“Get a side hustle” is a common personal finance suggestion, whether it’s for paying off debt or building wealth. A whole bunch of those side-gig options went away when COVID-19 struck, according to veteran PF writer Kathy Kristof.
But “several industries are now picking up steam,” Kristof writes on her SideHusl website.
“Some are back from the dead, while others are simply ramping up to new highs for the holidays.”
Among them: warehouse work, delivery, pet-sitting, mystery shopping and, of course, holiday retail. In her article, “Jobs that are revving up and reviving,” Kristof doesn’t just make the observations – she also gives links to the sites where you can apply for these gigs.
SideHusl.com is designed to be the Consumer Reports for those on the lookout for work. Kristof vets the different options and offers a warts-and-all look at ways to make money. Bookmark the site, and share it with those in search of paying work.
Some winning options
The current Chugach Chocolates giveaway ends at 6 p.m. PST Tuesday, Nov. 17. Be honest: Doesn’t the idea of dark chocolate with Alaska kelp and cayenne pique your interest at all? Even if it’s in a horrified-fascination way? If not, you can choose four other varieties.
Money Saved is Money Earned will give a $150 Amazon gift card to one lucky winner. Maybe it will be you. You could use it to buy holiday gifts or to get something that you could really use, whether that’s wool socks or good books. Or maybe buy $150 worth of disposable diapers and drop them off at the nearest family shelter. Your call. The deadline is 5 p.m. PST Dec. 7.
Savings.com (aka Sivan Social) wants to help you buy in bulk, by giving away $1,000 worth of e-gift cards to Sam’s Club. That’s 10 cards, $100 apiece. The deadline to sign up is 11:59 p.m. PST Thursday, Nov. 19.
Linsey Knerl at Li’l Punkin is giving away two items from the L.O.L. Surprise! franchise. The items up for grabs are an Advent calendar (little doll plus new items for her every day) and some earbuds in a self-charging case. If you have small kids in your life, you’ll know probably more than you care to know about L.O.L. Surprise! – and if not, you could donate them to a holiday gift drive. Enter by 8:59 p.m. PST Wednesday, Nov. 18.
And speaking of holiday gifts: Apparently the hot gaming gift this year is the PlayStation 5. But why stop there? If you win the Sweeps.gg giveaway, you have your choice of three different prizes – one of which is the PlayStation 5 plus the Xbox Series S and a Nintendo Switch.
Don’t want that? Consider the one-two punch of an ASUS 165Hz gaming monitor and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 graphics gaming card? And if either of those things make as little sense to you as they do to me, Sweeps.gg has graciously offered a third option: $1,000 cash. Deadline to enter is 11:59 p.m. PST Nov. 22.
Social Security stumpers
Do you know the age at which you’ll be eligible for full Social Security benefits? No? You’re not alone: 97% of millennials, 90% of Gen-Xers and 80% of Baby Boomers (and those older) don’t know it, either.
“3 big misconceptions about Social Security,” an article from Money Talks News, also notes that quite a few U.S. residents don’t understand that if they claim benefits early, they’re locking down a lower benefit forever. Apparently some people think it automatically goes up to the maximum once they hit a certain age.
The Social Security system is confusing; so confusing, in fact, that sometimes its own employees give incorrect advice. However, “making the wrong decisions can cost you many thousands of dollars in retirement income,” the article warns.
Learn all you can before you make your own decision. Two crucial sources are the U.S. Social Security Administration and the AARP Social Security Resource Center.
Readers: Do you plan to hold off until full retirement age, or take benefits early?
Re: Social Security- Hubby would like to hold off collecting SS until age 70, even though his full retirement age is 66 years and some months. I have health issues, so I’m not sure that would be as beneficial as he thinks it will be. His grandmother died at 106, but his grandfather died much earlier. All we can hope for is an educated guess, I guess.
In the novel “Don Quixote,” someone observes that “Even the devil doesn’t know what’s going to happen in the future.” All we can do is guess.
If you are still working, you should wait because taxes will be higher when you add in SS. It really depends on if you need the money. Later on, you might be glad to have more SS income.
No one knows how long you’ll live. You could die tomorrow in an accident. They might develop some drug to benefit your health problems. Or you might live a long time with them. It’s a gamble either way.
If you do the math, starting with a realistic life expectancy (the average, after adding up and dividing, the ages of your parents and grandparents at death–barring accidents or other untimely events), and then multiply out your projected monthly benefit at each possible collection point, you are likely to find that, over time, you collect more overall if you claim early.
Month to month however, collecting early will result in a benefit that is considerably less. This is a significant consideration if you are going to rely on it for monthly expenses. If you don’t “need” it to get by, collecting early might be the smarter move.
We’ve been discussing this a lot ourselves lately.
That may be the case. Another reason to hold off is that some of us might outlive our other financial assets, such as a 401(k). If that were to happen, we’d be stuck at the lower Social Security rate forever.
I need to do some research. I want to make sure I have medical insurance when I retire so I’ll at least wait until I have Medicare. I will admit I dread trying to figure out Medicare. It sounds like a nightmare.
The AARP probably has some helpful information on that as well. I’m dreading it a little myself…
I am collecting early at age 62 and my husband will be doing the same. We paid into the Social Security system and would like to see some of our money back while we are still able to enjoy it.
Understandable. However, some people WILL outlive any other plans/monies set aside (if they had any, that is) and Social is all they will have.
More at:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/retirement/7-reasons-you-should-not-claim-social-security-early/ar-BBZ9cKf?pfr=1
Social Security has had some recent changes; they recently subtracted teen earnings up to and including age 22. I was a high school drop-out who had 3 and 4 jobs from age 14-22. (Nobody ever asked me for working papers, the employers paid in for me). There is a multiplier for inflation and whatever the minimum wage was at the time, which made my early earnings more valuable than the later ones, as I was employed by a state gov. for a long time. This past January I received a letter from SS saying that my earnings benefit had been “downgraded”. No explanation but I’d heard about the teen change on the news. The new projection says I’ll lose $500 per month, even if I work til 70, while previous estimates had been higher. I’m 65, still working but devastated by this change. I work 1/2 time in a public library in the South with no benefits. I’ve had this job for 13 years. Hope this info helps someone; please check your earnings on line so there are no nasty surprises! (Hello Donna)! Jersey girl in exile