Make Money for Your Holiday Budget Now with Work-from-Home Gigs
- Avoid going into debt during the holidays by saving up for your holiday budget now.
- Mystery shopping, call center work, sales jobs, and making crafts could help you earn extra cash for your holiday budget.
- Year-round side jobs like virtual assistance, completing surveys online, and selling on eBay are other options to fund your holiday budget.
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The holidays are meant to be joyful, not stressful. With a little planning, you can enjoy the season, give meaningful gifts, and feel good about your finances too.
One reason people sometimes need credit card debt relief is overspending during the holidays and other special occasions.
If you want to confidently go shopping and treat your loved ones to the best of the holiday season, work on saving up extra money for your holiday budget ahead of time. There are several ways to make extra money with work-from-home gigs, side hustles, and seasonal work. Use the extra cash to boost your savings for your holiday budget, or increase your emergency fund for any time of year.
Here are a few tips for how to fund your holiday budget in advance with convenient, flexible work-from-home gigs.
First, Create a Holiday Budget
Before you search for work-from-home money-making opportunities, get a sense of your current financial situation. The best way to do this is to create a holiday budget. This might be easier to do if you already have a monthly household budget, so start there.
By understanding your current finances and what amount can be used for holiday spending, you can get a better sense of how much money you need to make and save toward your holiday budget. This could help you get what you want during the holidays without taking on credit card debt.
Let’s say you want to save $1,500 for your holiday budget and you can make $15 an hour after taxes with a work-from-home side hustle. That means you need to work 100 hours to reach your holiday budget goal. If you work an extra eight hours per week at your side gig, you could reach that goal in a little over three months.
Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or another winter holiday, most people tend to splurge a little more than usual in November and December. Celebrating the holidays is important. But it’s not worth going into holiday debt. As with any ordinary household budget, your winter holiday budget should include your typical monthly expenses (including savings) and regular income. Then add in any amount you want to earmark for special meals, gifts, or events.
Now that you have a holiday budget for your regular expenses plus some splurges, you may even be able to estimate how many hours you’ll want to work to get to the amount needed for your extras this year. Your budget may also give some insight into where you could save more money, like by canceling subscriptions or eating at home more often.
You may also find that taking on work-from-home side hustles can help you save money beyond your holiday budget. Socking money away could put you on a path to saving for bigger goals like college, retirement, or a new home.
Quick-Start Holiday Side Hustles You Can Begin Today
If you want to earn money for the holidays fast, you’ll want to find some immediate earning opportunities you can start right away.
Some of the best quick wins to earn money for the holidays come from working through delivery apps and other personal services apps. During the holidays, many people are busy and might be more likely to use these services to save time on errands, grocery shopping, and meal prep. That means more money for people like you.
Most side-hustle apps can get you up and running in a few days without a lengthy application process. You don’t have to spend lots of time finding gigs. Instead, you can quickly start earning extra holiday cash.
Here are examples of how long it takes to sign up, get approved and start working with each of these popular side hustle apps.
DoorDash
New DoorDash drivers have to go through a background check that usually only takes one day. If you have a good driving history and no criminal record, you could get approved and start working fast.
Instacart
The food and grocery delivery app DoorDash could help you start earning money fast, in as little as a few days. How long it takes to get approved depends on where you live.
It might take longer to be approved to work with Instacart if your city already has plenty of drivers or not enough demand from customers. Some Instacart drivers have reported waiting a few weeks or more.
Uber Eats
Use the Uber app to sign up to work as an Uber Eats delivery partner. This process can take three to seven days, including Uber’s review of your documents after you complete a road safety quiz.
In some cities, Uber Eats delivery workers can make deliveries by bike, scooter, or on foot. This could make Uber Eats an easier choice if you don’t have a car or don’t want to use your car for earning money for the holidays.
Amazon Flex
Amazon Flex is a flexible way to make money delivering packages with your own vehicle, on your own schedule. This side hustle often has more opportunity during the holidays, since people order more packages than usual. Signing up for Amazon Flex takes most people less than one hour, and the approval process can take less than a week.
Getting connected to easy side hustle apps could help you turn your spare time into extra spare cash for the holiday season. You can sign up for multiple apps and find gigs in different ways. And you can manage the process of applying from home, using your phone. It’s never been easier to connect to quick wins for earning money for the holidays.
What Work-From-Home Gigs Best Fit Your Skills and Needs?
There are many kinds of work-from-home gigs and side hustles in the world. But you might have the best experience making money from home if you choose a gig that fits your skills. The work could be more enjoyable and might even pay better.
Just like full-time employment, consider what you’re good at and what you like to do. Are you a people person? A customer service job could be a good fit. Prefer to quietly work behind the scenes and dig into the details? Tax prep or data entry might be your best bet.
