Kelly's Thrifty Tips - Looking for Seasonal Work?

Now is the perfect time to start looking for some seasonal work. Some people use seasonal work to make a little extra money for the holidays, but it can also be a good way to get your foot in the door.

Places to look:

The mall. Retail stores are always a good place to start looking, and no time is better than now. Many stores begin hiring around October in order to get that needed extra staff for the upcoming Christmas season. Don't just think about clothing and gift stores either. There are lots of purchases made in electronics retail locations and craft stores as well.

Restaurants are often busier around the holidays, especially establishments in and around the mall. So be sure to give those a check as well.

Courier companies like FedEx, DHL and UPS also often hire people temporarily. They have jobs like package handlers, drivers, dock workers and mechanics.

You can also find lots of jobs through temporary agencies. I did all kinds of temp work one holiday season from working through a temp agency.

Photo studios have a higher influx of pictures taken in the holidays so don't forget to check with these places.

Another great place to look is with your seasonal recreational areas. You might find something good at Arizona Snow Bowl perhaps.

Cleaning services. With busy work schedules, holiday planning and shopping. There will be more opportunities with cleaning services.

Don't forget to check with catering companies, restaurants that cater, hotels and restaurants that do banquets to take advantage of business Christmas parties.

How to find those seasonal jobs.

1 - Go directly to the source. When at the mall, check in with the various stores and food court shops. Don't just rely on signs saying that they are hiring. Ask at the service desks. Talk to the employees. Be friendly.

2 - Check online.

snagajob.com (lists seasonal and hourly jobs and has great job hunting tips)

Your area newspaper will usually have online listings. In fact that is how I found my job.

summerjobs.com (type in seasonal in the search box)


3 - Ask around. Now this one is kind of obvious, but seriously take advantage of your network. Ask friends and family if they know of any places that are hiring seasonally.

Now onto some freebies and deals.

Saturday, September 25th is the 6th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day. You can print out a ticket (one per household) that will enable you and a guest to have free admission. You must have the ticket in order to get in. Follow the link below for more information.

LINK: Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day

Here is the list of museums I found on their page for Arizona.

Amerind Foundation Museum

Dragoon

Arizona History Museum

Tucson

Arizona State Museum

Tucson

Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum

Bisbee

Casa Grande Valley Historical Society and Museum

Casa Grande

Cave Creek Museum

Cave Creek

Challenger Space Center

Peoria

Deer Valley Rock Art Center

Phoenix

Desert Botanical Garden

Phoenix

Desert Caballeros Western Museum

Wickenburg

Fort Lowell Museum

Tucson

Heard Museum

Phoenix

International Wildlife Museum

Tucson

Jewish History Museum

Tucson

Mesa Historical Museum

Mesa

Phippen Museum

Prescott

Pioneer Museum

Flagstaff

Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park

Phoenix

Rim Country Museum

Payson

River of Time Museum

Fountain Hills

Sharlot Hall Museum

Prescott

Show Low Historical Society Museum

Show Low

The Bead Museum

Glendale

The Mini-Time Machine Museum of Miniatures

Tucson

University of Arizona Museum of Art

Tucson

Zane Grey Cabin

Payson


As I do with free entries, give the museum of choice a call to see what restrictions they may have. The above are all links to the Smithsonian's pages on each museum.

Okay...I hate to say this but, I am beyond devastated. I just spent HOURS on listing some freebies and deals, and everything somehow got erased. Sooooo now I have to redo it. Unfortunately I have to go to bed so I will redo most of the freebies tomorrow. Here are a few that I can slip in for now.

If you are a Costco member you can sign up for a free sample of Bausch + Lomb Biotrue contact lens solution. I love this stuff, because my son can bring it to school for those little emergencies that can happen to a contact lens wearer. I also love that it is free. :)

LINK: Bausch and Lomb Biotrue

Redbox has a promo code for a free movie rental. It says that it will last until 11/30 (of course one time use per account). Here is the code: 4RMQRDX

While supplies last, hook yourself up with Mariani Cinnamon Raisin Bread Raisins. It sounds like a bit redundant, but they have really tasty dried fruit snacks.

LINK: Mariani Cinnamon Raisin Bread Raisins

Okay this is really cool, and it is the last thing I am going to mention before I hit the sack. Amazon has a group you may want to join. It is called Amazon Mom. You do not have to be a mom to enter. You can be a dad or a caregiver to a child. With it you will get 30% off diapers and wipes on Subscriber save, AND three months of Amazon Prime which translates to free 2 day shipping! YAY! I already tried that out myself today and ordered a workout dvd with some of the credit I saved up from my Swagbucks Amazon codes. With the free shipping, I paid nothing out of pocket! Get details at the link below.

LINK: Amazon Mom


I'll be adding more freebies as the day goes on so be sure to check back.

Back with a sample. I am not normally a Cream of Wheat fan, but when they came out with their instant in different flavors, my opinion changed. While supplies last, you can try their new Cinnabon flavor. Just follow the link.

LINK: Cinnabon Cream of Wheat