By Raquel Riquezas

Latino consumers’ spending continues to expand in the US and that growing buying power is ever more present during the holiday season. As you know, we all love to get into the holiday spirit, gathering with friends and family, going to parties and, of course, presents! 

However, as much as we love gifts and gift-giving, every year the costs put a strain on Latino families financially. According to Deloitte’s 2022 Holiday Retail Survey, this year Americans are expected to spend between $1,000-$1,400 on gifts, which constitutes approximately 65% of most families’ budgets. The worst part is that many families put most -if not all- of it on their credit cards, which makes them pay even more in interests and other card fees. 

We all know budgets are tight these days and going the extra mile will make a big difference on how you end the year and begin the new one financially. With all that in mind, you might be thinking about how to make some extra money this holiday season. 

Here are some ideas for you to make the extra cash you certainly need:

1. Pet-sitting fun! If you are an animal lover and have the space in your home, you can enroll to be a sitter for pets. You can go the techy route and enroll in an App like Rover to offer your services or just create a Facebook page and promote among your friends, family and neighbors. Fees range around $35-$55 per day.
   
2. Overtime piles up. Request to work overtime for the next 6 weeks at your job and see your weekly paycheck increase, put all that extra cash into your holiday spending.
   
3. Retail bucks. With increased shopping, all major retail stores are hiring extra help for the season. Review your regular work schedule and find time slots in which you can potentially work to make extra money each week.
   
4. Drive, baby, drive! One of the easiest ways to get those extra bucks these days is joining the gig economy with a driving job. There are several options to choose from: from food delivery through DoorDash or UberEats to driving people via Uber or Lyft. Choose your hours, make the money, at your pace on your own time!
5. Selling online. You may want to take a good look around your house and do a virtual garage sale with items that are in good condition but you are not using anymore. Besides that, you can also make goods to sell like cookies, tamales, sofrito, ponche or coquito.

Working for that extra money to be financially ready for the end-of-the-year celebrations is the smart way to go, but don’t forget that the most meaningful gifts do not cost any money. After all, the time spent with family and friends is the most valuable thing we can give or receive during the holiday season and beyond!

Happy Holidays!