If you have ever received a gift card you didn’t want, chances are you tossed it into a drawer and forgotten about it. What if I tell you this unwanted gift doesn’t have to be worthless? You heard that right! These gift cards can help you make money – you can sell them for cash. This article will discuss the best ways to turn gift cards into cash and show you who offers the most […]

By Merilee Kern, MBA December has a way of landing all at once: gifts, travel, hosting, and the usual year-end bills. Americans plan to spend generously anyway. The National Retail Federation expects November and December retail sales to reach $1.013 trillion, up 4.2% from last year, even though 56% of shoppers say the economy will affect their plans. The cash cushion behind that spending is thinner than the forecasts suggest. In the Federal Reserve’s May 2026 household survey, only 63% of adults said they could cover a surprise $400 bill with cash, and 7% said they’d sell something to manage it. Holiday spending is optional, but raising money before you shop beats hoping January sorts out December. Here are six ways to do it, ordered roughly from least effort to most. They differ a lot in speed and risk, so read the caveats.   Have you signed up for the Christmas or Hanukkah debt-free, stress-free sequence yet? Sign up here!   Sell Jewelry You Don’t Wear Broken chains, single earrings, inherited rings, and outdated bracelets can be worth real money, particularly with precious-metal prices elevated. Unvault lets you upload photos for a free preliminary valuation drawn from a database of more than 200,000 authenticated pieces, with metal and gemstone prices refreshed hourly. If you decide to sell, the company sends prepaid, insured shipping, authenticates the pieces, records the process on video, and sends a written offer showing the assessed value and expected payout. Transactions typically wrap up within several business days. You can also track a collection’s value over time, which is handy for insurance even if you never sell. Before you ship anything, ask what fees come out of the payout and compare the offer against one or two local buyers.  Rent Your Backyard as a Private Dog Park Sniffspot connects homeowners with dog owners who want a secure, private place to exercise their dogs. It’s popular with owners of reactive dogs and people without fenced yards. You don’t supervise anything. Guests handle their own dogs, and you control your calendar, pricing, and bookings, one booking at a time. Sniffspot says some hosts earn $3,000 or more a month, but those are top-performing properties, not typical results. Expect a 22% platform fee on most U.S. bookings plus processing charges, with payouts monthly. Check zoning, HOA rules, and your homeowner’s insurance first. Rent Out Your Garage, Driveway, or Storage Space Neighbor works like Airbnb for parking and storage. Its host guidance puts potential income at roughly $100 to $600 a month depending on the space and your area, and holiday visitors and seasonal clutter can drive demand. Hosts pay a 4.9% processing fee plus 30 cents per transaction. Earnings depend entirely on finding a renter, and monthly payouts won’t help with this December’s bills. Verify local rules, HOA restrictions, and insurance before you list.    You can use this Holiday Savings Tracker to start planning for the holidays and make good financial decisions this year. Grab it here!   Enter

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Two S&P 500 income ETFs, GPIX and OVL, are ahead of VOO on total return with two months left in 2026, while paying out 8% to 10% a year in monthly distributions. That is not supposed to happen. The usual deal with options-income ETFs is simple: you get a big monthly check, and in exchange … Read more

Another dividend income update. Last year we didn’t go away and I was feeling pretty down between October and March. The darkness and cold rainy weather was getting to me. Therefore, we booked a trip for this year. We are heading to Cancun, Mexico for … Read moreOctober 2026 Dividend Income Update The post October 2026 Dividend Income Update appeared first on Genymoney.ca.

🎙️ Episode #512 – Need $50K in two years? Another rental could set you back. I share four smarter ways to generate cash now while… The post DON’T Buy Another Rental If You Need Cash in 2 Years appeared first on Coach Carson.

                                                               The month of September 2026 is another month of dividend income landing in my accounts.  Due to becoming debt free, I changed my pay myself model. Starting the beginning of August 2021, I am paying myself 30%, just like before. This will now consist […]

Listen to the pod Five financial advisers say the same thing: a good salary does not fix a money problem. Sammie pulls together their best advice on lifestyle creep, impulse spending, saving in your 40s and when you actually need an adviser. Episode 199 of The Money Gains Podcast is a compilation. Sammie stitches together clips from five earlier interviews with Jason Butler, Andy Hart, Emmanuel Asuquo, Holly Guscott and Pete Matthew, then adds his […]