The internet is abuzz with money saving tips for the holidays and for good reason: According to a Gallup poll taken in October, the average American will spend $786 on holiday gifts this year. That’s a lot of money for many Americans in a struggling economy.

Some of the ideas out there are for the really frugal; Daily Finance has an article on those who cap their holiday spending at $2 per person. Others are more realistic. Kristl Story from TheBudgetDiet.com has a guest post on Moneysavingblog.org with some great ideas on how to save on those gifts, including using discount gift cards. And Mary Hance on Tennessean.com has 25 tips on saving, ranging from setting realistic expectations, to finding free gift wrap.

With six weeks left until Christmas we here on the blog will be giving some of our best tips for finding some extra cash this holiday season, starting with tips for those who plan in advance all the way up to some last minute tips for…well you know who you are!

Tip #1: Sell Your Old Phone

There has been a busy secondary market online since the rise of Amazon and eBay. Until recently, however, there haven’t been secure guaranteed websites that buy your used goods for quick, hassle-free payouts.

One of those sites is Gazelle.com, which buys your used cell phones, iPads and more. While you’re not getting much for that old Blackberry, if you just upgraded your phone and have an old iPhone, Samsung Galaxy or iPad, you can get as much as $300 for your trade-in. How’s that for a boost to your wallet before the holidays!

Tip #2: Sell Your Unwanted Gift Cards

Another item (or items) millions of Americans have laying around at home is unwanted gift cards. 80% of shoppers expected to give gift cards as gifts this holiday season, and 60% of people say they would like to receive a gift card this holiday season, topping the wish list of those polled in the NRF’s annual gift spending survey.

Just because people give gift cards on a mass scale and people want gift cards it doesn’t mean they make a great match. Studies show people tend to give gift cards to stores they enjoy, not those the gift recipient would enjoy. The result? Billions of dollars in unwanted gift cards.

Selling gift cards online is now a secure and hassle-free process without the risks of selling on eBay. CardCash.com buys unwanted gift cards for as much as 97% of the value on the card. Each card has a different payout but if you can sell a couple of gift cards that aren’t being used anyway you can earn some real hard cash or Amazon dollars for those unused gift cards. Go ahead and try it-sell gift cards to CardCash.com today!