With these factors in mind, here are a few types of work-from-home gigs and side hustles that could help you save money for your holiday budget.
Gift wrapping services
The holiday season is a time when many people stock up on wrapping paper, gift boxes, ribbons and tape—only to realize they don’t know how to wrap gifts or are too busy and tired to do it themselves. If you have the knack, now could be the perfect occasion to make money for the holidays with your gift wrapping services.
Share photos of your most beautifully wrapped gifts with family and friends, or your local neighborhood group on social media. Offer to wrap gifts for an hourly fee or a flat price per gift, based on size. Be sure to account for the cost of supplies, ribbons, and specialized materials.
Online tutoring
If you want to work from home while helping people get better at school subjects and skills, online tutoring could be a great side hustle all year round. And the holiday season could mean some extra demand, as students get ready for end-of-year goals and final exams. Sites like Tutor.com and Preply offer online tutoring and teaching gigs where you set your own schedule and choose your own pay rates.
Dog walking and dog sitting
If you love animals, signing up to be a dogwalker or petsitter on apps like Rover or Wag! can be a great way to earn extra cash. Rover’s sign-up process usually takes five to 10 business days, so you can quickly get ready to earn money for the holidays. The Wag! background check might take a bit longer, up to 14 business days.
House sitting
People who go on vacation during the holiday season might need some extra help keeping an eye on their home while they’re out of town. Being a house sitter is a perfect side hustle for the holidays. Use sites like MindMyHouse, Nomador, or TrustedHousesitters to find opportunities.
Some house-sitting apps charge fees to host your profile and find house-sitting opportunities. And not all house sitting gigs pay cash—some homeowners will offer you a free place to stay in exchange for your services with pet sitting and minor home upkeep while they’re away.
House sitting might not be the best fit if you can’t find any homes near you. But if you have a flexible lifestyle and love to travel, house sitting could help you get free or low-cost housing in other exciting cities or adventurous places around the world. This can be a wonderful way to experience the holiday season.
Mystery shopping
Mystery shoppers are nothing new in the world of shopping malls. But online retailers also hire mystery shoppers to fine-tune their customer experience. The holiday shopping season is the busiest time of year for most retail businesses, so many companies hire more mystery shoppers during the last few months of the year.
You can find a reputable mystery shopping gig by checking the company’s employee reviews and Better Business Bureau ratings. Some companies that hire mystery shoppers include BestMark, IntelliShop, and MarketForce.
Call centers
Along with mystery shopping gigs, many companies hire extra customer service reps during the holiday season. They may hire work-from-home customer service people who can help manage orders, answer questions, process, exchanges and returns, and help other shoppers have a happier holiday season.
Customer service is often a great choice for side hustles or work-from-home part-time jobs, because this type of work is available year-round. You can work for a call center no matter where you live, and many employers don’t require previous call center experience.
Sales
If you’re outgoing, energetic, and good at talking with customers, a work-from-home side hustle that might pay better than customer service is sales. Many companies need salespeople who can work from home in flexible ways. If you have previous sales experience in your career, or if you’re willing to try new things, working from home as a part-time sales rep can be a good way to make extra money for your holiday budget.
Crafts and gifts
If you’re crafty and creative, making crafts to sell could be a great choice for a side hustle. People are always looking for unique, locally made gifts to give friends and family members. Your community may host seasonal bazaars or “maker fairs.” And there are plenty of online marketplaces for homemade goods, such as Etsy and Makers Market.
Corporate day job skills
If you have the right skills and experience from your day job, office and corporate work could be done from home as a side hustle. Companies often hire part-time and flexible gig workers who can help with projects such as workflow analysis, project management, quality assurance, logistics and shipping, event planning, content marketing, freelance writing, software development, and graphic design roles. Check the major job sites like Indeed, Monster, ZipRecruiter, and FlexJobs to find companies that are hiring.
Other Year-Round Side Gigs To Save For Your Holiday Budget
Some side hustles are seasonal gigs, with more hiring demand during specific times of year. But many kinds of work-from-home gigs are year-round opportunities. There’s never a wrong time of year to save money for your holiday budget. Making extra cash can be beneficial all year round.
Here are a few examples of year-round work-from-home side hustles.
Virtual assistant
Virtual assistants, or VAs, handle administrative tasks for organizations or individuals. VAs may schedule appointments, make phone calls, or help with social tasks (such as sending thank-you notes). If you have specialized skills, you may be able to earn more by performing tasks such as bookkeeping or putting together online presentations.
Where to find gigs: A few popular online platforms to find work as a virtual assistant (VA) include Upwork, FlexJobs, Indeed, and the Virtual Gurus.
