hello, and welcome to a post that might be just about as annoying as your local department store. Summer is barely over and I’m already starting to talk about Christmas. Hey, at least I haven’t put up a tree yet. (Although, that would be an efficient thing to do in October, wouldn’t it?) kidding
I think we can all agree that Christmas is not really about presents and hooplah. And yet, I would guess that most of us probably do at least a little bit gift giving around the holidays. Here are some simple ways to gain yourself a little extra cash for the upcoming Christmas season. Don’t worry – you don’t have to start singing Jingle Bells yet. Just start planning ahead a little bit now so that Christmas won’t be a financial burden. Christmas should never be a financial burden. Christmas should be a season of joy. Don’t make me get on my soap box.
1. InboxDollars
I’ve mentioned InboxDollars recently in a giveaway they sponsored. You won’t get rich off of InboxDollars (or any of the ideas shared in this post), but you will be able to earn a little extra cash while in the comfort of your pajamas and slippers. (I recommend opening up a separate, free email account to use specifically for InboxDollars – it makes this much easier!)
2. Swagbucks
It’s been a while since I’ve mentioned Swagbucks around here, but if you aren’t using Swagbucks to earn extra money from home, you really should be! There are many, many ways to earn Swagbucks, but my favorite is to simply use the Swagbucks search feature. Each time I need to search for something online (which is quite often), I use my Swagbucks search engine. Several times a day, I earn some swagbucks – all for doing something I would have done anyway. Once I’ve accumulated enough, I turn my Swagbucks into Amazon Gift Cards. (There are many other options for ways to redeem your Swagbucks – Amazon cards are just my favorite.) One year, I saved all my Amazon Cards throughout the year and we had a practically free Christmas. It was awesome!
Plus, when you refer others to Swagbucks, you can earn extra Swagbucks! So, get yourself signed up, then tell your friends about this feature. You’ll both earn! (See, I’m referring you, so that means I’ll earn Swagbucks based off of my referral to you. Thanks!) :)
I’ve written more about Swagbucks here if you’d like more information.
3. Shop it to Me
This may be one of the simplest ways to earn a little extra cash – although, like Swagbucks, it comes in the way of gift cards instead of actual cash. I like gift cards just fine. Gift cards buy gifts – what more could we ask for? Or, you could give the gift card away as a gift. Perfect!
How this works: Sign up to receive Shop It To Me newsletters. These newsletters are painless – I receive them twice a week and either look through them if I feel like the deals they share are relevant, or delete them if they’re not.
I used my personal referral link above. For every ten of you who sign up, I receive a $10 gift card of my choice. (Thank you, by the way!) Once you’ve signed up, you can then refer your friends and family through facebook, email, blog or tweet – and for every ten people you refer, you receive $10 gift cards too! It’s free, it’s easy, there’s no catch, and you can earn gift cards for Starbucks, Whole Foods (my personal fav!), Gap, Macy’s and many others – whichever you choose.
4. Become a Heavenly Homemakers Affiliate
It’s been a while since I’ve mentioned this feature we have here at Heavenly Homemakers. Did you know you can earn money by referring sales in our Shop? We offer 33% affiliate earnings on all of our downloadable products – that means that not only can you earn a few dollars when someone you refer purchases our ebooks, you can earn a whoppin’ $14.85 each time someone you refer purchases our Learn Your Letters, Learn to Serve curriculum kit! Your earnings can really add up! Read more details here – we’d love to have you on board as an affiliate.
Have you started thinking about Christmas yet – or is it just me?
(Disclosure: I think it was obvious that many of the links I used in this post are my referral links, but just in case, I thought I’d tell you again. Each of these opportunites are painless and easy and a great way to earn a little extra cash – and sharing them with you will help me earn a little extra cash for Christmas too. Then you can turn around and do the same! But don’t feel obligated to sign up for any of these if you don’t want to. We’ll still be friends either way.) ;)
I didn’t know you had an affiliate program. I love your Learn your letters learn to serve curriculum and have blogged and facebooked about it. We’re really enjoying it and it’s simple enough that my 10 yr old daughter can do it with her 3 yr old sister. She especially loves the recipes. Thanks for a great preK curriculum that emphasizes serving others.
Celee
Thanks for your encouragment about our curriculum!
Laura, I just signed up for Swagbucks, I just have a question…how many minutes of searching equal how many swagbucks? I can’t seem to find that piece of information anywhere. thanks.
You’ll just randomly win them every now and again when searching. You’ll notice when you do ^_^
Yes, like Colean said, you simply do internet searches as normal. Several times a day, I earn swagbucks – and it is random, or so it seems! They all add up in my account!
I have been working all year on the Christmas gifts for my kids and my niece and nephew as well. I have been entering online giveaways and have devoted a substantial amount of time (of course at home on the laptop) and it has REALLY paid off. (I have to update my blog but I have spent less than $20 out of pocket now, as this weekend I picked up a really gorgeous unicorn necklace at a specialty fair that my daughter was eyeing. Good thing she went off to another area of the fair and it was only $5!!!) I still have $100 in Swagbucks which I have been accumulating specifically for Christmas. I think this will be my best, frugal Christmas yet.
Yay! Good for you!
Yeah, christmas is on my mind and I am a little stressed about it as money is going to be very tight this year.
Just out of curiosity, how much does everyone typically spend per child in your families?
I only have two kids so our expenses stay pretty low. My husband and I go shopping together and pick out one item for each of our children from both of us. Then we take
each child shopping to pick out an item for their sister. Our girls
each receive 2 gifts (plus little stocking stuffers) and we spend less
than $100 total for our family Christmas. We have found this keeps
us out of financial stress and also keeps our house from being overwhelmed
with too much stuff. Our girls love to give gifts and are super
excited to see what their sister picked out for them. They also aren’t
overwhelmed by new gifts that they’ll barely touch. :)
That is such a great idea. On my side of the family we do one sibling and all pitch in on the parents gift and there is a set amount so that makes its nice.
I also try to make things for all the kids that are in the family instead of buying gifts for each or we do a fmaily gift like a board game or something that the family can enjoy.