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Save money at Christmas this year by making money and only using that to pay for the presents, food and festivities. In other words, go ‘cash-neutral’ this Christmas.

Here’s how you can do Christmas without dipping into your savings.

Sell your unwanted or unused items

This is a quick win and it has the extra advantage of helping you tidy and sort your home before the festive season too.

We like Gumtree for selling any items quickly and cheaply (well, for nothing much of the time!) to people in your area.

In fact, recent research from Gumtree reveals the average British household currently has 22 unwanted or unused items worth a potential £881 – equating to a whopping £17.7bn nationally, so there’s no better time to sell than now!

A Gumtree spokesperson says: “Many people are facing the squeeze this year for Christmas and need to look for solutions that will make the festive period special at little, or even no cost. From making a bit of extra money from selling once-loved items to put towards Christmas festivities to turning to local communities to easily and cheaply solve dilemmas like not having enough chairs and glasses, Gumtree is there to help.”

So here’s our guide to making the most money by selling your stuff before Christmas:

1. start with the small stuff

Basically, make it easy for yourself.

First of all, pick out things that are small, likely to sell quickly and won’t cost much to post.

Gumtree research shows the most common unused items in British households include clothing, small goods such as DVDs and CDs, electronics, books, and games and toys. These are all perfect items to easily package up and pass on to make some money.

That’s really:

Mobile phones

You could make between £5-500 depending on the make, model and condition of your phones by using our Mobile Phone Comparison Tool here. The beauty of using this tool is that you can sell your phone immediately and get the cash in straight away.

gadgets

Professionals look on the likes of Gumtree and eBay for electronic gadgets and bits in any state. They will pay quite quickly for laptops, iPads, games consoles and more, so if you’re looking for a quick sale, this is a great way to do it.

However, be aware that those who contact you quickly are people looking for a real bargain. They will get in quick but may offer you less than non-professionals will. So with these products it can be worth waiting – if you’re able to – for someone who wants to buy the item to use rather than to clean up and resell.

By the same token, though, if you have broken gadgets, wires and connectors that you don’t use anymore, those very professionals could be the best people to sell them to. Ordinary users don’t usually have the ability to mend these products so they wouldn’t be interested, but professionals would be interested in gadgets in any state – even for the parts. See what you can get online rather than just chucking them in the bin.

books, cds, dvds and games

You can get instant cash for these using the Ziffit app. It’s easy to use. Just download the app and then use it to scan the barcodes of any books, CDs, DVDs and games you don’t want. Once you’ve scanned them the app tells you how much they would give you for them and you can decide if you want to proceed with each item. The postage to Ziffit is free and they will put the money into your PayPal account pretty much straight away.

Admittedly you could probably get more for each item by selling them individually online but it would take a while and you would have to organise postage for each one which is too much hassle! However, with Gumtree, you can arrange for a local buyer to pick up the item from your home, or you can meet them in a nearby public area if more convenient for you, eliminating post and packaging costs.

2. then the clothes

high street brands

When it comes to clothes, there’s a big difference in price between brands.

You don’t have to have a wardrobe full of high fashion items for them to sell well. Brands like Karen Millen, Hobbs, Jigsaw, Ted Baker and Diva, for example, sell for good amounts.

Ideally photograph them on you in good light. Also photograph the label and any tears or missing buttons etc.

not so well-known

If you have a lot of clothes from Primark, M&S and other shops that aren’t so in demand, you can sell them for a decent amount by grouping them together and selling them as a job lot. So you could photo them spread out on the floor/bed and advertise them as, say, “Assorted women’s clothing size 12, 10 items”.

See what others are charging for this kind of bundle and put something similar as your price.

3. sell the big stuff to make room for christmas!

Selling furniture and electrical goods you don’t want in the run-up to Christmas gives you the double-whammy of bringing cash into the Christmas coffers while freeing up space in the house for any guests you’re planning on inviting!

Furniture and electrical goods

You’re definitely best off selling these on your local Gumtree as you can sell to local people who can pick up the items without too much fuss.

Do good, clear photos, see what others have charged for something similar and set your price.