How much you can make as a virtual assistant: Exact pay will depend on your skills, experience, and ability to build relationships with clients. According to FlexJobs data, virtual assistants typically earn $18 to $25 an hour. If you can get an hourly rate of $19 and work 40 hours a month, you’d make an extra $760 per month for the holidays.
Online surveys
What if you could make money working from home by taking online surveys? Some companies hire people to do this and other online tasks. You could also get paid for other online task-based work, such as helping companies do market research and trying new websites. Do the math to decide whether the rate of pay per survey is worth your time by comparing it to the hourly rate of other part-time gigs.
Where to find these gigs: A few examples of companies that pay for online surveys include Pinecone Research, American Consumer Opinion, and Swagbucks. Another micro-task company, ySense offers cash to complete surveys, sign up for websites, or complete other small online projects.
How much you can make with online surveys: Online surveys don’t typically pay as much per hour as other side hustle gigs. Some online survey companies are unclear about how much you can make. Swagbucks says survey takers on its platform can expect to make $3 to $10 a day just by taking surveys in their spare time. Assuming you make $8 each day and take surveys 20 days a month, that’s $160 per month—and it’s easy work that you can do from home in your spare time.
Training AI
Other companies make it easy to earn at home by doing AI training. With this type of work from home side hustle, you get paid to do tasks like transcription or evaluating videos for accuracy. There’s been massive demand recently for new AI tools. Some people make money from home by helping to train AI and make it more accurate.
Where to find these gigs: Clickworker and CrowdGen are examples of companies that offer AI-training gigs.
How much you can make training AI: Side hustle pay for AI training depends on the platform and project. For example, CrowdGen recently advertised a project paying $19.50 an hour. On Reddit, some AI trainers say they make $3 to $12 per hour, and some complained about lower pay rates after they signed up or started a project.
However, training AI is an easy and flexible work-from-home gig. If you can make $12 an hour training AI in your spare time for 30 hours a month, that’s an extra $360 per month for the holidays.
Selling online
Do you have valuable items that are just taking up space? Your bicycle, musical instrument, or baseball card collection might be worth money that could go toward your savings goals. It may be time to set up an eBay or Poshmark account and sell your unused treasures online.
Where to find these gigs: The classic online marketplace where people can buy and sell all sorts of items is eBay, and it’s a good choice for part-time sellers who want to get started making money online. The platform can help you host your own online garage sale to get rid of stuff you don’t need, while making money for the holidays.
Amazon is another platform where you can set up your own online store and sell products online—you don’t have to be a big brand to sell on Amazon. And Poshmark used to be a site primarily selling clothes but individual sellers now offer a variety of household items, books, and other goods. Set-up and shipping are extremely easy on Poshmark, which sends you a shipping label after your item sells.
How much you can make selling online: There’s a range of answers for how much you can make selling online with eBay or other platforms. Some part-time eBay sellers on Reddit say they make $200 to $600 a month. Rare collectibles or highly valuable items that can sell for higher profit margins might bring in more.
Online sales success doesn’t happen overnight. You might need a few months to learn how to price your products, manage your online store, and sell to customers. Selling online doesn’t have to be a side hustle. It could become a serious business or even a new full-time career.
Cash back and reward apps
You might earn a bit of money for the holidays while shopping for items you already need. Several cash back and reward apps let you earn a percentage of cash back on everyday purchases. Just by doing your shopping with these apps, you can earn extra cash. Take care not to overspend. If you’re already struggling with credit card debt, cash back and reward apps might encourage you to buy more than you need.
Where to find these gigs: Some popular cash back and reward apps include Rakuten, Ibotta, Honey, Dosh, and Fetch Rewards. Check out the details to figure out which apps are the best fit for how you shop.
How much you can make with cash back and reward apps: It depends on the app, the offer, how much you spend, and what rewards are available for each purchase. For example, if you can get 3% cash back on purchases of $500 per month, that’s an extra $15 per month. Ibotta says its shoppers earn an average of $261 per year, or about $21.75 per month. These cash back and reward apps pay less than other side hustles, but they could help you save money on groceries or other must-have items for the holidays.
Putting your car to use
Along with driving for delivery services or ride-share apps, you can use car rental apps to rent out your vehicle to others. This is an easy way to make extra money during days and times when you don’t need your car. You can also use your car to get paid for vehicle-based advertising.
Where to find these gigs: Some major platforms for renting out your car include Turo and Getaround. Carvertise is a platform that pays you to turn your car into a rolling billboard—if you agree to have your car wrapped in colorful banner advertising from brand partners.
How much you can make by renting your car: Turo says its car hosts earn an average of $10,868 per year for one car, or about $906 per month. Carvertise drivers earn an average of $100 to $400 per month. Don’t let your car just sit in the driveway—put it to work to help you earn money for the holidays.
