Hello, and welcome to a post that might be just about as annoying as your local department store.  Summer is barely over and I’m already starting to talk about Christmas.  Hey, at least I haven’t put up a tree yet.  (Although, that would be an efficient thing to do in October, wouldn’t it?)  kidding

I think we can all agree that Christmas is not really about presents and hooplah.  And yet, I would guess that most of us probably do at least a little bit gift giving around the holidays. Here are some simple ways to gain yourself a little extra cash for the upcoming Christmas season.  Don’t worry – you don’t have to start singing Jingle Bells yet.  Just start planning ahead a little bit now so that Christmas won’t be a financial burden.  Christmas should never be a financial burden.  Christmas should be a season of joy.  Don’t make me get on my soap box.

1. InboxDollars

I’ve mentioned InboxDollars recently in a giveaway they sponsored.  You won’t get rich off of InboxDollars (or any of the ideas shared in this post), but you will be able to earn a little extra cash while in the comfort of your pajamas and slippers.  (I recommend opening up a separate, free email account to use specifically for InboxDollars – it makes this much easier!)

2.  Swagbucks

It’s been a while since I’ve mentioned Swagbucks around here, but if you aren’t using Swagbucks to earn extra money from home, you really should be!  There are many, many ways to earn Swagbucks, but my favorite is to simply use the Swagbucks search feature.  Each time I need to search for something online (which is quite often), I use my Swagbucks search engine.  Several times a day, I earn some swagbucks – all for doing something I would have done anyway.  Once I’ve accumulated enough, I turn my Swagbucks into Amazon Gift Cards.  (There are many other options for ways to redeem your Swagbucks – Amazon cards are just my favorite.)  One year, I saved all my Amazon Cards throughout the year and we had a practically free Christmas.  It was awesome!

Plus, when you refer others to Swagbucks, you can earn extra Swagbucks!  So, get yourself signed up, then tell your friends about this feature.  You’ll both earn!  (See, I’m referring you, so that means I’ll earn Swagbucks based off of my referral to you.  Thanks!)  :)

I’ve written more about Swagbucks here if you’d like more information.

3.  Shop it to Me

This may be one of the simplest ways to earn a little extra cash – although, like Swagbucks, it comes in the way of gift cards instead of actual cash.  I like gift cards just fine.  Gift cards buy gifts – what more could we ask for?  Or, you could give the gift card away as a gift.  Perfect!

How this works:  Sign up to receive Shop It To Me newsletters.  These newsletters are painless – I receive them twice a week and either look through them if I feel like the deals they share are relevant, or delete them if they’re not.

I used my personal referral link above.  For every ten of you who sign up, I receive a $10 gift card of my choice.  (Thank you, by the way!)  Once you’ve signed up, you can then refer your friends and family through facebook, email, blog or tweet – and for every ten people you refer, you receive $10 gift cards too!  It’s free, it’s easy, there’s no catch, and you can earn gift cards for Starbucks, Whole Foods (my personal fav!), Gap, Macy’s and many others – whichever you choose.

4.  Become a Heavenly Homemakers Affiliate

It’s been a while since I’ve mentioned this feature we have here at Heavenly Homemakers.  Did you know you can earn money by referring sales in our Shop?  We offer 33% affiliate earnings on all of our downloadable products – that means that not only can you earn a few dollars when someone you refer purchases our ebooks, you can earn a whoppin’ $14.85 each time someone you refer purchases our Learn Your Letters, Learn to Serve curriculum kit!  Your earnings can really add up!  Read more details here – we’d love to have you on board as an affiliate.

Have you started thinking about Christmas yet – or is it just me?

(Disclosure:  I think it was obvious that many of the links I used in this post are my referral links, but just in case, I thought I’d tell you again.  Each of these opportunites are painless and easy and a great way to earn a little extra cash – and sharing them with you will help me earn a little extra cash for Christmas too.  Then you can turn around and do the same!  But don’t feel obligated to sign up for any of these if you don’t want to.  We’ll still be friends either way.) ;)