Extra Cash for Christmas

As of this post writing, there is only 66 days left until Christmas!  Crazy!  Is it just me or has this year flown by?

Anyway, are you going to pay CASH for Christmas or are you going to put it on credit cards?  I am so hoping that you said cash!  I don't know your personal finance situation so I will just show you a few places to get some cash for Christmas.

These are some survey sites and mystery shop sites that you can earn extra cash to spend for the holidays.  Even though these don't pay "that much" money, they can add up over time.  What if you were to do them for 6-10 months leading up to Christmas?  When you are mindlessly watching TV, just login and complete some.  They don't take very long.


These are legit companies that I have personally used and have personally gotten checks from.  (note:  these are accounts where I may get referral fees, some of them I don't).

Surveys from Inbox Dollars:  I have personally earned around $100.  There are lots of ways to earn money on IBD, like surveys, paid emails (just click the button), grocery coupons (I haven't done this), games, apps, etc. 


Mystery Shop companies

TrendSource
Intelli-Shop.com
MarketForce.com
Sinclair Customer Metrics



Garage Sales or Consignment Stores-Clean out your garage and/or closet to make extra $$.  If you have some "nicer" stuff then I would take it to a local consignment shop to get money.  If you have random stuff, maybe have a garage sale instead.   Take a few days to make a pile of stuff and sort it out by garage sale (ask friends if they want to join you) and by consignment store. There are a ton of shops that take children's clothes too.  I personally like going to consignment stores that the stores portion of the proceeds goes towards charities that I support, but that is a personal thing.

YOU CAN DO IT!!  Even if you only earn $20-50, that is $20-50 that doesn't have to go on a credit card.  Hustle out there to be debt free. :)

New Savings Account

I bit the bullet and opened a new online savings account.  I am really bad about having cash in my local savings account through my bank and transferring because I "need" something that is out of my budget.  I have heard of a few different online banks that you can get a higher savings rate than at a local bank, but never looked into them further.

Online banks can offer a higher saving rate because they do not have branches to pay overhead for.  Sure, they have hosting fees and other internet related expenses, but I'm sure (in relation to the # of customers) it doesn't compare to the cost of rent, utilities, etc that a traditional bank has.

I got a Paypal payment for $90 from various mystery shops I did last month and decided that instead of adding it to my regular bank account, I would open an online account.  Fingers crossed this will keep my money in a bank instead of retail stores. :)

I looked online and found two options that would be good for my needs.  Ally Bank and Capital One 360.  Ally Bank has a bit higher interest rate than Capital One 360, but when I tried to open an account, it was a pain in the rear! I  had to fill out an online form, call a number, was put on hold a few times (plus I was online the line for over 16 minutes and they couldn't figure out what was happening), and then I just decided to cancel that account and go with Capital One.  They wanted me to submit my social security card via email (totally unsecure, never do that!) and I was not about to do that!

Capital One was super easy to set up and I was able to complete the process quickly with no annoying phone calls or uploads.  It does take a few days for the opening deposit to be put in to my account, but it will be there soon.  Plus, it has a .75% savings rate vs my local bank is .10%, that is a .65% difference!

Oh, and if you sign up with them, we both get $20 (if your account is opened with $250 or more)!!!!  Go here and sign up!  Save that $$ and start budgeting! :)

For me, out of sight is out of mind.  I don't want to look at the balance or anything unless I am verifying that a deposit is made.  Is it just me, or do other people do that too?

Collecting change

When I worked for a rental car company (insert the name here if you know where I worked) and was in the rental department (sales), we would have to clean the cars on occasion if the car prep wasn't there or was busy.  People were always leaving money in the cup holders or sometimes under the seats if they dropped some change.  We would have know way of telling who dropped what and most people wouldn't want to come back to the branch for a few cents.  Usually it was a bunch of pennies, but sometimes it was closer to $.50.

Over the course of 1 summer, I collected about $75 worth of change!!!  Yep, I rolled it up myself and counted it.  At that time those money machines took about 5% of your change with a fee, and I didn't want to pay it, so I got free rolls from the bank.  Now, those machines at Wal-Mart or wherever give you an option of paying that 5% or rolling your $$ into a gift card with no fee (the store that got the gift card to pays the fee).

Anyway, the point of my story was to say that change adds up.  Quicker than you realize too!  I took some time over the weekend to collect all of my change from my car, my purse, old purses, old wallets, and random drawers throughout my house and put it in a big plastic container that is not see through (so I won't be tempted). I didn't count it because I would be more tempted to spend it!  I will tell you that it is a lot of money in there (probably over $20 in change, plus some 1's) though.

My plan is to keep collecting random change when I get it back from a purchase or even when I find it on the ground going about my daily business.  I want it to be my unofficial savings account that when it gets full (it is a BIG container) I can spend it on whatever I want. Maybe a vacation?  Maybe a new thing-a-ma-bob? 

Have you heard about this guy who had over 13 million pennies?  According to that article, in America, there is over $10.5 BILLION in change just sitting around in homes.  WOW!

To start your own vacation/fun money fund, here are some resources!! BUT, be sure to bring some hand sanitizer and a ziplock for all of your change you find on the ground. 

20 Resources to Find Spare Change

More resources

Start today by going through your house and cars and see how much change you can find.  If you walk anywhere, look on the ground (be careful where you are going) and see if you can find some spare change!

Freezing Sandwiches

Did you know that you can freeze sandwiches?????  I had no idea!  I mean, I guess if I would have thought about it, I would have guessed, but I honestly would have never thought to do that. (I guess I need to think outside the box more).

I have a hard time bringing my lunch to work each day.  I am always running late (darn sleep) and don't always have time to pack a lunch in the morning.  Eating out everyday can get expensive (average lunch is between $5-$10) and also the portions are way out of control.  More eating out=less $$ and bigger waistline.

Once I figured out that I could freeze sandwiches and then grab and go in the mornings, wow what a time saver!  You always hear about families who meal plan and do batch cooking, but for single people that is hard.  It takes a while to make a sandwich in the mornings (searching for ingredients, a  container, a bag, etc) or sometimes I buy a thing of lunch meat and by the time  I can use all of it, it goes bad. Sigh.  Freezing them saves me time in the mornings and also trips to the grocery store.

So, the other day I made a big batch of frozen sandwiches.  I bought two loaves of wheat bread (healthier and it freezes better), cheese, lunch meat, peanut butter, and jelly.

(stock photo)

I made the PB&J sandwiches first and I rotated the jelly between cherry and Mango Hibanero.  The lunch meat was a salami type meat, which isn't the best, but the blogs I researched said not to use mayo.  I like mayo, but only on ham sandwiches.  Turkey uses mustard, but ham ONLY uses mayo.  It's gross (to me) any other way.  I could have gotten turkey but the salami looked really good.


I do not lettuce or tomato on my sandwiches, so I didn't have to worry about freezing them.  They say not to add that to the sandwiches until you are using them and they thaw.  Lettuce and other veggies don't freeze well.

****I was going to add pictures, but they looked kind of gross with my camera phone. LOL.  Sorry!

Anyway, the first few days have gone great! I just pull one out in the mornings and add it to my lunch bag.  They thaw by lunchtime and taste the same!