Christmas is usually regarded as a time to spend money on friends and family, but are there any ways you can make more and limit the impact of Christmas on your budget?

 

First, you should find out what your company’s policy is around the holidays. Some companies will give you the time between Christmas and New Year off, which should free up your calendar to look around and make more money. Other companies, mostly retailers and hospitality businesses, will welcome extra shifts with open hands. While you may cost them a little more in overtime, you will be much easier to handle than training a newbie just for a few weeks. So sign up if you can, especially if extra hours are paid more. You won’t have to commute to a new place or learn new skills.

 

If you can’t make extra money from your current employer around Christmas, then reach out to the companies that are obviously busy this time of year. From supermarkets to clothing retailers, shopping centres and pretty much everyone on the high street. The Post Office may be hiring extra hands, along with any place that ships and packages gifts, too. If you are not a holiday person, working on Christmas day and the other bank holidays should bring in additional cash.

 

The kids are also on holidays, so you can try to advertise on the local ad board for tutoring classes, baby-sitting, etc.

 

Christmas and the holidays are a great time to make more money, because people want to be with their families and are already on a busy schedule, so they are happy to pay for the convenience of service providers. You could also go around your neighborhood and offer a hand to paint, hang Christmas decorations, walk dogs and so on.

 

If you are a good cook, you can make Christmas cookies, package them nicely and sell them at Christmas markets, at church and other Christmas gatherings. The same goes if you are handy and can make nice gifts such as soaps, custom engraved items, etc.

 

Photographers can get busy at Christmas taking family portraits or getting hired at a local Santa’s Grotto. How about being Santa, or an elf?

 

Enter icount’s Christmas competition to win £250!

 

If you think you’re too late for seasonal jobs, or you simply don’t have the time to fit in extra work, how does an easy £250 sound for Christmas? That is what icount is offering to one lucky winner just after Christmas.

 

Head over to icount’s Christmas competition, take a look at all the gifts under their tree and,  if you can guess their price correctly, you could win an icount prepaid MasterCard loaded with £250, to use however you want!

 

The competition is running from the 1st-31st December and icount will announce a lucky winner on the 2nd January 2018. If no one guesses the price of the presents correctly, then the person closest to the price will be the winner. Good luck!