Seasonal Help

Doing some contract work on the side has been a routine for me for many years.

One of the places that I contract for I've been doing it for 11 years now! I started randomly back in 2013 and I haven't looked back since. It's definitely an important way to try and get ahead in the world, where there are a lot of ways in which we are able to make some extra money. There is certainly an opportunity cost because that means I get to spend less time at home with my wife and son. The ebb and flow of the working world!

The challenge can be when do we take the time? I definitely want the money, and appreciate getting the work but the challenge for me is that the timing where they are doing most of the work. I guess it doesn't make a huge difference because with every season with us there is something to do.

The autumn is a popular season for the contract work though, damn it! haha. I've mentioned many times that autumn is definitely my favorite season, with the beautiful colors, comfortable temperatures and all that. It also comes with me weighing the various commitments. We have a lot of parties and things like that we go to, and plenty of fares and events so the weekends are filling up. I can't resist though when I get a text from the managers at the places looking for help. Gimme that money baby! :D

Springtime is certainly also popular which gets in the way of the fishing my son and I do, but that doesn't bother me as much as getting them in prime autumn season.

The challenge too is that these things aren't forever. I certainly hope it doesn't but the businesses could close randomly perhaps, and then I would be out the extra work. The work is also relaxed and enjoyable for me, so there are a lot of benefits compared to some of the other work I was doing previously. I am very fortunate that I was able to get a second gig but these things are potentially finite.

I think that's what helps motivate me to take it when you can get it, knowing that I won't be able to get the work forever for one reason or another. Hell I could get hurt, which I certainly hope that would never happen, but I'm also a realist. I try to never take a day for granted!

One of the other good things lately is that my son has gotten better at understanding that I need to go to work. Before I would never be able to tell him that I have to go to work the next morning and that he won't see me, so that he wouldn't be sad and wake up crying if he hears me get ready. These days, as he's gotten older, he just asked me to tell him when I am working so he knows and isn't worried I am gone for several days. This has worked out because he's much better about me leaving in the morning than he was before.

I think it's still tough to work several jobs but it goes back to doing what we can to get ahead in the tough world that we live in. It's also a bit of the American way to do things, work really hard when you are young so that hopefully you can enjoy things when you get older. There's no way that the systems in place right now are going to be around when I get to retirement age, so we gotta do what we can to save the money now and never depend on anything later.

What about you, do you try to do extra work when you can? Does it get challenging to continue to do it or not? Let me know in the comments!