Part-Time Jobs Are Unreliable Now — Redditors Say It's Changing How They Budget
Part-time jobs have grown increasingly scarce in 2026.
It reflects a broader slowdown in hiring, especially among entry-level workers. Job openings requiring no experience have fallen 73% over the past four years, according to data from Cadient reported by Forbes. Consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas expects 2026 to be the worst summer on record for teen hiring, since the government started releasing data on it in 1948.
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Many Americans are crying out for help on message boards like Reddit, asking how to manage their money without supplemental income. Here’s how fellow Redditors recommend they change their budgeting.
Budget Only With Guaranteed Income
On one Reddit thread, user Hodorrny chronicled how they kept falling short with their budget because they kept budgeting with an assumption of part-time freelance income. But that income proved irregular, so it kept derailing their budget.
Eventually, they switched their budget to only include their “guaranteed” income from their full-time job. Now when they earn some extra income from freelance work, it goes straight into savings and investments.
Trimming your budget can be a bitter pill to swallow, but as Redditor AdmiralPeriwinkle wrote, sometimes you just have to wait out periods of lower income: “A lot of us are going to have to buckle down and take whatever we can get for a year or more.”
Reduce Food Costs First
Behind housing and transportation, food is the third largest expense according to the most recent data from the USDA. But food spending is far more flexible than housing or transportation.
“A big thing to lower costs is groceries and cooking,” posted Salt-Sea4553 on this Reddit thread. “Definitely do ingredient cooking and look for grocery deals/sales. Limit pre-packaged food because that’s where they get you. Also, no name brand things, generic only.”
Invest Time in Saving Money
If you can’t raise your income by working part-time right now, put that time into lowering your expenses.
Becoming a better cook can certainly help, as Salt-Sea4553 pointed out. But you can also learn to grow your own food by gardening, mend or even make your own clothes, make household supplies instead of buying them and so forth. This is one of Reddit's longest-running pieces of timeless advice, as evidenced by this old thread:
“My wife and I (have) been producing most of our food for the past 38 years,” posted His_Self on Reddit. "We do all of our own home repairs and improvements. We have a root cellar, a large pantry of canned goods and a pair of 25-cubic foot freezers. Like you we make extensive use of food dehydrators as well. We've been cutting each other's hair for 40 years.”
Embrace Free Entertainment
On the same thread, Momsome wrote “Library membership saves me a ton on audiobooks, books, ebooks, movies, music.” Some libraries even lend out jigsaw puzzles.
Likewise, you can cultivate hobbies like hiking that are virtually free. Learn some new card games. Download free party games on your phone like Heads Up and invite friends over.
Paying for entertainment is a privilege. Get creative and find hobbies that either cost nothing or actually save you money — like making or modifying clothes or doing your own home improvements.
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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