With the holiday shopping season right around the corner, many Americans are considering bringing in extra cash. Empowered Planning founder Shinobu Hindert joins Wealth! to discuss her top tips for picking up a side hustle.
“You can start by just assessing your skills and what you’re interested in and consider seasonal work. This is a great time of year for that,” Hindert tells Yahoo Finance. The author and financial educator notes that there are increased openings for retail jobs and restaurant staff around the holidays, which could be great options for seasonal work.
In addition, she points to pet and house-sitting opportunities as many travel for the holidays.
For those who pick up side work to bring in extra money, Hindert emphasizes the importance of setting up a budget. She also recommends setting up a separate savings account for money to be set aside in and avoid going “overboard” on spending.
Hindert notes that it takes Americans about five to six months on average to pay off the credit card debt accumulated during the holiday season: “So if you are going to add extra expenses like these buy now, pay later options, set a limit on that.”
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This post was written by Melanie Riehl
Video Transcript
With spending for the holidays on the rise, you might wanna make a little extra money for that spending cash and here with some of the tips to do just that we’ve got Shanab Hinder who is the financial planner and founder of Empowered Planning.
Shanab.
Great to have you here with us.
So how does someone find the best side hustle for them ahead of this holiday season?
You can start by just assessing your skills and what you’re interested in consider seasonal work.
This is a great time of year for that.
Indeed.com just published the 10 fastest growing seasonal jobs.
And at the top of that, you have a retail sales associate restaurant staff.
So if you know you’re gonna shop at a specific store anyway and you like it, see if they’re offering part time opportunities for you to get a job there.
Um You can also look at pet and house sitting services.
A lot of people travel during the holidays.
So they don’t want to leave their houses unattended, they don’t want to leave their pets sitting, you know, in a, in a kind of pet hotel.
So look at sites like rover and wag if you want to dog sit and look for other of those task rabbit upwork, you can do gig economy work.
Um This could be something like graphic design or handyman work.
It could also just be helping out busy parents who want to decorate their home with and also gift wrapping.
So if you have a car, you can do food delivery services or Uber or Lyft, there are lots of opportunities this holiday season.
And so with all of that in mind, say you’ve been able to successfully look at your calendar, look at your schedule, add in perhaps a little side gig to make a little extra cash as well.
Then it comes to budgeting on the other side of that.
So how do you build a budget for the holidays?
And and as they say ball on a budget if you will, you should make a list of categories instead of just saying like this lofty holiday budget.
What are the people that are on your gift list?
Are you going to be traveling set, entertainment budgets or maybe it’s buying new holiday decor and make the list with the limits on there?
So you don’t go overboard if you have the opportunity to, I would set up a separate savings account where you’re carving up money right now.
Now into this account to know that’s my holiday budget.
So you have visibility into how much you’re spending and then leverage budgeting apps like you need a budget or honeydew rocket money and there’s even something called Christmas gift list tracker.
Oh, interesting.
Ok. All right.
I wrote those down, you know, just additionally while we have you here.
II I wonder for, for those who have built their budget out and, and are trying to make sure that they don’t go overboard but they know that they’re gonna perhaps have to swipe or tap a credit card at some point or another.
How can you implore smart spending?
Even as we were just discussing the amount of promotions that are gonna be out there and ensuring that you make it through this holiday season without going into or adding on too much more debt.
Try to avoid taking on that credit card debt.
It looks like Americans on average.
It takes them about 5 to 6 months to pay off credit card debt that they accumulate during the holiday season.
So if you are going to add extra expenses like these buy, now pay later options, set a limit on that to say I have wiggle room of $300 extra a month I can put towards that.
So don’t go over that amount and just get used to saying no or uh you know, different options that are available because you don’t want to be digging yourself out for five months just to give somebody a gift.
That’s not what the holiday season is about.
Uh Absolutely great point.
And just lastly, here as you think about making it through and, and paying down some of that.
How do you begin to kind of on the other side financially plan for paying down that debt knowing that, hey, I didn’t try to take on this much debt during the holiday season, but I also don’t want it to take five months to pay down on the other side of that.
How can you kind of, uh, snowball that if you will?
It’s really important right now to look at what you have available in your discretionary income because if it is only 200 a month or 300 a month that you have, it has to be within the confines of that.
So, rather than putting something on a credit card, you can do these buy now pay later options, but once you get to that $300 leave it at that.
And then when January comes, you’re not having these moments of shock or shame that’s often associated with it.
So keep it within those limits and use an app.
So you have alerts, you’re keeping it top of mind and you’re not, you know, checking it out on your credit card statement a month later.