Holiday Time Yay!

One of the things that I both love and hate about being a swimming teacher (at my pool at least) is that we follow school’s terms, so we get school holidays off. So, lots of holiday time yay!

NO!

Not Yay!

It always means so much time without money! The two weeks’ holidays during the year is normally okay, as often we run a holiday program so it technically only means one week without money, but it is the Christmas break that absolutely kills me every year. We get about five weeks off, from before Christmas to nearly the end of January.

This is the time of year where the most money is spent, on presents and then at the boxing day sales...this is the worst possible time to not be working. It is where I need to be working the most!

I need the break for my skin, hair and general wellbeing to recover from the high chlorine exposure and the troublesome children I need to teach.

It is, what, new year’s? So, I am only two weeks into my break, three more weeks to go, and I am already struggling with my budgeting. I worked extra, and planned for this, but really, what kind of teenager is actually capable of sticking to these plans especially when I am trying to maintain some kind of social life?

Every year I try and do the whole Christmas casual thing, but every year I fail again and again. No one wants to hire an old teenager (far too expensive) with no experience (on the slight chance they would pay, they don't want to be training that someone). And I’m far too loyal to my current workplace to consider working for another swimming school, a few weeks a year, just for the extra $$$$.

And so, the cycle goes around and around and I never actually solve anything...fun times, right?

Happy New Year!