A Stay-At-Home Mom's Tricks to Pay for Christmas Gifts

Christmas is by far my favorite time of year. The decorations, the music, the movies, family, and gifts! I love shopping and picking out the perfect gift for everyone that I love.

While we are on the subject of gifts, it's fascinating how everyone's family handles Christmas gifts a little differently.

Thinking of my own experience, my family doesn't spend much money per item, but we all try to select one small thing for each person that you know that person will appreciate. A cheap game, a favorite candy, etc. It's a small "I thought of you" and nothing massive, but with seven adults and six children amongst us, the cost is rising even with these smaller items.

My husband's family does it differently. We draw names for each other and you only buy a gift for that one person. But instead of a smaller item, since it's their only gift, you try to find something a little bigger for them. A hoodie, headphones, a personal coffee maker, etc. Fewer items, but you want to spend a little more and buy something you know they'll love.

Things have obviously changed financially since I had to leave the classroom. (If you missed my post on why I no longer teach, check out my post here.) Since I absolutely LOVE buying Christmas gifts but no longer have my own income, I've always been a fan of finding extra ways to offset the costs so I can spend guilt-free. Some years I've covered the costs completely and some years I've just managed to offset the costs. Either way, having some extra avenues to tap into for Christmas gifts has been SO nice.

I'm not a network marketing gal and I like the idea of making money back on items I would be buying anyway or doing things like surveys at my own pace. I know there are more ways to cash in than the ones I've listed here, but these are my favorites.
Some links are affiliate links.

Pinecone Research

What it is: Pinecone is a product survey company and has been one of my highest yielding options, but there's a catch- they aren't always accepting new members! They open it up for more members at various times throughout the year, so if they aren't accepting now, keep an eye on it! I found out about them through the blog MoneySavingMom and she also sends out an alert when they are taking more applications.
How much you earn: You can set your preferences for how often you want to receive surveys from Pinecone. I have my preferences set for the highest frequency of surveys, which is once a week. Occasionally Pinecone will offer to send me the product I took a survey about and if I receive the free product, I get another bonus survey! I take 4-5 surveys a month and each survey pays out in 300 points which is the equivalent of $3. The surveys vary in length from about 15 minutes long up to about 30 minutes long. Whenever I have a survey open, I set myself up with a hot drink and take it during my toddler's naptime. I love it!
Check and see if Pinecone is currently accepting applications here.

Swagbucks

What is is: Swagbucks is by far the most multi-faceted way to earn extra cash and has been the service I've used the longest. They are a rewards program that awards you "Swagbucks" for various tasks or purchases. Swagbucks can be cashed in for gift cards. Typically Swagbucks converts to $1 per 100 points.
There are so many ways to earn Swagbucks, but here are the main ones I use.

• I take their surveys. There are surveys available in every length of time possible. (I loved doing them on my phone while my son used to drink his bottle in my arms.) 
• I added a toolbar to Chrome that gives me a percentage of Swagbucks back for online purchases. 
• I follow a Twitter account that lets me know when SwagCodes are out (basically a code for free Swagbucks just sitting somewhere on their site). The account is @SwagCodezAlertz and it's a huge help on sweeping up a few extra Swagbucks each day.
• I play Swagbucks Live, their live mobile game show, a few times a week (I don't always earn much from it, but it's fun to me 😉). Download the app here!

How much you earn: It depends totally on your consistency! If I'm faithful to knocking out a few surveys a week, activate Swagbucks on my purchases, and collect all my swag codes, I can collect a few hundred Swagbucks a month. Other times I've barely kept up with it and earned less than fifty a month. It's up to you and how much you want to put into it.
Use this link to sign up and get 300 bonus Swagbucks when you earn 300 Swagbucks within your first 30 days!

Ibotta

What it is: Ibotta is a cash-back program for items that you have already bought. It's usually for household items, especially groceries, and works at most popular retailers.
How much you earn: Ibotta is more of a slow burn and I earn a few dollars a month from it. It's worth it to me still because I'm "reclaiming" money I've already spent! Ibotta usually has a whole category of "Any Brand" items and you can claim 10-25 cents just from your receipt or buying your normal grocery items and the rest of the options come from buying whatever brand they are offering cashback on. I know some people get a lot more money out of Ibotta than I do, so if you have some Ibotta tips, please drop them in the comments!
Use this link to get started with Ibotta!

Fetch Rewards

What it is: Fetch is a grocery receipt rewards program. You can scan your receipt from ANY recent grocery store purchase and rack up points for each one! You don't have to buy any certain brands to get points. If you do buy any of the promoted brands, you just get bonus points! (We buy a lot of Gatorade which is usually worth lots of bonus points.)
How much you earn: Fetch is also what I consider a "slow burn" but throughout the year I find that the points rack up quickly as long as I remember to scan all my receipts. (I only make one grocery trip a week, if you make multiple trips a week it is DEFINITELY worth it.) They also have a more generous referral program so if your friends sign up too, you'll move up quickly! 3,000 generally translates to about $3.
Use my referral code, ND2WV, during signup and you'll get 2,000 Fetch Points just for starting. Download it now!

CoinOut

What it is: If you are already scanning receipts with Ibotta and Fetch, you might as well take a second and scan it using CoinOut too. CoinOut gives you anywhere from one cent to a few cents for ANY receipt you scan.
How much you earn: Well, not much. Only an average of a few pennies per receipts, but it only takes a few seconds and really adds up. (Maybe a good task to keep a kid busy?)
Use this link to get started fast!

TeachersPayTeachers

What it is: Ok, I had to sneak this one, but it's my favorite way to make extra money! TeachersPayTeachers is an online marketplace for digital teacher resources.
How much you earn: Totally depends on your niche, how many resources you have, the demand, etc. But as a former teacher, having a way to sell my old resources has been a blessing for our family and a whole lot of fun!
Check out TeachersPayTeachers here! And check out my store, So to Speak! here.

What is your favorite way to earn extra cash? Do you have any questions about the services I mentioned? I'd love to hear from you! Drop your comments below!

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