With Christmas just a few weeks away, you're no doubt running around trying to get everything sorted for the big day.
While this can be stressful on a normal year, the effects of the pandemic this year may have you feeling a little bit more on edge, particularly about money.
But, you don't have to worry!
At OddsMonkey, we carried out a survey and found that one in four Brits have a side hustle, with average earnings of £230 per month, and some work like blogging even fetching up to £4,000 a year!
So, if you're feeling a little strapped for cash at the moment, why not look for quick ways to boost your income before December 25th?
Here, I'll be sharing five of the best ways to do so.
Participate in online surveys
With December already bringing us drastic temperature drops, you'll be pleased to know that there are ways to make some extra Christmas cash from the comfort of your sofa.
Online surveys can be very lucrative if you find the highest paying ones and are able to commit to a few hours a week.
These are particularly popular at the moment as businesses try to work out how the pandemic has affected consumer buying habits, so there's bound to be many for you to take part in.
Simply settle yourself down with a hot drink and get to work answering questionnaires in return for payment.
There are even some market research surveys that you can sign up to and receive goods you provide valuable feedback on.
Remember, that typically the longer surveys or the ones which require more work will pay better, so if you have the time, go for some of these.
Just make sure you keep a note of which surveys you've done and what you're owed from each.
There are plenty of websites out there to help you get started with online surveys, but do watch out for untrustworthy ones that might not pay out as expected.
To be on the safe side, make sure you read reviews about the site and only use ones that seem reputable, like Swagbucks, i-Say, and Panelbase.
Try your hand at matched betting
Another quick way to make a nice bit of cash is to try out matched betting.
Don't worry if you're not familiar with sports, as you don't need it for this clever method.
You'll be taking advantage of the 'back and lay' technique to unlock the cash offered as a promotional bet by the bookies, which means it's extremely low risk.
This is because you will eliminate the risk of losing money on a potential outcome (known as a back bet) by placing an equivalent bet on the opposite outcome (known as a lay bet), meaning there's some cash in it for you whatever way the bet goes.
So, you'll always end up with approximately 80% of the free bet amount. So, for example if you placed a £30 bet, you'll get around £24 profit.
While you'll certainly need a good chunk of spare time to get used to the maths involved, matched betting can turn over profits quite quickly once you get the hang of it all.
There are only two ways in which you can lose money.
One is through human error, which is why I would recommend using matched betting software who will do the maths for you.
Similarly, if the odds change, there's a possibility for you to lose money, so double check all bets before placing them.
Sell your unwanted belongings online
Another simple way to make money quickly is to sell your unwanted belongings online.
As well as being able to turn unnecessary items into cash, you'll also have cleared plenty of space for all of your new Christmas gifts, so it's a win-win!
There are plenty of sites you can use to do this including eBay, Depop, Vinted, and many more.
All you'll need is some time to go through your things and decide what kind of prices you'd want for them (including postage and packaging).
You'll need to take lots of good quality images of your items to ensure they sell quickly.
If you're thinking of clearing out your wardrobe, it might help potential buyers to see what the clothes look like on, so be sure to take pictures of all the details.
To avoid any disputes, you'll also need to list any faults with the items you're selling and reflect these in the price.
Offer your freelance services
If you have some extra skills up your sleeve, you might want to consider signing up to a freelance site and offering your services for some quick cash over Christmas.
With many businesses looking to outsource smaller tasks to save on staff costs, there's plenty of scope for you to make money by offering your skills on a freelance basis.
There are plenty of reputable sites you can sign up to including Upwork, and Worksome.
However, before you sign up to any of these sites, make sure you read through your current employment contract and speak to your employer to check that you're legally allowed to create work for someone else.
Create an online course
If freelancing isn't for you, you might be interested by creating your own online course.
This can be incredibly lucrative if you have a niche that you're particularly knowledgeable about.
The beauty of doing this is that you can use any of your specialities to make a useful guide for people to learn from, but you'll make money from it!
So, no matter whether you have a sound knowledge of SEO best practises, social media strategy and engagement, or something else altogether, your course is sure to pique the interest of other like-minded web users.
Just make sure you check out the competition and see what seems to be a fair pricing strategy as you don't want to over- or undersell yourself.
Ultimately
It's the most wonderful time of the year, and the pandemic shouldn't change that.
No matter how short on money you feel this time round, there are plenty of ways you can still boost your income over the next few weeks to make sure your Christmas is extra special this year.
Thanks Kevin!
We agree wholly that this year has been pretty up and down, and if you're someone who's really feeling the pressure of the pandemic then we're here to tell you that that's okay.
These options are not only good for raising money at Christmas, but also throughout the year, too.
So, if you find that you're short in the next few months, setting up something like a course or freelancing now might allow you to reap the rewards in 2021.
These types of things don't always take off straight away, so keep that in mind when you're starting out.
Apart from that, good luck!
Let us know in the comments below if you have any other ideas for raising income that you've used this year.
