CHRISTMAS is coming and an ongoing cost-of-living crisis means many families might be worried about affording the festivities this year.
And there is evidence that Christmas is costing more than ever. In fact, according to MoneySupermarket, families spent around £1,800 on their celebrations in 2023.
It’s important not to pay more than you can afford, and it’s worth having conversations with your family about what is – and isn’t – within reach.
After all, you don’t need to break the budget to have a good holiday season, and there are plenty of ways to cut back on spending.
But planning is equally important, and with just 11 weeks to go, there are lots of clever ideas that you use can to boost your budget.
We’ve rounded up 15 ways to make some quick cash, to help you cover the cost of Christmas – without breaking the bank.
Sell or rent things online
If you haven’t decluttered in a while, you could be sitting on hundreds of pounds worth of stuff that you don’t even use.
Whether it’s old handsets, clothes that don’t fit anymore, or even that board game someone bought you that you’ve never played, selling things online is a great way to make cash.
Platforms like Vinted and Depop are becoming increasingly popular, and eBay selling is still a great way to get rid of things you don’t want. There are also specialist companies that will buy anything from gold to CDs with very little effort.
Royal London’s Consumer Finance Specialist, Sarah Pennells, said: “This can be a great way to create a bit of extra cash for Christmas. Second-hand selling sites and apps are easy to use and every extra pound will help.”
And Amelia Murray, money expert at Be Clever With Your Cash, added: “We all think of Spring as the time to declutter, but why not do it before Christmas kicks off?
“Take a look around your house for clothing, old mobile phone handsets, books and other things you don’t use anymore to sell online.”
Francesca De Franco of The Parent Social says that Facebook is also a great platform for selling things you no longer need, allowing you to connect with people in your area.
She said: “You’ll also find many selling pages for specific items/categories such as Mini Boden & Joules Children’s Clothes UK. Additionally, there are sites such as Mazuma for selling old mobile phones or tablets and great general selling sites such as Preloved and Gumtree.”
If you don’t want to sell things permanently, consider renting them out. There are plenty of specialist online services and peer-to-peer lending services that will let loan anything from parking spaces to musical instruments. You could even consider renting out a spare room.
Faris Khatib, CEO of Ideal Tax, said: “Declutter your home by selling items you no longer need or use. Online marketplaces and consignment shops can help you turn unwanted items into cash.
If you have extra space in your home, consider renting it out on platforms such as Airbnb or VRBO. This is a great way to earn passive income.”
Look for lost accounts
There is nearly £89billion in lost and forgotten pensions, bank accounts, premium bonds and even child trust funds.
According to data from finance firm Gretel, the average amount “lost” is £3,000.
Finding an old account can be a great way to put some extra cash towards Christmas, whilst also boosting your overall finances. Gretel helps customers track down lost money in less than three minutes and then reclaim it.
| *Gretel’s updated figures for the UK’s lost assets by sector | ||||
| Financial Product | Total lost/dormant | Estimated total volume | Average account value | |
| Pensions | £64,750,000,000 | 2,800,000 | £23,125 | |
| Bank & Building Society Accounts | £4,500,000,000 | 14,000,000 | £321 | |
| Child Trust Funds | £5,755,050,000 | 2,646,000 | £2,175 | |
| Securities | £2,500,000,000 | 2,000,000 | £1,250 | |
| Investments & Wealth Management | £2,800,000,000 | 1,000,000 | £2,800 | |
| Life Insurance | £8,115,311,795 | 3,409,795 | £2,380 | |
| NS&I | £81,025,600 | 2,324,683 | £35 | |
| Total | £88,501,387,395.00 | 28,180,478 | £3,141 | |
Take advantage of cashback
Cashback is a great way to boost your finances throughout the year, and there’s still plenty of time to make a few extra quid before Christmas.
Even better, if you take advantage for your planned Christmas spending, you’ll earn a little extra money to get January off to a good start too.
There are a few different options to consider. Some debit and credit card providers offer cashback schemes with certain retailers, so check whether your bank or building society does this.
Meanwhile, dedicated cashback credit cards often reward you with a set percentage of cashback every time you shop. However, you must make sure you pay off the full balance in full each month, or you could rack up more in interest charges than you earn.
Finally, there are dedicated cashback apps and websites that can track your online purchases and reward you with a percentage of your spending as cashback.
For example, if you buy something for £100 and the provider offers 5% cashback, you’ll pocket £5 credit. Once you’ve earned enough, you can withdraw it as cash, gift cards or vouchers.
Liz Hunter, director at Money Expert, said: “Imagine getting paid to do your Christmas shopping – sounds good, right? Well, with cashback websites and apps, you can earn money back on every Christmas present you buy.
