Jobless? Trying to live on minimum wage or unemployment? Retired but need more income? There are ways to earn some cash when you need some, either for short-term financial help or as a long-term money-maker.

1. There are a lot of businesses that need temporary or one-time help, and that is a good place to start looking for work. Examples include working as a department store Santa, selling Christmas trees or pumpkins at a store parking lot, picking fruit for a farmer, working summers in a National Park, or as a summer campground host, working at a carnival or county or state fair. They need a lot of help during the time the fair is running. That help could be you.

To find these temporary jobs, try your local employment office, newspapers, and craigslist. Start looking about a month before a fair, and all through the summer for work with farmers. You could also drive down some country roads to see if any farmers have posted “help wanted” signs in or near their filelds or orchards.

2. Another idea that has worked for some people is to offer your service for free for a week or so to someone needing help, then do a really good job at whatever work you’re doing, because you’re going to ask the boss for a paying job when the time is right. The hard part is putting yourself forward enough to do this, but you’re job hunting anyway, which is also a challenge, so you might as well try anything that will get you through the door and earning.

3. If you know how to do anything that other people will pay you for, then start selling your skills or products. Figure out the amount you need to make a profit on your craft or art and start selling.

4. If you have a home of your own, maybe you can rent out a room or two to someone else. Yes you lose some privacy, but you’ll probably gain some security and possibly a friend too. Don’t do anything illegal, and have some sort of system for checking out the people you want to rent to.

5. Volunteer anywhere, and do a really good job. Two different volunteer jobs I had led to a paying job somewhere else because the people I worked for appreciated my hard work, and wanted to help me out. They recommended me for a job, with someone they knew that needed a good worker, once they knew I was reliable and hard-working and could do the job.

This happened to me in two different states where I was volunteering on different projects, and I did not ask either of the people I volunteered with to help me find a job, they just did it.

Remember the pay might be minimum wage but it’s more than you’re making now, besides if you do a good job you will often get invited back next year.

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