12 Ways To Make Extra Money For The Holidays (2024)

With the average U.S. household spending $1,356 during the holidays, this can be a great time to make some extra money to pay for gifts.

Best side hustles (beginner-friendly)

• Sell printables on Etsy – Selling printables is the #1 side hustle to make money. This can be done on your own schedule and turn into passive income! You can earn over $10,000 a year selling printables.
• Sell dog treats – Make $1,000+ selling dog treats from the comfort of your home. Be your own boss and make your own schedule.
• Proofreading – Earn $20+ an hour proofreading from home. Great for people who enjoy editing and working from a computer.
• Surveys – Make money filling out surveys. You can take as many surveys as you want and earn up to $5 per survey.

Here’s a list of the 15 best ways to make extra money for the holidays.

#1 Sell printables on etsy

Are you looking for a stress-free and profitable side hustle that makes up to $20,000 a year?

People are making between $100-$1000+ a month selling printables online (see their success stories here).

This is the side hustle for you if you’re looking for something stress-free to start from home that also makes passive income.

This side hustle is for someone:

• with 3-5 extra hours per week
• who wants to make an extra $500-$1,000 a month

Here is a free training that teaches you:

• What to sell to make money
• How to start an Etsy shop
• How to make sales on Etsy

Below is an example of a printable creator making $20,000 a year on her part-time side hustle.

#2 Make dog treats at home

If you love dogs and baking, making and selling dog treats is the side hustle for you.

Things to know about this side hustle:

• Can make $1,000/month part-time or up to $5,000 a month full-time
• Create treats from your home kitchen
• Set your own schedule, be your own boss

My friend Kristin runs a successful dog treat business from home and even teaches others how to do the same!

She even has a free training here for people who are curious about selling dog treats from home.

People are selling dog treats successfully – check out these women below!

#3 Rakuten

If you’re not using Rakuten, you’re really missing out.

Rakuten gives you cash back for shopping at stores like Target, Walmart, Kohls, Macy’s, Amazon, and pretty much any shopping site you can think of.

Today I went onto Rakuten and searched Walmart before I did my online shopping. Walmart is currently offering up to 5.0% cash back just for using Rakuten.

To motivate you to use Rakuten, you get a $30 welcome bonus for signing up and making a qualifying purchase of at least $30. If you ever buy anything online, that’s a pretty easy purchase!

Get the $30 welcome bonus here.

#4 Ibotta

Do you buy groceries, clothes, pet supplies, household items? You need to use Ibotta.

When you shop using Ibotta, you get cash back whether you’re shopping online or in-store at over 1,500 stores.

Ibotta has paid out over $600 million in cash rewards since 2012. That’s a whole lotta change!

Ibotta works at stores like:

• Your local grocery store (Walmart, Safeway, City Market, Target, and more!)
• Etsy
• Best Buy
• Forever 21
• Hotels.com
• Sephora
• Kohls
• Petco
• Amazon

Get $10 in your account just for using my referral link.

Below is a screenshot of my Ibotta account. I use Ibotta for cash back on groceries, toiletry items, household items, and other random things I buy. You can also earn bonuses when you refer friends to join the app.

#5 Honey

Honey finds you the best discount codes on the internet, saving you so much time and money.

I went shopping for clothes the other day and pressed my Honey extension button. Honey found me a 40% off coupon and I didn’t need to go digging for the best coupon code.

When I went searching online for the best coupon (which takes so much time), the best coupon I could find was 25% off.

The Honey app is free for you to use and is a must if you shop online.

The Honey app works like this:

1. Shop on a website like you usually would
2. Go to the cart or checkout section
3. Click the Honey extension icon button

#6 Become a mystery shopper

Back in high school, I’d go on mystery shopping trips with my sister (specifically we’d go to restaurants and “grade them”).

She didn’t make crazy money doing this, just a couple hundred a month, but it was a lot of fun.

BestMark is a popular way to get started mystery shopping.

With mystery shopping, you can earn:

• extra money
• meals at restaurants

BestMark mystery shoppers have to be at least 18 years of age, have good communication skills, and good internet access.

Below is an example of one of her mystery shopper checks.

#7 Surveys

Filling out surveys to make money is an easy way to make money by simply providing your opinion to questions.

I genuinely enjoy surveys because I love sharing my opinion on things.

I’ve always been into taking quizzes and surveys, so naturally, I love this method of making some extra cash.

Here are a couple of my favorite surveys:

• Swagbucks ($10 bonus for signing up)
• Branded Surveys

#8 Craigslist Jobs

Craigslist offers a wide variety of jobs depending on where you live.

Craigslist has jobs like:

• Helping with a move
• Fixing up a house
• Handyman jobs

There are people earning about $18 an hour completing Craigslists tasks, ranging from helping tear down an art display to being apart of a moving crew.

There are hundreds of new jobs added daily with people seeking help with all types of things.

Learn how to get started finding Craigslist jobs here.

#9 Customer Service Representative

At FlexJobs, there are hundreds of new online, work from home jobs posted for customer service representatives.

These jobs are almost always entry-level, which means you don’t need any experience to get started.

Most customer service representative jobs usually start around $15 per hour and many jobs are remote, which means you can work from home as long as you have reliable internet and a good work space.

#10 Open an Etsy store

A great way to make extra money is opening up an online store. Etsy makes it SUPER easy to do this.

Your Etsy store can sell handmade:

• Crochet goods
• Woodworking crafts
• Pottery
• Handmade clothes
• Stickers
• Dog treats
• Baked goods
• Custom art work
• Party decor and games

Small businesses thrive on Etsy. With hard work and the right skill set, your online store can take off.

Recommended reading: 13 Best Things To Sell On Etsy

#11 Rent a room or apartment out on Airbnb

Did you know you can make money by renting out a room or apartment?

If you often travel and have a vacant house, I recommend putting your apartment or house on Airbnb.

I have several friends that live in a big house and rent out a room. This Airbnb room now covers the cost of their mortgage.

You can sign up to become an Airbnb host here.

[You can even see how much you can make in your city by clicking that link. In my small town in Colorado, it’s possible for me to make $1,365 per month].

#12 Proofreader

Transform your passion for words and reading by becoming a professional proofreader.

I hire a proofreader for special projects which has been insanely helpful in growing my business.

Proofreaders can work for:

• Books publishers
• Magazines
• Websites
• Bloggers
• Small business owners

Proofreaders can earn between $17-$30 per hour and offers competitive pay and flexible hours while working from home.

Here is a free training that will show you if proofreading is right for you.

What other side gigs can I do?

We’re living in a gig economy with an endless surplus of side hustles.

Here are even more ideas:

• Dog walker
• Graphic designers
• Rent out a spare room
• Start a YouTube channel
• Social media manager
• Uber Eats, Door Dash, Grub Hub
• Brand ambassador