5 easy and quick ways to make money before Christmas

Worried about costs at this time of year? Need to give your bank balance a boost? There are some easy ways to make money before Christmas.

With Christmas fast approaching, there is always a panic that there’s not quite enough money to stretch.

You could skip presents for rarely-seen family members to cut costs, but there are ways to give your bank balance a quick boost so you can do more.

Even with not long left before the festive period begins, you should be able to free up or make hundreds of pounds easily and quickly with these ideas.

Save without noticing – £550

The idea of putting money aside each month can be tough for some, but there is a way to save small amounts (which turns into a decent saving pot) without even noticing.

Based on the average weekly amounts Chip customers save with the auto-saving feature, you could save £530 by Christmas.

Leave it to Chip’s powerful autosaving tool, goals feature and market leading returns to automatically build up your savings and reach your targets without even noticing. Chip’s easy access account also allows you to withdraw your money whenever you need it, and with compounding interest, you’ll earn interest on interest, every single day.

Get cash back from the tax office – get back £200

You may be due a tax rebate from HMRC that you never knew about.

If you use your own money to buy things for your job, like uniforms, tools, professional memberships, car milage (although not for your commute), or if you work from home, you may be able to claim tax relief as a PAYE worker.

Check you’re eligible using the claim tool on the Government website, and then go ahead and claim your tax relief using your online Personal Tax Account.

You can backdate the claim, and money is paid to you within three weeks.

You don’t need to use a claims company to do this. It’s a few boxes to fill in on the government site.

Success stories from Money Saving Expert show people can claim about around £200 if they’ve not claimed in the last five years.

Flip it – make up to £400

I’m not talking about the Bop It (but, don’t you just love that game?). Flipping items is an excellent way to make money.

Start by decluttering the rooms in your house. You’ll be surprised how much stuff you haven’t used for ages that you can sell on.

This time of year is the perfect time to sell things as thrifty people are looking for ways to get gifts for cheaper.

But it’s not just people being more conscious about their spending – people are being more eco-friendly so are happier to have preloved items.

Once you’ve made a start on stuff in your home, you can flip other people’s stuff.

We used to do this as a way to make extra money. We’d buy stuff in charity shops, boot sales or from places like Gumtree, fix them up if needed, and sell them on. Buying and selling can make money quickly.

Overpaid a bill – make back £70

Research from MoneySuperMarket has shown that over half of Brits are in credit with their energy supplier by an average of £73. In London, the average credit is £90.

Having credit means you’ve been overpaying and you’ve not got a few choices.

The energy companies are going to tell you to keep that money where it is. The cynic in me says they would – it means your money is in their bank account, making them interest.

But the money is yours, and you have a right to ask the energy company to give you a refund.

If you think you might use a lot more energy this winter, it could mean bigger bills so the overpayment could cover that cost. You will need to weigh up what you think may happen to see if it’s worth getting a refund.

Although, don’t just check if you’re due a refund with your current energy supplier.

Get in touch with your older suppliers as they may have credit leftover in an old account.

It’s predicted some £235 million is waiting to go back to people who overpaid on gas and electricity but didn’t get a refund when they left!

Getting an energy bill refund is easy – you just need to ask.

Paying out what?! – save £39

It’s always a good idea to take some time and have a proper look at your bank account.

Did you think it was a good idea to sign up for a snack box subscription at work, but it’s now got a bit samey?

How about those Peppa Pig magazines for your little one, who now isn’t so little, but they arrive every month anyway?

Then you’ve got gym subscriptions, TV or music streaming services or even delivery schemes.

Subscriptions services may have been a good idea at the time, and on their own don’t cost a huge amount, but having a few of them can hurt your bank balance. The average Brit can save £39 a month ditching wasted subscriptions.

Just take a look at your direct debits and standing orders, and cancel what you no longer need. It’s an easy way to cut back and save loads.