5 Seasonal Job Ideas To Earn Extra Holiday Cash

November 01, 2017

Whether you’re a holiday purist who loathes the fact that Christmas displays start popping up even before Sweetest Day, or if you’re one of those who is excited that certain radio stations are already playing holiday tunes, there’s no escaping that the beginning of November pretty much means we’re off to the races for the holiday season. I personally LOVE this time of year — any excuse for merry-making is a good excuse for me! But it’s also a time of busy-ness and stress, and can also get very expensive if you’re not careful.

If you’re looking for a way to help balance the budget against increased spending on things like gifts, travel, meals, etc., how about finding a way to earn some extra bucks? Here are five flexible ways that you can work into your schedule.

  1. Delivery driver — As online shopping continues to take over, more drivers will be needed to deliver purchases to shoppers. For example, Amazon Flex allows drivers to choose when they want to deliver and can be a quick way to pick up an extra fifty bucks for a quick after-work or weekend delivery shift. Look to bakeries, flower shops or meal services for seasonal opportunities as well.
  2. Grocery shopper — Most large grocery chains now have at least one service that allows customers to submit orders online for delivery within a certain window. The delivery shoppers choose which orders they want to fill and the tips aren’t bad either — one of my friends squeezes in a few shopping runs between work and picking her kids up from after-school sports, and it’s allowed her to completely fund their next family vacation.
  3. Pet and house sitting — I’ve personally done this to boost my holiday budget, although the most plum earning opportunities are on the actual holidays, so if you’re one who travels or doesn’t have time to run out for a few hours before serving the holiday meal, it may not work. There are services that allow you to sign up as a contractor and they set up the clients in exchange for keeping up to half the fee, or you can just post in your neighborhood Facebook group or send out the word at work that you’re available to help out with pets and empty houses while people travel.
  4. Gift wrapper/order filler — Many department and big box stores offer complimentary gift wrapping during the holidays, so if you’re pretty good with your hands, this could be a fun night and weekend gig that could also allow you to exercise some creativity. Are there any small businesses in your community that have a large mail-order presence? My mom worked one season for a local gift shop where she hand-wrote all the notes that went with gifts that customers ordered. The coolest part was when she had to write a note from one country music star to another.
  5. Retail — This one may be the most obvious, but it’s still worth mentioning. I’ve held several seasonal retail jobs, including a season at Michael’s Crafts where I became known as “Yarn Kelley” for my Type A obsession with organizing the yarn bins. It’s hard work, but if you’re just doing it for a few weeks, a few shifts at a time, the money adds up and it can also give you an appreciation for your non-retail day job. Just take care not to spend all your earnings taking advantage of the employee discount! (and consider wearing compression stockings)

With a little creativity, there are earning opportunities all around you! Just be sure that you are strategic with the extra money — maybe open up a separate account to make sure you don’t fritter it away or designate the money to pay a certain bill like your cable and internet for the winter months.

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Are You Ready For This Trifecta Of Budget Breakers?

August 29, 2017

As August winds down, we are entering what I call the “Superbowl” of budgeting season. This is the season where some of us will be victorious and have at least $1 left by 12/31 and others will have bank accounts on life support, crippled by the big three: Halloween, Thanksgiving and the granddaddy budget killer of them all, Christmas.

Worse still, once your bank account has made the final death spiral in the form of an American Girl doll purchase, you may be tempted to turn to credit, which ultimately extends the crippling. To increase the chances you’ll survive with your bank account intact, NOW is the time to start planning. Here’s how I get ahead of this trifecta of expensive holidays:

Halloween: Are you one who goes all out for Halloween by decorating your home and hosting a party in addition to buying everyone costumes for trick-or-treating? Then you need to start saving now. Log in to your account and add up your spending from October of last year — that amount is your Halloween budget. To make sure you have enough set aside, divide that total by how many paychecks you have between now and October 31st, then save it each paycheck until Halloween. I also start shopping online now for costumes on websites like Party City, SpiritHalloween, or Amazon for the best selection at the best prices.

Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving seems innocent enough, but it is crawling with budget busters. Daycare for kids on school break, travel and Thanksgiving Day meals can wreck havoc on your finances. Start asking around early to find a family member that may be able to watch your kids during Thanksgiving break. If you’re planning to travel via airplane, train or bus, buy your tickets at least one to two months in advance. I recall the year we hosted Thanksgiving when we were on a much tighter budget. To help, I made it more of a potluck by assigning dishes to everyone, then we just supplied the space, dishes, cutlery and turkey, saving us a lot of money.

Christmas: Start making your list now for who you are going to buy gifts for, along with your budget. After-Halloween sales are a great time to buy gifts for kids who like to dress up; costumes are up to 70% off. Start shopping high-end consignment shops now for kids’ toys. I found that new moms and newlyweds appreciate picture frames, which are an inexpensive and easy-to-find gift. Get creative — one of the best gifts I received when my daughter was younger was from another mother who gave me coupons for free babysitting. If everyone loves your chocolate chip cookies, consider baking a huge batch, then packing them in decorative tins from your local dollar store.

Now that school is back in session, the next couple months are going to fly by. You’ll be making New Year’s resolutions before you know it. Taking the time now to plan for the holiday trifecta will go a long way toward helping your budget (and your sanity) survive the holidays.

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