Your Daily Bread: Earn Extra Cash, Avoid Holiday Debt

By Terry Frisk 

In past articles, I have stressed the importance of controlling spending during the Christmas season. However, we all experience additional expenses during the holidays. Whether it is gifts for family and friends, travel to be with loved ones, or giving to your church or other charities that seek financial support, we naturally spend more this time of year. Hopefully, you have saved up to meet this need. But, if you find yourself a little short on cash this year, here are some ideas to earn a little extra money for the holidays. 

• Sell unwanted stuff– Your home may be a gold mine full of nuggets you are not using that others want. Someone may be looking for thoseodd pieces of glassware in your cupboard to replace missing pieces in their set. It is very easy to list items for sale on websites, such as eBay or Craigslist, and it costs nothing to place an ad. 
• Decluttr.com– This website will provide you an immediate offer to buy your old smartphones, video games, CD’s, DVD’s or other electronics. They will even pay the shipping cost.
• Find a gig– With all the holiday events that are going on in November and December, there is a large demand for help. These are one-time jobs that would include setting up, serving and cleaning up after an event. Go to Craigslist and find the Event link under Services for a listing of available gigs.
• Become an Uber or Lyft driver– People are on the go during the holidays and thereis an increased need for drivers. To qualify, you need to have a valid driver’s license, insurance and a vehicle that is less than 10 years old. Go to uber.com or lyft.com to apply. 
• Be a product demonstrator– These are the people who hand out samples or demonstrate the features of a product. Hours are typically flexible and pay can be lucrative. Look for listings on Indeed.com.
• Home and pet sitting– A lot of people travel during the holidays and they need a responsible person to look after their homeand pets while they are gone. Go to housesitter.com to register yourself and find available jobs. 
• Tutor– Whether your talent is in math, music or the language Mandarin, someone is likely to pay to learn from you. You can offer your services through takelessons.com.
• Harvest blood plasma– There is a huge need for plasma for transfusion. Help someone by providing some of your blood and be compensated in return. Go to donatingplasma.org for a list of locations in your area.
• Work on demand– Are you a handyman, photographer, house cleaner, garage organizer or possess other trade skills? Your abilities are in demand. You can list your services on thumbtack.com.
• Your current job– A great place to look for extra money is from the same placethat is currently paying you. Check with your employer to see if there are additional tasks or duties that you can perform to earn more. Better yet, suggest ways you can help where needed in turn for extra hours or pay. If you do well, this may turn into a permanent increase. 

These are just a few ideas of ways you can help fund the additional costs of Christmas while helping make someone else’s life better. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ (Colossians 3:23-24). Have a joyous Christmas and many blessings in the new year! 

Terry Frisk is a partner in the firm B2B CFO, providing financial advisory services to small businesses. He also counsels individuals on personal financial matters through the Cathedral of the Rockies Budget Counseling ministry. He may be contacted through e-mail at [email protected].