Six quick ways to make cash before Christmas, including selling your junk and renting out your driveway
From pet-sitting to renting out your spare items, you have plenty of options to earn some extra cash in the run-up to Christmas
CHRISTMAS is almost upon us and it might be time to start thinking about how to fund your festive season.
Brits are put under huge financial strain each year as presents, food and travel over Christmas can cost hundreds of pounds.
Last year, almost nine in ten customers carried an average of £636 in credit card debt into the new year - meaning that people are living beyond their means, particularly during the festive season.
Hannah Maundrell, editor in chief of told the Sun Online: "With inflation at a five year high and the squeeze household incomes it might not make for the start of a happy New Year."
"Christmas is an expensive time of year, however if you’re savvy you can save loads for the big day. Using budget supermarkets to shop for the Christmas lunch can help you to save a ton.
"Even peeling the veg yourself rather than buying pre-prepared will make a difference. Remember that Christmas isn’t about how much you spend, so work out your budget and stick to it."
Here are six money-generating ideas to make some extra cash in the run up to the big day:
Sell your unwanted stuff or rubbish
With the new year just around the corner, perhaps now is the time to start fresh and get rid of anything you're not using.
Loads of websites can help you to sell your unwanted stuff and raise some cash at the same time.
eBay is a good starting point for anyone wanting to sell unwanted items online - including clothes, books, DVDs, CDs or video games.
The Sun Online previously reported how Laura Rose, a 21-year old student from Datford, makes £30,000 just by selling her old clothes on the auction website.
It's worth noting that the online auction site will charge you a number of fees.
TRASH TO CASH How you could make HUNDREDS of pounds a year selling your rubbish…even leftover loo roll tubes
A seller can list up to 20 items for free, but after that, each additional item costs 35p to list.
On top of any listing fees, if your items is sold, you'll have to pay eBay 10 per cent of the transaction’s value, to to a limit of £250.
Meanwhile, sites like Fonebank, Envirofone, Simply Drop, musicMagpie.co.uk will pay you for recycling your mobile phone.
Gumtree is another option, and the site claims that most seller adverts will be free, depending on what the item is and where you’re located.
How to make money on eBay
WHEN selling on eBay, a few little tricks could help you make more cash
- Provide excellent customer service: Respond to buyer's request questions promptly and specify your handling time and return policy in your listing.
Update your listing to make its up to date. - Price reasonably: Have a look around and charge reasonable shipping and handling costs.
- Good conditions: The items you're selling are going to be re-used, which means they need to be clean and not damaged.
- Quality snaps: Good pictures are very import to make sure you are meeting the buyer's expectations.
You could also make hundreds of pounds a year by selling your rubbish.
The company will take a 15 per cut if someone accepts your offer but it also has an insurance policy to protect your items against loss, theft or damage.
The website shows listings of items available in a given location, mapped around the renter, showing the price and availability.
You can register for free but it will charge £1 per item for a one-month listings.
Meanwhile, drivers could earn some extra cash by renting out their empty driveway through websites like
Websites like also bring pet owners and sitters together.
Bear in mind that you'll be liable for a 19 per cent contribution each time a pet owner books your services through Pawshake.
Get a temp job...and it includes dressing up as Santa or one of his elves
Thousands of seasonal jobs are up for grabs as retailers prepare for the busy holiday season - and that includes helping out Santa.
Jobs on offer include customer advisers, stock assistants and drivers, with the potential for some roles to become permanent at the end of the season.
Back in September, Argos announced that it will be recruiting more than 10,000 season staff to work in stores.
SANTA'S ELVES Looking for extra Christmas cash? Here are the temp jobs you can apply for – and how much they pay
The Sun Online previously made a list of all the major retailers hiring over the festive period and how much they'll pay.
And if dealing with stressed customers is putting you off from applying - you could also apply to take on the role of Father Christmas or one of his elves.
It also pays well, with some places offering up to £16 per hour - more than £7.50 over the minimum wage.
According to , one of the biggest operators in the UK with over 700 positions on offer, the role mainly consists in creating magical experiences and memories for adults and kids visiting grottos across the UK.
What pay am I entitled to?
TAKING on a temporary job can be a great solution to make some extra cash. But how much pay are you entitled to ?
- People aged 25 and over are entitled to at least £7.50 an hour.
- People aged 21 to 24 should get no less than £7.05.
- People aged 18 to 20 should get at least £5.60.
- People 16 and 17 are entitled to £4.05 per hour.
- Note that many large companies offer better rates of pay than minimum wage and extra benefits.
Review TV shows
If you love watching TV shows and discussing it all the next day at work, this job has your name on it.
Companies like YouGov will actually pay you to give your opinion on the latest programmes you've seen on TV.
All you'll need to do is register and start filling out their online surveys on your favourite shows.
You can earn up to £5 per survey.
Queue for money
It's something us Brits do very well so if you've got spare time on your hands and the patience of a saint you can try to do a few shifts as a professional line queuer.
Just think of the hoards of people queuing at the latest H&M fashion collaboration or outside Apple stores at their new iPhone launch as your future clients.
If you're up for it you could sign up on
You'll offer your services to anybody wanting you to queue for them and you can even set your own pricing.
Most charge around £15 to £20 an hour.
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