3 Simple Ways To Pad Your Income During The Holidays

The holidays can be a tough time for a lot of families, particularly if they are celebrating Christmas. Kids love Christmas, but a large part of that comes from getting presents. Sadly, many people can't afford to give their kids what they would like, or what other kids are getting. In these situations, the holidays can become a stressful time of trying to find affordable gifts for younger kids who simply don't understand the lack of finances. This can take a lot of joy out of what should be a time of making memories with family.

Fortunately, there are quite a few opportunities to increase income during the holidays. Some of them can be done from home and don't require a lot of time. Here are a few examples.

Apps

Most people don't realize just how much money something as simple as data is worth. Fortunately, companies do realize this and they are willing to pay for it. There are quite a few apps that will actually pay people just to keep the app on their phone. The app is not sitting dormant. It is gathering data about the user. This information includes apps that are downloaded, how often the phone is used, it's location and more.

If you are a privacy fanatic, this is probably not for you. If you don't care that a company knows where you travel and what kinds of stuff you do on your phone, this is a great way to make money now. Since they often pay each month you keep the app on, this could even turn into recurring income. Here is a list of apps that will offer various incentives for doing as little as simply keeping the app on your phone.

Rideshare

There are actually multiple ways to make money with ride-sharing apps like Lyft and Uber. The most obvious one is to use them for what they're designed to do. These apps connect people that are looking for rides, have a little time and could use a little money. Essentially you can become a taxi driver without all the paperwork and hassle. You can also work whatever hours you choose.

The other way to make money from these programs is called rideshare referrals. You can get paid quite a bit just to refer people to programs like Lyft and Uber! Something as small as posting a link on your social media account telling your friends to sign up to drive can earn cash from these referral programs.

Open a new credit card or checking account

These aren't long-term options, but they're great for the holidays! Many banks will offer pretty decent incentives for opening a checking or savings account. Chase, for example, will offer $200 if you open a new checking account and set it up with direct deposit. Obviously, this is a hack that you can only use once, but if you just need enough money to buy a gift for a child these bonuses can hit the spot perfectly. Credit cards are a little harder because they often require spending limits before receiving the bonus. There are ways, however, such as buying a few months of groceries, paying ahead on insurance, etc.

These are just a few tips and tricks to make money during the holidays. Remember one important thing and take some stress out of the occasion. The holidays are meant for family, and gift-giving can always take a backseat to spending time together. If the choice must be made between seeing a child and getting them an expensive gift, many children would prefer to spend time with their parents.