“It’s a win-win. Save money on your Christmas shopping and keep the savings going into the New Year and beyond. The two biggest platforms in the UK are Topcashback and Quidco”
Switch bank accounts
Switching bank account is one of the quickest and easiest ways to make over £100 for very little effort.
Currently, the most you can get is by switching to Lloyds, which will pay you £200 for becoming a new customer.
The bank is also offering a choice of rewards between 12 months’ Disney+ with ads, six cinema tickets, a Coffee Club & Gourmet Society membership, or a subscription to a magazine.
You need to switch to one of Lloyds’ Club accounts. The cheapest one is Club Lloyds, which costs £3 per month unless you transfer in £2,000 per month.
The account gives you access to a regular saver paying 6.25% fixed interest for a year. The maximum you can pay in is £400 a month, which will net you £161 in free interest over the twelve months.
Meanwhile, First Direct is offering £175 to switchers along with a 7% regular saver and free overdraft worth £250.
Nationwide is also offering £175, which comes with 5% interest on balances up to £1,500 as well as 1% cashback for a year (to a maximum of £5 a month)
The Co-op bank offers an initial £75 to switch, plus £25 a month for three months – which brings the total to £150.
To get the additional payments, you need to have deposited £1,000 or more, set up at least two Direct Debits, registered for digital banking, added the debit card to a digital wallet and made at least 10 transactions – and this all needs to happen within 30 days of the switch completing.
Make the most of referrals
Several financial products including bank accounts, investment platforms, and credit cards provide referral bonuses.
Shops will often also do this, giving you free cash to spend in-store in return for sending them new business.
For instance, both Monzo and Paypal will give you £5 if you refer a friend and Snoop will give you a £5 Amazon voucher.
American Express have some of the most generous referral programmes out there.
The bank says you can earn up to a maximum of 90,000 Avios, Membership Rewards, Nectar Points or bonus points per calendar year. You can earn up to £150 cashback per calendar year if you hold a cashback product.
Check with your utility providers too. For instance, Octopus Energy will give you £50 for making a referral.
Make sure you don’t annoy your loved ones by pestering them with links, but if you know someone is looking to make a switch or use a particular shop, they’ll often get a discount too by using your referral code.
Do online surveys
Online surveys and market research can be a nice little earner, but you’ll usually have to put a bit of effort in to complete enough to get any meaningful money.
De Franco said: “There are plenty of companies willing to pay you for your views and feedback about brands or for telling them about your shopping habits, or even your personal and social habits!”
YouGov is one of the better-paying sites. For every 5,000 points you amass, you’ll get £50. Generally, you can expect to get around 50 points for a 15-minute survey.
Check for supermarket points or vouchers
Plenty of us spend the year using our Tesco Clubcard, Nectar card, and Boots loyalty card, but if you’ve not checked your balance recently you might have valuable points to spend.
This can be a great way to cut the cost of Christmas, either by spending those points in-store, or – where allowed – spending them with partner retailers to boost their value.
Murray said: “Have a think about where you may have built up little pots of cash, such as in cashback or points… You may also have some gift cards left in the back of your wallet or your inbox, and it is better to spend them soon rather than wait until they expire.
“These extra bits of cash can help to boost your Christmas spending.”
Ban Mahsoub, spend and save director at Tesco Bank added: “Many retailers have offers or loyalty schemes for customers to receive discounts and rewards for shopping with them, so it’s worth looking at what’s available or whether you have any points to redeem.
“If you haven’t already, then it’s worth signing up now, especially as there may be extra incentives for new joiners to collect extra points.”
Look at supermarket saver schemes for a free extra bonus
Lots of supermarkets offer savings clubs that allow you to stash cash for Christmas, in return for some bonus cash.
Often, these clubs won’t pay as much as a top savings account but there is a clever hack that means you can get the best of both worlds.
Many of the schemes will calculate your bonus based on how much money you have put in the scheme by a specific deadline. So, that means you can put your money in the top paying easy access you can find, and then transfer it across right before the final date for an added boost.
For instance, Sainsbury’s will give you up to £35 free, and Tesco offers up to £15. We’ve rounded up all the available options and how much you can earn here.
Check the interest rate on your savings
Some banks and building societies are paying up to 5% on easy-access accounts, which can give you a nice little boost before Christmas. If you’ve got spare money in your bank account or in an old savings account, you might only be earning a fraction of that.
Pennells said: “Just remember that if you’re transferring a cash ISA for a better rate, you need to be mindful that some products don’t accept transfers in and money you move could count against your current year’s tax allowance – so pick your new account and transfer carefully. If you close your cash ISA and switch into a non- ISA product you will lose the tax benefits.”
