Holiday Season Slowdown
Holiday parties signal the end-of-year slowdown.
In December, projects may wind down, emails slow to a trickle, and clients may quietly disappear as they head off for their own celebrations or take a year end vacation. For traditional workers, this can be a welcomed slowdown. However, for an independent workers who are not on salary, this lull can impact your budget.
What can you do to manage this potential downtime? What are the options?
Some independent workers take on a holiday side hustle, others save and some tighten their budgets.
Sara had a great hustle that reconnected her with friends. She worked as a contracted learning designer and, every year over the holidays, she swapped out her laptop to work in the retail rush to stave off the downturn in learning design work. “I work at Banana Republic to make extra money and buy my holiday gifts at a discount,” she told us. “Learning design can slow down during this time so I go back to my university job casually or part-time to help out with the holiday rush. I love reconnecting with my BR people, and helping customers buy beautiful gifts. There are several of us that have other jobs and we do this as our side hustle. It gives me a break from my desk work plus it helps carry me through to the end of January when projects pick up again.”
Jackie adopted a super saver mindset. As a contracted dental hygienist, she made a financial commitment to save each month for the slow December season. "I make an effort every month to put money away so that when December rolls around and work is slow, I'm not in a panic," she shared. “I don’t like to get behind in my bills because my income drops in December. Plus, I get to spend more time with my daughter because she’s out of school for two weeks and I don’t have to pay for childcare.” When the new year rolls in, new dental plans also kick in and she becomes busy again.
Kade tightened his budget. As a freelance social media marketer and videographer, he mastered the art of tightening his budget. "Basically, I bum off my parents at Christmas,” He added with a grin, “They don’t seem to notice.” Video production slows down for him during December, but he is able to manage his regular clients’ social media from a distance while he is on holidays. “Also, I don’t buy gifts. Instead, I video our family get togethers, compile and edit them into a mini-production and then I send it to everyone as my gift. They really like it and it saves me money.”
Depending on your industry or projects, the end of the year may be a slow month. It is important to plan ahead and prepare financially. Once you discover what works best for you, you will look forward to the holiday season and the new year that is just around the corner.