The last three months of the year can be budget busters for many people. Many of us will do at least a little holiday shopping—if not a lot of it. Then there are industry conferences, business dinners, plus home and office parties galore for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and more.
All the while, your creditors still expect to get paid for everything from your cell phone bill to your rent or mortgage.
So if you need some extra cash to help with your extra year-end spending—or even if you could just use some additional bucks to cover your regular monthly bills, here are five ways to boost your bank account in the final months of the year.
Squeeze Money From Your Residence
Whether you rent or own, getting a roommate or housemate is one way to generate income. If you can tolerate having an extra person around, you’ll likely find takers willing to lease out a spare bedroom or space in your attic or basement, especially given the high rate of people being put out of their homes these days due to foreclosure. Tighter mortgage lending standards also mean that more people are unable to qualify for a home loan for their own place.
Two caveats though: if you are a renter, before forging ahead and taking on a roommate, be sure you’re not violating any clauses in your rental contract by letting someone else live with you. Also, if you want a roommate for just a few months, write up an agreement with the individual specifying when he or she is expected to leave.
Earn Cash By Being Neighborly
Most of us are overworked and often overwhelmed -— and that includes the people who live right near you. If you can help out someone who lives nearby, that’s not just being a good neighbor, that’s also a financially savvy move.
Let’s say you have great culinary skills. Find out if you can regularly cook or go grocery shopping for a neighbor. Someone elderly, sick or shut-in would welcome this help —- and pay you nicely too. Maybe you’re not an ace in the kitchen, but you’re handy around the house. Then why not make some cash helping your neighbors relieve their stress and their workload?
Provide an extra set of hands around the house and earn money for any of these tasks:
- Mow a neighbor’s lawn/clear debris from their yard ($15 to $20 flat fee)
- Shovel their driveway ($15 to $25 flat fee)
- Wash their cars ($10 to $15 flat fee)
- Clean their house ($20 an hour)
- Walk their dogs ($10 an hour)
By the way, now is not the time to be too proud to do some extra work for a neighbor. First of all, all honest and legal work is good work. Also, you may need the extra money for something critical, like your rent or mortgage payment. So if you’re truly cash-strapped, wouldn’t you be way more embarrassed for your neighbors to see you evicted from your apartment or home than you would to offer a neighbor a helping hand?
Offer to Babysit or Tutor Someone’s Kids
Ask any mother you know -— single moms and married women alike —- if they could use a break now and again from the kids, and you’re likely to get a resounding: Yes! As mothers we love our children, of course. But it’s a real help when we get a babysitter to take over for a few hours. Regularly-scheduled help is even better.
If you’re not cracked up to babysit someone’s kids—and by all means, only offer if you actually like children!—then maybe you can use a special talent or knowledge you possess to tutor a young person. Kids want and need special help or lessons in all kinds of areas, and many parents are willing to pay for that help.
Tutoring areas in demand include: reading, writing, math, science, sports, playing musical instruments and so on. Helping a child makes you a mentor, and gets you paid in the process. And by the way, you don’t have to be a whiz in any of these areas. As long as you’re proficient in a given subject or activity, that’s usually just fine for elementary or middle school-age children.
Get a Second Job or Part-Time Work
I realize that most people already work really hard, and might even be covering for recently laid-off co-workers. But if you can fathom the idea, consider getting a second job or part-time work, even if just for three months during the holiday season. This may seem like a burden, but trust me: the additional cash you amass will be well worth the sacrifice required to earn those extra dollars.
Whether you’re currently employed or unemployed, starting a side business can bring in some much-needed cash. Where to start? Think creatively and do something that flows naturally from your skill set.
Whether you turn a hobby into a cash-making business, sell new or used products online, or stuff envelopes for another business, the key is for your entrepreneurial pursuit to be a no-cost or low-cost venture that can be operated exclusively from the privacy of your own home. Why these characteristics? For starters, you don’t have the money to buy tons of products. You also don’t want to have to hire anybody or lease space. You want to keep all the money you earn, right?
“Ask The Money Coach†is a syndicated column written by personal finance expert Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, co-founder of the free financial advice blog, AskTheMoneyCoach.com. Follow Lynnette on Twitter at @themoneycoach.