Earn Extra Spending Money for the Holidays!

 Every year after opening presents my family says that it is time to cut back the gift giving next year, we gave so many gifts it was too much, next year we will set limits. Then, the next year arrives and even with the new set limits gift giving still is overwhelming. If your family is anything like mine, you may also want some extra cash for the holidays. Even if your family isn't like mine, who wouldn't love some extra cash? Maybe you could use it to go away for the holidays. That's my dream one day!

No matter what you want to use it for, here are some ways to earn some extra money for the holidays.

1. Sell your teaching ideas & lesson plans online.

If you are a teacher this could be the most natural way to earn extra money. I highly recommend signing up as a seller on Teachers Pay Teachers. If you are not sure of how many lessons you will end up posting, you can sign up for a basic seller or if you plan to sell a lot of lesson plans, sign up as a premium seller for $60 ayear. You can sell your lesson plans, worksheets, PowerPoint presentations and more online. Some sellers even sell just Clip Art so there is really a niche for everyone.

Although you may have to make some changes to your lessons to make them sell more online such as adding a title page, copyright sign and table of contents, most likely you will be rewarded for your efforts.

I also like hearing feedback from other teachers which has given me good ideas on new ways to use my lessons or things I could add to them that could help students more.

2. Work as a tutor.

Now this is probably not an option for most since teaching most of the time is really more than a full time job but if you do find you have extra time or will make extra time, tutoring may be the way to go. Students are gearing up for the ACT and there are many companies hiring tutors to help students raise their scores. Students that are starting to struggle may also need tutors in various subjects. You can find many of these ads on Craigslist. I have applied to several of these listings before and was contacted quite quickly by them after responding to their ad.

Tutor Nation is a great place to register as a tutor and advertise your services. Here is a good article about starting your own tutoring business with a lot of tips and things to think about.

3. Teach a class.

Now you may want a break from teaching, but you may enjoy teaching something different of more of a personal interest. Most park districts offer fall and spring classes and I have found that if you call in advance with a new class topic, they are very open to new offerings. This would be a fun opportunity to teach something you don't normally get to teach such as garden tips or crafts and might refresh you.

4. "Earn" money by becoming a super saver.

Start using coupons and looking for sales to save extra money that you can use towards your holidays. There are thousands of coupon blogs out there. I enjoy finding deals and reading Swaggrabber and Money Saving Mom.  In the past couponing would require subscribing to a newspaper but today with so many printable coupons it is easy to start saving right away. I do subscribe to a newspaper for the coupons but more and more am finding that I mainly use printable online coupons.


Are there any creative ways you earn money for the holidays? Please share your tips and tricks in the comments below and I would love to feature you in an article this month.