I work for my best friend’s parents. We are managers of their campground. His dad is an old school worker so we never hire professionals unless truly need to. We cut our own trees, lay our own sewer lines, do our own electrical, and we are laying out 10 more sites this year, along with concrete for patios. So we don’t just manage we do all park improvements by ourselves.
I make $24 dollars an hour at about 37 hours a week. The season is roughly 6-7 months out of the year. Along with wages I am provided housing and a vehicle.
The season has just started and I didn’t receive a raise from last year and since the season is starting up I asked for one. I was declined because my “ compensation exceeds any raise”. I understand that not paying rent or car bills saves me and my fiancé roughly18,000 for rent and 1,200 on car insurance ( I pay for my own gas) but I take about $20,000 home by the end of the year.
It’s fun work and I love building their company but I’m struggling all winter since it’s seasonal. I have found other winter jobs but it’s not easy telling a hiring manager I’d only work for five months and then I have leave.
My buddy doesn’t really mind any of it because he’s promised the campground when they step down and he tells me I’m right there with him. I’m just struggling every winter and have no savings.
I noticed this pattern two years ago and left to work at a hotel which was open all year and I made 35,000 that year paid 1,500 in rent and owned my vehicle. I was able to save around 4,500 that year.
While working at the hotel the camground called me and said they would like me to come back and they would buy a house for me to stay in rent free. This also came with a raise from 20$ to 24$. Which at the time sounded awesome.
This will be my 6th year here and at first seasonal was great cause I love to travel but I’m 33 now and need to plan for my future. Am I just bad a saving or is this job a loop that I’ll never make financial gain from.
Wages are good but I’m failing to save money.
byu/Opposite-Gift9109 inpersonalfinance
Posted by Opposite-Gift9109
12 Comments
This is obviously a dead end job and you should leave. You need to find a new job for 12 months of the year. It would also be good if the new job pays benefits
rent-free housing is nice, but it doesn’t pay bills in the off-season.
i’d stop treating this like a normal job and treat it like seasonal work: during the 6-7 good months, you need to be stacking enough cash to survive the winter.
also… “you’ll get the campground someday” is not compensation unless it’s in writing. until then, i’d keep looking for year-round work or a winter job that actually covers the gap.
The hotel said they would buy a house for you to live in? That seems a bit unusual…why don’t they just pay you more and let you take care of your own housing?
Where are you spending your money? You need to look at bank/credit card statements and figure that out, then get on a budget. Even if you leave this job (which I agree with others that you should) your money habits will follow you, you have to get control of the bleeding or it’ll be the same if not worse.
You are not bad at saving, its just that you are in a setup that makes it really hard. Free housing and a vehicle sound great, but with seasonal work and about $20k take-home, there’s no real cushion for winter. The issue isn’t discipline, it’s inconsistent income.
You’ll get the campground someday isn’t a plan unless it is actually in writing. Right now you’re trading long-term stability for short-term perks. I’d either push for year-round pay or guaranteed winter work, or go back to a steady job where you already know you can save, stability matters more at this point.
If you genuinely love this job, you need to pair it with a reliable off-season position. What are the requirements to become a substitute teacher in your state? That would be one option that might fit well with your campground work.
$39,200 total value from your job… That’s not a good wage. You can only struggle making that much in the US. You need to find more steady work, additional off season jobs, higher paying ones… You can’t budget your way to a retirement on $40K.
How’s unemployment where you live? I work in road construction. Sometimes winters can be slow. Last summer I worked for a paving contractor. Season wrapped up right before thanksgiving. Got unemployment from then to when I started working again last month. Though I’m union and my job search requirement is having my name on the out of work list at the hall in my state for the non for referral people that have to search for work their job search activities can be “watching videos related to your job search.”
Sorry I wouldn’t call 24 an hour for only 7 months a year “good wages”. Your gross income is like 30k with no benefits? Granted you are provided housing which helps but this is still likely not a viable long term career.
You like “building a company” that isn’t yours. You have 0 equity in this, your friend does.
Invest in yourself and work towards earning more elsewhere. Otherwise you just live paycheck to paycheck with no ability to save for your future
Keep in mind that your current wages and benefits are your compensation package. Any promises for a future “something” are verbal right now and not worth the piece of paper they (aren’t) written on.
Your buddy is in his parents’ will and I’m sure he has the best of intentions because you are friends, but legally the camp will be his and his alone. He will need to make tough decisions based on the economic realities of running the campground and if he has to cut costs then you will be cut before he is. There is zero future security outside of the good will of your friend and his parents.
The other part of this is that even if he decides to put you on the campground legally, then what? Joint inheritances like this are a nightmare in families; it may be even worse for you without familial ties. You will always be the guy who isn’t the primary heir. What if one of you wants to take the camp one direction while the other thinks a different direction would be better? Your buddy is always going to win that argument because it is his camp.
What are you doing the other 5 months of the year? Get another job, working half a year is really a luxury hardly anyone can afford
this is exactly why I’m grinding trade school right now: the math on seasonal work always looks good until winter hits and there’s nothing. $20k a year with no savings after 6 years is a tough pattern to break. Have you looked into what trades they use at the campground? You’re already doing electrical, sewer, concrete – that’s certifiable skills that could get you year round work