Fatten Up Your Bankroll for Christmas

“Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat…” It’s that time of year again, but while the geese may be getting fat, many families are finding that their bankrolls are woefully thin. Families could benefit from the help of a payday loan to have a stress free lead up to Christmas and enable them to make all of the necessary purchases for the big day. The desire to go all out with presents, food, decorations and festivities is so deeply ingrained that many people end up piling on the debt, putting a damper on what should be the most joyful of times. It can be particularly difficult if there are small children in the picture; you know what they say about Christmas being for the children. Mustn’t let the little ones down! (Of course the retailers profit handsomely from nurturing this parental guilt.)

The good news is that it is possible to celebrate the Yuletide season fully and richly – and yes, even to give your children a Christmas to remember – without all of that guilt and stress. All it takes is a bit of diligence and a lot of determination. You simply need to make a commitment to earning more, spending less, or both. Here are some tips for fattening up your bank account.

Rack up that overtime!
If you can’t squeeze any more earning opportunities from your present situation, taking on a second job to supplement your earnings just might help to get you through the season. Certainly many storekeepers and restaurateurs are hiring seasonal help, so it will probably not be very difficult to find a part-time job (or maybe even two jobs, if you’re really energetic and ambitious). Just make sure that you don’t overextend yourself and spend so much time working that you have little time and energy left to spend with your family. After all, Christmas is about families, and to paraphrase a song that is sometimes played during the season, it’s not the presents under the tree that are important; it is your presence with your loved ones that make Christmas a truly special time.

Avon calling?
Selling is not for everybody of course, and frankly multilevel marketing or network marketing has left a bad taste in the mouths of many people because of the hype and the dodgy marketing perpetrated by some companies. However, there are many legitimate, time-tested organizations with good products, and direct selling can be a wonderful way to earn a little extra cash for the holidays, so don’t overlook this possibility. You’ll certainly be in good company; the Direct Selling Association (DSA) reports that it sees an upsurge in seasonal selling during Christmas time. Of course this may mean more competition so keep that in mind. Even so, there are many opportunities from which to choose and if you are working with a product line that you enjoy yourself or that you really believe in, you may find that you do quite well even if you do not consider yourself a natural born salesperson. There are direct selling opportunities for almost any category of product you can think of: cosmetics and toiletries, cooking equipment, clothing, baby supplies, jewellery. Startup costs are a consideration; according to the DSA they average about £100 for a business kit and sample products.

Open your home to perfect strangers
Maybe it is not your lifelong dream to be an innkeeper, but if you have a comfy living space, a spare room or two, and rudimentary hosting skills, you might find that taking on lodgers during this busy season is just the thing to make your Christmas – and theirs – extra merry. Particularly if you live in an area that sees a lot of tourism this time of year, this could be a splendid opportunity to pick up some extra cash for the season. You can take out an ad in the local papers, or do it the modern way by registering your place on one of numerous websites that will allow you to rent your room or rooms out for as little as one night or for as long as you wish. These sites will of course take a percentage of your accommodation fee, but they are an excellent solution if you want to save yourself the administrative hassles.