Get rid of old lego
If your children are growing up and you’ve got a house full of Lego, getting rid of it could be a great way to declutter and make some money. Even if you’ve sets with pieces missing you can still sell them on.
De Franco explained: “Sites such as musicMagpie buy old LEGO by weight, so no need to worry about complete sets. You can sell anything from 500g up to 10Kg.
“Just put your LEGO bricks into a plastic bag and seal/tie it.
“Then, weigh and round up to the nearest 500g (0.5Kg) and select the weight from the dropdown. You’ll get an instant quote and you can send it for free. Then sit back and receive a same-day payment.”
Recycle old clothes
If you’ve got clothes that aren’t fit for selling online, you might still be able to make money by recycling them, whilst also doing your bit for the planet.
For instance, H&M has an in-store garment recycling service, which accepts clothes by any brand, in any condition. It promises that the clothes you donate will be used and won’t end up in landfill and for each carrier bag full you’ll get a £5 voucher to spend at the store.
De Franco said: “M&S has an initiative in place with Oxfam. Donate any item of M&S-labelled clothing or soft furnishings to the charity store and you’ll receive a £5 voucher for Marks & Spencer, which you can use at any participating store when you spend £35 or more.”
Find out where money is slipping through your fingers
New research from Citizens Advice has found that over 13 million people (26% of UK adults) have accidentally taken out a subscription in the last 12 months.
These subscriptions cover services from fitness apps to food delivery services and repeat pet food to magazine subscriptions.
Scouring your bank statements can be a great way to generate cash savings. Simply check your bank and credit card statements and look for unexpected direct debits and standing orders. Check whether you’re in contract, and if not cancel – and save some quick cash.
Proactively track your energy bills.
As the nights turn colder, finding ways to reduce unnecessary energy spending can be a great way to cut bills, but Pennells also says that now is a good time to find a cheaper tariff.
She said: “Energy providers are beginning to offer new deals following a period of high tariffs when there was little opportunity to switch. Energy is one of the biggest bills for many households, any savings can go a long way.”
See if you can get benefits or grants
Policy in Practice estimates that the total amount of unclaimed income-related benefits across Great Britain is now £22.7 billion a year. Claiming what you’re owed could get you hundreds or even thousands of pounds extra a year.
Ms Pennells said: “There are billions of pounds unclaimed in state benefits and you could be one of those missing out.
“These days it’s easier than ever to find out what state benefits you could claim. The charity Turn2us has a free-to-use benefits calculator and grant search tool on its website.”
You may also be able to get help in the form of a grant. Read our guide to finding out what grants you might qualify for here.
Exchange past holiday money
A quick way to pool money is to see what foreign cash you may have lying around at home.
Despite the rapid rise of card and mobile phone payments, most people still use some notes and coins when they travel abroad – to pay for an emergency taxi or an unexpected round of drinks.
Research by Leftover Currency found that this forgotten holiday money amounts to a staggering £2.7billion across the UK, which could be exchanged back into sterling and provide a welcome boost for any Christmas savings.
The £2.7billion figure would give each of the 40.5million 18- to 64-year-olds in the UK £66.67 in their pockets.
Mario Van Poppel, founder and owner of Leftover Currency, said: “People are often very surprised to discover the value of the notes and coins they have tucked away.
“The good news is even the out-of-date currencies that are no longer legal tender can be easily exchanged and boost your bank account.”
Top tips for selling on eBay
NEW to eBay? It’s head of secondhand, Emma Grant, reveals how to optimise your listings:
- Use key words – eBay automatically filters listing titles for key words, so it’s crucial to use the terminology people search for – especially brand and product names.
- Choose the right category for your product – It might sound obvious but it’s important to always choose the most specific category to sell in.
- Pictures are important – Most users will not bid on items they cannot see. For best results, take photos in natural light against a neutral background and be honest about any scratches or damage to the item.
- Be as detailed as possible – Be honest about the condition of the product and be sure to note any wear and tear.
- Look at past sold items– eBay has a function that allows you to search for the item you want to sell and then filter the results by sold items. Here, you can view the price the item has sold for and get insight into how others have listed it.
- Selling Sundays – Get the timing right. The busiest time for buyers is Sunday evenings, so schedule your listings to end around that time. Opt for seven-day auctions to ensure the max number of bids. The longer your item is listed, the more chance of people seeing it, so unless it’s time-sensitive, pick seven days. December is the busiest month on eBay.
- Be realistic with pricing – Try searching for similar items on eBay, to make sure you’re going for the right price and always ask yourself “would I pay this price for this item?”
- Donate to charity – When listing your item, consider donating a percentage of the sale to a cause of your choice – from 10% to 100% – you can donate the funds raised from your item straight from the platform.
