15 great ideas to help you make more cash

With Christmas trees already making an appearance in some major retailers, it’s a scary reminder that the season when the jolly fat man in the red suit and the smell of reindeer on his boots turns up, isn’t too far away.

Although we all look forward to it, it’s the time of year when expenses seem to skyrocket so if you need to make some cash to save you from post-seasonal bill shock this Christmas (or any other time of year for that matter), we’ve got a few tips to get your bank account in good shape for the battle ahead. 

1. Turn that unwanted clutter in your house into cash. The old adage that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure is true, so go through your wardrobes, cupboards and garage and get all of that stuff you don’t use onto eBay or Gumtree. It’s a great way to pick up some quick money and improve your storage space! 

2. If you have a spare room, think about listing it on AirBNB so you can pick up some bucks rather than having it sit empty. 

3. If you’re an animal lover and have a little spare time, pet sitting can make you money (think $50 per day for feeding and walking 2 dogs). 

4. Join Uber. Once you’re signed up and checked out, you can work your own hours and drive that extra cash straight into your bank account. 

5. Get paid for your opinion – check out focus group sites such as Paid Focus Groups, Research Connections, My Opinions and Stable Soapbox to find out how easy it is to join and make money from participating in focus group discussions, taste tests, accompanied shopping and interviews. 

6. If you love taking awesome photos, you can make cash from them by joining Shutterstock or iStock – just register, upload your photos and get paid whenever someone buys one of them. 

7. Become a mystery shopper (yes, you can actually get paid to shop). Just create your profile and follow a few easy steps to get registered. Check out Mystery Customer, The Realise Group and Hoed Research to find out how easy it is to get started. 

8. Pound the pavement and do some catalogue delivery. You’ll not only earn some extra cash, you’ll get some bonus exercise done too! 

9. Create a blog and link it to Instagram. If you’re passionate about something and want to share your views, think about creating a blog and getting the word out there. It will take a bit of time (and to be honest you probably won’t make any money before Christmas) but once you have a decent audience, advertisers will pay you to put promotions and links on your site. Businesses love it because it allows them to target a specific audience who are likely to be interested in the things they have to say. 

10. Create your own YouTube channel. Similar to the blog idea above, you can become a YouTube sensation if you’ve got something to say that people want to hear. Once you get your viewers up, businesses will pay you to promote their products or advertise on your video. 

11. Rent out your storage. If the shed out the back isn’t used much or your garage is half empty, list it on Gumtree and rent out your unused space. If you live in the city, commuters will pay big bugs to rent your car space while you’re not using it – Park Hound is a great place to start. 

12. Rent out your stuff – check out Open Shed where you can list just about anything. Not using your BBQ? Rent it to your neighbour for $30. There’s a long list of categories from Babies to Travel so you’ll find plenty of options on this innovative site. 

13. Join Rewards Central – just do simple tasks online to earn free points that you can redeem for cash or gift cards. 

14. Check out the wanted section in Gumtree – people may be looking for a thing or skill that you have. 

15. Talking about skills, whatever it is that you’re good at, you can hire yourself out on sites like Fiverr and Upwork to a global audience. 

So there are our top 15 tips for getting some extra cash when you need it. But if you’re still stuck (and we know that pretty much everyone has a moment of financial desperation at some point), don’t forget to check out our fleixble mini-loans to find out how easy it is to get some extra funds. Once a loan is approved, the cash is deposited into your bank account, usually within 24 hours - so you can stop worrying about your financial stress and start enjoying life!