If you’re a teacher, you know summer vacation isn’t the life of luxury many people assume it is. In fact, it can be extremely stressful to not receive a regular paycheck during those months off. While many teachers plan and save for summer during the school year, it’s still challenging to stretch approximately nine months of pay into covering bills and living expenses for a full year. To help you pad that budget, here are five summer jobs that are just right for teachers. They’ll bring in some extra money and leave time for rest and relaxation. Perfect!

Tutoring and Test Preparation

Your knowledge and teaching experience will serve you well as a tutor or test preparation instructor. Whether you offer your services independently or sign on with a local learning center, you’ll be doing what you love most — helping kids learn.

Cater Waiter/Bartender

If you waited tables or tended bar during college, it’s time to brush up on those skills and use them to make some extra money. But rather than committing to regular shifts at a restaurant or bar, sign up with a few local catering companies. They will call you when they have work available for parties and other events and it’s up to you to accept or decline, so it’s easy to fit into your schedule.

Special Event Worker

Many of the year’s most exciting events, concerts and festivals happen during the summer. And if you get a job as an usher, ticket taker or concession worker at a local venue, you’ll have the chance to see (or at least, hear) them for free, and get paid to do so. It’s a great way to stretch your entertainment budget while pocketing some extra cash.

House & Pet Sitting

Want to take a mini vacation and get paid to do it? Offer your services as a house and/or pet sitter. Staying in someone else’s home for a few days (or longer) while they’re away is a fun way to enjoy a change of scenery without traveling too far. You’re basically getting paid to relax and stream Netflix in air conditioned comfort. What’s better than that?

Online Entrepreneur

Do you have a great sense of style and an eye for bargains? Buying clothing, shoes, handbags and accessories at yard sales, thrift stores or on clearance, then reselling them on eBay or an app like Poshmark or Tradesy can be highly lucrative. It doesn’t take much work beyond writing good descriptions and mailing out packages.

If you take on extra work and find it’s still difficult to make ends meet on a teacher’s salary, call us! Credit Counseling might be just what you need to start down the path to financial stability.