You could be surprised by how much you make – furniture, bikes, children’s scooters and pushchairs all do well.

Remember to make a big thing of any special features – for example, if it’s 1970s vintage you can charge a lot more. Velvet is very fashionable at the moment so if you have any furniture that is covered in that, big it up!

your car!

Yes, now is a great time to sell your car if it’s hanging around in the front drive just gathering dust.

Selling your car would definitely pay for Christmas…and possibly give you extra to put away for Christmas 2019, so if you don’t need it anymore, save yourself the cost of insurance, road tax, repairs and parking tickets as well as making money on the machine itself by selling it now.

Gumtree is the UK’s fastest growing motors marketplace, so is the perfect place to sell or buy a pre-owned car. Head of Motors at Gumtree, Vik Barodia, offers some practical tips for car sellers to bear in mind before any money exchanges hands.

1. Set the stage: Be organised and prepare your paperwork (including your V5C, MoT certificate and servicing receipts) in advance. Give the car a proper wash and polish (or pay for a professional valet), vacuum the carpets and give the interior a wipe over. Look at how you can replace anything that looks tatty – from wipers to wheel trims to chips and scratches, small touches can make a big difference. Get smart repairs done to bumper scuffs and parking dents – mobile body repairs are very cost effective.
2. Make sure you have all the parts: Does the key or fob work in all the locks? Is there a spare set? Do you know the security code for the radio? Reassure potential buyers that you have all the necessary tools and accessories for the car you are selling.
3. Check out the competition: Search online sites to help you judge the right price to offer your car for. Check out what other sellers are offering and look at factors like mileage, condition and service history to help you make a decision.

For more tips on selling your car, as well as other items online, visit the Gumtree Blog. Gumtree’s  recently teamed up with the How to Academy and negotiation expert, Gavin Presman, to create a free guide to ‘The Etiquette of Buying and Selling Online’.

Make and sell Christmas goodies

If you’re handy in the kitchen you can make money by creating Christmas goodies and selling them at local car boot sales and markets.

Check out our article here about how to make money by baking cakes, sweets and jams and selling them locally, and this one which has everything you need to know to make money baking.

Home in on Christmas cakes, Christmas sweets (wrapped in cellophane with pretty ribbon tying it up), Christmas biscuits (also wrapped in cellophane) and even jams and chutneys if you are good at those.

hampers

Another big one to make money is Christmas hampers. As you can see in our article here, they’re not that hard to make. You can use pretty much anything as the ‘hamper’ including tote bags, plant pots, attractive dinner plates and even large cups.

You can fill these ‘hampers’ with homemade goods, or cheap smellies from the pound shop or your local market. They could also be filled with a mix of items, including perhaps bits and pieces you already have in your cupboards!

turn these into presents

The other good thing about making cakes or hampers to sell at Christmas is that you can use any you don’t sell as presents. It’s another win-win!

recycle and regift

Another great way to save money at Christmas is to see what you already have that could be turned into presents for friends and relatives.

• Do you have a nice vase that you could clean up, decorate with ribbon and tinsel and give to someone with some seasonal flowers?
• Or maybe a nice plant pot that you could do the same with? Get a nice Poinsettia from the supermarket (they go for about £5 each at Tesco) and transfer it to the pot.
• Are you good at sewing?

gumtree free stuff

Also lurk on the ‘Free Stuff’ section at Gumtree to see what people are giving away. You’d be amazed what you can get there for absolutely nothing.

The people giving things away on that section live in your neighbourhood so all you have to do is to go to their place to pick things up.

You could get ornaments, chairs, tables, bags of clothes or bed-linen and even tools there. Scour the page every day to see what’s being offered and if there’s anything you could turn into a gift (like a vase or photo frames or even kitchen equipment that could be turned into hampers) get in touch with them asap to pick them up for free.

more great christmas money-makers in our free ebook

Find out yet more ways to make money for Christmas and avoid a January financial hangover by downloading our FREE eBook on how to make money for Christmas, produced in association with Gumtree.

Go here to get your free copy.