earn from home

Regardless of the state of the economy, many people find
themselves a little strapped for money around the holidays.
Heating costs, food for holiday gatherings, holiday travel costs,
and gifts all factor in to making November through January the
most expensive time of the year. Luckily, as much as this time of
year can cost more, there are more opportunities to make a little
bit of money to offset these inflated expenses.

Below, we'll share with you the top five ways to earn a little
extra cash over the holidays.

Tip 5 - Manual Labor

Fall is called "fall" for a reason. Leaves fall off of trees
and if they just stay on people's lawns it is bad for the grass
underneath. That's why they invented rakes. One thing about
raking - people hate to do it. That's why they invented leaf
blowers. So, if you invest in a leaf blower, you can take care of
people's leaves for them without having to rake people's
leaves? Easy enough, right? Once the snow starts falling; you can
shovel snow for extra dough - or use a little of your
leaf-blowing money to invest in a snow blower. Other things to
consider - cleaning out gutters, hanging holiday lights, and
winterizing windows with that shrink wrap stuff.

Tip 4 - Babysit

Let your friends, family, and coworkers know that you're
available to babysit during holiday shopping excursions ( a
nightmare chore when you have to bring the little ones along),
and during holiday parties. If you're a bona-fide adult with
some experience taking care of kids you can likely charge about
$10 per hour. And once people find out you're willing to babysit
word travels fast. You'll be fielding calls left and right. Just
make sure you keep plenty of crayons, coloring books, and
kid-friendly movies on hand you'll be their favorite babysitter
in no time!

Tip 3 - Hawk Your Stuff

You could start randomly selling stuff on Ebay, but remember that
you have to pay to put stuff up there. If you've already got an
account that's great, and you can start your spring cleaning a
little early and get rid of unwanted, but still good quality
stuff. Of course, if you've got lots of good stuff, don't
forget about the option of re-gifting. One man's trash, et
cetera... Another great idea is to sell your old gold through a
respectable online company. You can contact them and they send
you a bag to put your stuff in. You put your old gold, silver,
your old silverware, and your old gold coins in the bag, send it
off, and payday! Pretty easy, if you've got that kind of stuff
sitting around your house.

Tip 2 - Get Crafty

Etsy.com is a website that sells exclusively hand-crafted items.
For a small fee you can sign up and post your wares. If you're a
craft-type of person, this is a good way to sell your handmade
goods and make a name for yourself. If you are in need of a
little more instant-gratification cash, sign up for a craft fair
or holiday bazaar and man a booth with your stuff. If you are
more of a Betty Crocker-type, try making some cookies or candies
to give as gifts or sell to friends and coworkers. Everybody
loves a little sweetness during the holiday season.

Tip 1 - Retail

Many retailers hire on extra help for the holiday shopping
season. You could get hired and trained before Black Friday, and
work those crazy holiday shifts to get some extra money. The best
part of all of it? You will likely get an employee discount, so
don't apply for places you don't want to shop. In addition to
making some money, you can save some money too. Talk about
getting more bang for your buck!

Whatever ways you decide to bring in extra cash this year, make
sure you do it safely, and make sure you save enough time and
energy for your friends and family. Because that's what the
holiday season is really about, after all.