This year’s holiday spending is expected to top last year’s by 3% or 4% — pretty hefty, considering the average American was expected to spend more than $900 on holiday gifts last year. It’s time to start planning on how to bankroll Santa.
Make a little time each week until Christmas to focus on at least one of these. Do all of them, and you can easily build a shopping fund that’ll help you check off everything on your list!

Open a Separate Savings Account

When I was growing up, my mom’s strategy for saving for Christmas was simple: Part of her paycheck automatically went into a special bank account she couldn’t touch until the holidays. I don’t celebrate Christmas with gifts as an adult, but I still use my mom’s out-of-sight, out-of-mind method to build my savings for other things. You can open a savings account at your local bank branch, but my suggestion is to go with an online bank — you’ll be less likely to withdraw the money. There are a bunch of great online banks, but one of our favorites is American Express because right now it’s offering an interest rate around 100 times what a normal bank offers (with no monthly fees). Here’s the promo link: Even better? If you don’t spend it, your balance in that account earns up to 1.25% interest — over 100 times more than regular bank accounts.

How much you could bank for holiday shopping: Make a goal to set aside $20 per paycheck, and you can bank more than $40 without noticing.

Share Your Receipts With This Company

From cash-back websites to better deals, we’ve found tons of ways shopping online can help pad your bank account. Here’s one more — and it’s super simple!

With Earny, you can get money back for the things you buy online.

Earny scans your inbox for receipts and tracks the items to find price drops. Then it takes advantage of retailer and credit card company price protection policies to negotiate money back on your behalf. So if you’re doing some early holiday shopping, use this service to make sure you’re getting the best price on everything — and even earn some surprise refunds! If you’re just building your shopping fund for winter, consider doing your regular shopping online, so Earny can help you put some of that money back into your bank account. How much you could bank for holiday shopping: Depends on how much you shop.

Sell Last Year’s Secret Santa Disaster

Still holding onto last year’s uninspired Secret Santa gift from Susan? (For crying out loud, Susan, you could muster a little creativity.) Sell it. She’ll never know. You can list just about anything on Letgo, a peer-to-peer marketplace app. Just snap a flattering photo of whatever you want to sell, and spend less than a minute creating your listing. In no time, it’ll become someone else’s treasure! How much you could bank for holiday shopping: Depends on what you sell! Aim for $50.

Earn Cash Back for Your Everyday Purchases

This one is set-it and forget-it. Dosh automatically gives you cash back for making purchases at more than 100,000 hotels, online stores and restaurants — including Starwood Properties, Marriott, Cost Plus World Market, Nike, Target, Chuck E. Cheese’s and many more.

Just follow these steps to start earning:

1. Download the app and sign up.
2. Securely connect a debit or credit card.
3. Live your life, and watch the cash roll in. The app will automatically watch your purchases and reward you with cash back as you shop.

You can also collect a $25 bonus for booking your first hotel through the app, as well bonuses for referring friends and local businesses. How much you could bank for holiday shopping: $25-plus

Make Money While You Watch ‘A Christmas Story’

An app called InboxDollars will actually pay you to watch videos. They’re not as thrilling as Miranda Sings or anything — but remember, you’re getting paid. The videos are sponsored by brands that need to get them in front of as many eyeballs as possible. Every time you watch one of the ads, InboxDollars will credit your account with a little bit of cash. That’s a pretty fun way to relax at the end of the day — and put some extra cash in your pocket. Bonus: You’ll get a free $5 just for signing up. How much you could bank for holiday shopping: $5-plus

Roll Your (Digital) Change

When I wanted to start saving money, I knew I needed to try Acorns. It connects to your bank account, plus credit and debit cards, to invest your spare digital change.
I spent about 10 minutes setting it up, and I saved $116 in three months without even realizing it. At that rate, you could easily save $420 this year without even noticing a change in your budget. Plus, you’ll get a free $10 when you make your first investment. That’s enough to cover one Insta-worthy road trip this year. How much you could bank for holiday shopping: $35 (It depends on how much you spend!)

Upgrade Your Credit Card Rewards

If you’re not using a rewards credit card to pay for your groceries, you’re missing out on free money. (One obvious caveat here: This only works if you pay off that credit card balance every month to avoid paying interest.) Credit card rewards programs can be confusing, though, because each card gives you different rewards for different purchases. Managing all your points and rewards can be a challenge, especially if you’re juggling more than one card. To get the most out of your rewards cards at the checkout counter, try using Birch. The free app keeps track of your spending and helps you maximize the rewards you’re getting, whether it’s travel rewards or cash back. Birch plugs into your bank account and credit card accounts (with high security) and analyzes your spending habits. It recommends what cards to sign up for and which to use for your most frequent purchases. For example, it might suggest you buy products at your favorite grocery store with a specific card that gives extra points or cash-back rewards for grocery purchases. The average American shopper could be earning $600 in credit-card rewards per year, Birch co-founder Alex Cohen says, referring to a Bureau of Labor Statistics finding that the average consumer spends $2,165 a month on groceries, gas and other “credit-card eligible” expenses. Don’t miss out. How much you could bank for holiday shopping: Unlimited! Depends on which cards you use.

Harness Your Online Snooping Skills

Earn Money for Healthy Activities

Need extra motivation for your daily workout? The health app Achievemint lets you earn money for completing healthy activities. Connect Achievemint to workout apps like Apple’s Healthkit, Fitbit, MyFitnessPal, RunKeeper, Rundouble C25K, Twitter or any other app you already use to track your health and fitness goals. You’ll choose which data to securely share with Achievemint to earn cash for your activities. For example, you can earn points for logging your weight with MyFitnessPal or hitting step goals with Fitbit. You can earn cash in $10 increments in cash or an Amazon Gift Card when you reach 10,000 points and there’s no limit on how much you can earn.

Plus, you’ll earn 10 points just for signing up with Achievemint and connecting an app today!