The holidays are approaching — that’s why everyone is spending money, in case you were confused. Spinnaker decided to put together a list of effective ways to earn money quickly so you can buy your friend that cute scarf or your mom a nice spa kit.

1. Clean out your closet: This is the easiest way to make money without signing up for multiple website or posting flyers. Remove all the clothes from your closet that you don’t want and no longer fit in and place those items in one big bin (or multiple trash bags). Take that bin to consignment shops like Plato’s Closet and Clothes Mentor, and donate whatever they don’t buy to organizations you support like Ozzie’s Closet, Hubbard House, and The Salvation Army. You should have made a few bucks and tidied up your closet by the end of it.
2. Handle the holidays for others: For families with no time on their hands, it’s easy to pass the responsibility of Christmas shopping on to someone else. You can post to either a job website, Facebook group or go old school and tack flyers up on community boards. If you don’t get any friction there, offer to help your friends and family. Tasks might include running around town purchasing gifts, wrapping presents or creating budget friendly lists. Just make sure you keep it professional and friendly and that both parties know what to expect before you go spending someone else’s money. Apps like Zoho Invoice let freelancers create invoices for dozens of customers on its free plan. Click here for a list of more invoicing apps.
3. Swagbucks: Like many other websites, Swagbucks gives you the opportunity to take as many surveys as you desire, but surveys aren’t the only way to earn money through this site. You gain points through most things you already do online like watching videos and movie trailers, shopping and playing games. Swagbucks is free to join and you can earn either cash through Paypal or gift cards to retailers like Walmart and Amazon. It’s easy to earn 500 points (equal to $5) in one day, and users can redeem those for their next shopping trip.
4. Fiverr: This site allows freelancers to put ads up to do jobs such as making promotional videos for a small businesses, designing unique thank you cards or even reading over manuscripts. To make money, sign up to be a seller and buyers that use Fiverr can choose from ads on the website. As soon as you complete projects for buyers, Fiverr transfers payment to your account so you don’t have to worry about harassing anyone for money they owe you. The only catch is the site keeps 20 percent of your payment for serving as a safe medium for service transactions. Sellers can choose their hours and rates and work their way up the seller experience ladder to get more opportunities.
5. Dog/baby/house sit: People travel around the United States during the holidays to visit friends and family members, so kennels fill up fast and sitters become unavailable quickly. Parents are looking for someone they can trust while they go to that holiday party, spend time with out-of-state family for a weekend or won’t be home all winter. Sites like Care.com and Trusted Housesitters may have a great community, but they charge sitters to join the site. Unless you’re comfortable with spending money to make money, use social media and family to let others know you’re available.

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