I found the perfect side hustle to earn money this year on my own schedule: substitute teaching

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• Inflation has made everything more expensive this year — and I knew it would hit the holidays hard.
• A friend suggested substitute teaching as a way to get extra income in a way that fits my schedule.
• The pay isn't great, but every little bit helps, and it's nice getting involved in my kids' schools.

The holiday season means making memories and magic, seeing loved ones, singing old songs, and dancing to new ones. The holiday season is about laughing, feasting, and making children smile — joy, peace, love, and cash. Like, a lot of cash.

We can all agree it shouldn't be. Consumerism isn't the most poetic theme for the biggest holiday in the US, yet it's inevitable. Trust me, I've tried it all. I've tried giving homemade gifts and telling family we were too poor to give any gifts. I've tried limiting my kid's presents and limiting our Christmas outings. I've tried recycling the holiday dresses of years past, I've tried signing up to bring the cheapest dish to the holiday potlucks, and teaching my kids that it's better to give than to receive. And still, when the credit card bill came in January, I could barely bring myself to look at it.

This year has been more expensive than ever

This isn't to say that trimming down the budget and finding ways to save through the holiday season is futile. I'm sure I've saved thousands of dollars through these efforts. But I've also spent thousands over the years. Because if you celebrate at all during the holiday season, it will cost you — even if it's just a coworker roping you into the office gift exchange.

In the past, it's been a stretch (thus, my frantic attempts at cutting back), but nothing a holiday bonus couldn't handle in the end. However, this year was different. Our family has been experiencing the same mysterious leak in our bank account that everyone else has reported this year.

And despite my husband and I making a higher combined salary than ever, we've never been less financially equipped going into the holiday season. And the cavalry isn't coming — our Christmas bonus is now a March bonus.

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I needed a way to make extra money

Thankfully, I saw the financial issue Christmas would pose for our family back in June, and this year, instead of scrambling to find ways to save a buck, I decided to flip the script and make a buck.

The best part of my job as a freelance writer is the flexibility it offers. But as flexible as it is, I am also a homeowner and a mother of three small children. I have many responsibilities, and only a handful of side hustles would work for my schedule.

I needed a job I could work whenever I wanted that had the same hours as my kids' schools. This demand isn't as delusional as it may sound. It's the job description of a substitute teacher.

Substitute teaching is the perfect side hustle for me

A friend suggested substitute teaching to me this summer when I was spinning in pre-holiday financial anxiety. What I liked best about her suggestion, beyond the perfect way the schedule aligns with my own, was that it would allow me to get into my children's schools.

We live in a large district, so I knew it wouldn't mean hanging out in my kid's classrooms every day, but it has meant seeing them in the halls, getting a sense of their schools' administration, and the district's overall philosophy. After working at my daughter's middle school a couple of afternoons in a row, her principal called and invited me to join a select committee that would make significant decisions that will affect each of my children as they grow.

Of course, I could have achieved all this simply by joining the PTA, which I've always done. But the difference is that, unlike volunteer PTA work, substitute teaching will also pay for my family's Christmas.

The pay isn't great, but I'm glad I'm doing it

As a bonus, like most school districts in the US, the schools in my town desperately need substitute teachers. Since I'm in awe of my children's teachers, what better way to show my appreciation than covering their shifts so they can have a day off, too?

Still, my greatest relief is that we can afford Christmas this year. Sure, I'll still look for financial corners to cut. I'm hardly raking it in as a substitute teacher. The pay is as bad as you've heard. But it's a surplus income going towards inevitable surplus holiday expenses.

Once the holidays are over, I plan to continue. Because those scary lights keep popping up on our dashboard, tax season is just around the corner, and after that, we'll have birthdays, and … the list never ends. I'm sure I'll have less time and more money someday, and substitute teaching will be the necessary trading card.

But for now, going into this season with a chunk of money designated for the holidays, I feel better than I have in the past, looking for ways to pay less, pay later, or trying to avoid paying at all. And, if you have the time and the qualifications for your state, I'm just saying — they always need substitute teachers.

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