If You’ve Made Extra Money Working a Side Hustle, Stick to Your Budget
If you’ve found a great work-from-home side hustle, congratulations! Now you can make a plan to use your extra cash for your holiday budget and other financial goals. Take a fresh look at your holiday budget while adding in the income from your side gig. How much can you afford to spend on each person on your holiday gift list? What if you’re making more money than you expected from your side hustle—do you want to upgrade your holiday plans with nice dinners out, decorations, special events, or holiday travel?
Before you start spending every dollar of your side hustle income, think about using some of that money to pay off debts. Some people spend a little too freely during the holidays and end up with too much credit card debt.
If your holiday budget is making you feel stressed, if you’re falling behind on your bills, or if you need a side hustle not just to save for the holidays but to keep paying your rent or auto loan this month, you might want to think about getting help from a debt relief program. A professional debt settlement program could help you get rid of credit card debt and some other personal debts faster, giving you a chance to get on a better financial path.
It’s good to be generous with your loved ones and to make happy holiday memories. But try to keep your holiday budget in line with your other financial goals—like saving for a new car, saving for a down payment on a home, saving and investing for retirement, and so on. If you’re working extra hours at a side hustle, try to make sure that some of the extra money goes beyond your holiday budget and helps strengthen your finances for years to come.
Debt relief by the numbers
We looked at a sample of data from Freedom Debt Relief of people seeking credit card debt relief during September 2025. This data reveals the diversity of individuals seeking help and provides insights into some of their key characteristics.
Credit card balances by age group for those seeking debt relief
How do credit card balances vary across different age groups? In September 2025, people seeking debt relief showed the following trends in their open credit card tradelines and average credit card balances:
Ages 18-25: Average balance of $9,117 with a monthly payment of $279
Ages 26-35: Average balance of $12,438 with a monthly payment of $373
Ages 36-50: Average balance of $15,436 with a monthly payment of $431
Ages 51-65: Average balance of $16,159 with a monthly payment of $533
Ages 65+: Average balance of $16,546 with a monthly payment of $498
These figures show that credit card debt can affect anyone, regardless of age. Managing credit card debt can be challenging, whether you're just starting out or nearing retirement.
Student loan debt – average debt by selected states.
According to the 2023 Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) the average student debt for those with a balance was $46,980. The percentage of families with student debt was 22%. (Note: It used 2022 data).
Student loan debt among those seeking debt relief is prevalent. In September 2025, 27% of the debt relief seekers had student debt. The average student debt balance (for those with student debt) was $48,703.
Here is a quick look at the top five states by average student debt balance.
| State | Percent with student loans | Average Balance for those with student loans | Average monthly payment |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 34 | $71,987 | $203 |
| Georgia | 29 | $59,907 | $183 |
| Mississippi | 28 | $55,347 | $145 |
| Alaska | 22 | $54,555 | $104 |
| Maryland | 31 | $54,495 | $142 |
The statistics are based on all debt relief seekers with a student loan balance over $0.
Student debt is an important part of many households' financial picture. When you examine your finances, consider your total debt and your monthly payments.
Support for a Brighter Future
No matter your age, FICO score, or debt level, seeking debt relief can provide the support you need. Take control of your financial future by taking the first step today.
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Author Information
Written by
Ben Gran
Ben Gran is a personal finance writer with years of experience in banking, investing and financial services. A graduate of Rice University, Ben has written financial education content for Business Insider, The Motley Fool, Forbes Advisor, Prudential, Lending Tree, fintech companies, and regional banks like First Horizon.
Reviewed by
Kimberly Rotter
Kimberly Rotter is a financial counselor and consumer credit expert who helps people with average or low incomes discover how to create wealth and opportunities. She’s a veteran writer and editor who has spent more than 30 years creating thousands of hours of educational content in every possible format.
How can I make extra money during the holidays from home?
You have many ways to earn money for the holidays while working from home, such as doing work online as a virtual assistant, online tutor, or freelancer, working on AI training projects, or earning extra cash with rewards websites that give you cash back for everyday purchases. Renting out your car could be a way to earn money from home, because you don’t have to be actively involved with meeting customers. Or you can sell products online with eBay, Amazon, or Poshmark.
How much can I realistically earn with holiday side hustles?
Many holiday side hustles could help you earn a few hundred dollars a month or more. It all depends on how many hours you can spend on your holiday side hustles.
Which work-from-home gigs pay the fastest for holiday cash?
If you want fast money for the holidays and don’t want to wait to get paid, some of the fastest payments might come from driving with Uber Eats, DoorDash or other delivery apps. Uber Eats and DoorDash both offer same-day payments. You can get paid the same day or almost immediately after finishing a delivery. There may be a fee for this quick access.
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