If you've kept up with me over the last few years, you know I like to take up frugal challenges. This season I have created a new challenge for myself. I'm attempting to pay for Christmas without using my family's reliable income. Everything from presents to Christmas decor and festivities! I have been actively working at it for a couple of months now (I wish I would have started a lot sooner) and so far I have pulled in over $300! By the way, though my family has been downsizing and selling things, none of that is included in the $300 I've made. Some of the extra money came from me actually having to work for it, but a lot of it came from passive income. That is, I made money when I was not actively working for it!
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There are 5 different places I'm pulling in extra income for the holidays. Here they are...
1) Receipt paying apps
I've talked about this previously here, but there are apps you can download on your phone that will pay you for taking pictures of your receipts! For everyday spending, I use ReceiptPal and ReceiptHog. Right now I am liking ReceiptPal more because they credit me per receipt submission, and they except receipts from any and all purchases. I have already racked up enough in the last month for a $5 gift card. ReceiptHog on the other hand, gives me points based on how much I spend and does not accept gas or restaurant receipts. If I was a bigger spender I'd make more through ReceiptHog, but I'm a "just buy the necessities" kind of person. Either way, it's worth keeping both on my phone because if I'm going to take a picture of a receipt, it takes 3 more seconds to submit it into two apps instead of one.
There are also apps that pay for grocery receipts. The two I use are Ibotta and Checkout51. I have already gotten paid $10 through Ibotta and have almost $5 sitting in my account. I have over $7 sitting in my Checkout51 account.
Total made in receipt apps to date: In the last three months that I have downloaded and used all 4 of these receipt apps, I have made about $27. All I had to do was take pictures of my receipts!
There are also apps that pay for grocery receipts. The two I use are Ibotta and Checkout51. I have already gotten paid $10 through Ibotta and have almost $5 sitting in my account. I have over $7 sitting in my Checkout51 account.
Total made in receipt apps to date: In the last three months that I have downloaded and used all 4 of these receipt apps, I have made about $27. All I had to do was take pictures of my receipts!
2) Perk Points
I discovered Perk Points in the beginning of October when I started actively searching for ways to make extra $$ for Christmas. I have earned $10 a week since I opened my perk account and most of it is passive income. I earn points by streaming their "Perk TV" videos on my phone. I let videos steam all day (and most of the night) on my phone, only occasionally checking a box that asks if I'm still watching. I also will get on and do the "Perk Scratch off" stuff when I'm watching TV. I have to be more active with earning points doing the scratch offs, but I typically rack up 500 perk points while watching a tv show every day.
Total Perk Points to date: I have redeemed $35 of perk points in Amazon gift cards thus far.
Total Perk Points to date: I have redeemed $35 of perk points in Amazon gift cards thus far.
3) Ebates
I learned about about this one in the beginning of October. Ebates pays you for pretty much all your online purchases. I opened an account and bought my son's Fall/Winter clothing through The Children's Place. Ebates automatically sent me $2 via Paypal when they were notified of my purchase! I also recieved a $10 Target gift card for opening an Ebates account and spending more than $25! If you buy ANYTHING online, you should definitely have an Ebates account. Don't forget about those hotel bookings when you travel for the holidays! I booked a hotel reservation via Expedia.com through ebates for 10% cash back!
Total made in Ebates to date: I have shopped 2 more times online through Ebates since The Children's Place and booked a hotel for $120, redeeming $12 back. Between the shopping, hotel booking, and Target gift card, I have made $26.
Total made in Ebates to date: I have shopped 2 more times online through Ebates since The Children's Place and booked a hotel for $120, redeeming $12 back. Between the shopping, hotel booking, and Target gift card, I have made $26.
4) Cash Crate
Cash Crate is my new Swagbucks. (Is it me, or has Swagbucks made it rediculously hard and extra tedious to earn points for gift cards?!) With Cash Crate, I get paid actual money for taking online surveys. I opened an account with Cash Crate two weekends ago and have already earned $22! I take one survey a day and "check in" for an extra 3 cents.
(Note: The earnings posted on the banner above are my actual earnings to date!)
(Note: The earnings posted on the banner above are my actual earnings to date!)
Total Made to date from Cash Crate: $22.
5) Credit card (and debit card!) churning
Credit card churning is basically taking advantage of the rewards and sign up bonuses credit card companies offer for opening and spending on those accounts with them. Everything from gas and airline miles, to cash back for every day purchases. It is like a game and it is not for everyone. If you buy what you cannot pay for, credit card companies will win and you will get hurt. The only way to effectively win and make it worth it is to actively seek the best bonuses and do just enough to get the bonus, making sure you CAN afford (maybe even pay off immediately) each and every purchase made.
This one was NOT for me when I opened my first credit card account 8 years ago! My husband and I have made some bad financial decisions in the past that we are still paying for, including getting our first credit card in order to buy our basic necessities when we were unsure of our financial future. In other words, my husband and I did not fully trust the Lord to provide for our basic needs when we were first married and have paid the price with credit card debt.
Since then, we have successfully paid off thousands of dollars in cc debt and have gone from being abused by the system to using it to our advantage. We now have a credit card that rewards us cash back for all purchases we make. I use it to pay for pretty much everything, including bills (as long as the biller does not charge a fee for cc usage) and pay it off immediately. I have earned $75 for successfully doing this since August. I also just opened a new checking account in order to redeem a $100 bonus offer (plus they pay 10 cents per transaction!). I plan on using this account for all purchases of $20 or less. I have another cc that I keep and rarely ever use that gave me $20 just for activating my card and using it for one purchase.
This is the easiest way by far to earn extra money, as long as you are financially responsible and do the math before deciding to sign up for offers and purchase things. If you feel you are responsible enough and want to get into cc churning, I highly recommend this article from Mr. Money Mustache. I also refer to nerdwallet.com for details of the current and better cc offers available.
Total made to date from credit card churning: Since August, I have made $195 between rewards on purchases and credit card/ debit card bonus offers.
This one was NOT for me when I opened my first credit card account 8 years ago! My husband and I have made some bad financial decisions in the past that we are still paying for, including getting our first credit card in order to buy our basic necessities when we were unsure of our financial future. In other words, my husband and I did not fully trust the Lord to provide for our basic needs when we were first married and have paid the price with credit card debt.
Since then, we have successfully paid off thousands of dollars in cc debt and have gone from being abused by the system to using it to our advantage. We now have a credit card that rewards us cash back for all purchases we make. I use it to pay for pretty much everything, including bills (as long as the biller does not charge a fee for cc usage) and pay it off immediately. I have earned $75 for successfully doing this since August. I also just opened a new checking account in order to redeem a $100 bonus offer (plus they pay 10 cents per transaction!). I plan on using this account for all purchases of $20 or less. I have another cc that I keep and rarely ever use that gave me $20 just for activating my card and using it for one purchase.
This is the easiest way by far to earn extra money, as long as you are financially responsible and do the math before deciding to sign up for offers and purchase things. If you feel you are responsible enough and want to get into cc churning, I highly recommend this article from Mr. Money Mustache. I also refer to nerdwallet.com for details of the current and better cc offers available.
Total made to date from credit card churning: Since August, I have made $195 between rewards on purchases and credit card/ debit card bonus offers.
It may be too early to decorate for Christmas, but it's definitely time to start planning on making those Christmas purchases! Happy holidays!