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Do you work in tourism? Make your money work all year
Last updated:
06 August 2025
Summer has arrived, and for some of us, it isn’t just ice-creams on the beach and making the most of the sun (if we get any!) – if your work is tourism-based, it’s a busy time where you may make the bulk of your income. Tourists come and go, so you may notice that when visitors drop, you find yourself in a difficult financial position. However there are things that you can do to get you through those quieter months.
Prioritise your pension
While the tills are ringing, making sure your pension is in a good place is a good place to start. If you’re over the age of 22 and earn more than £10,000 a year, you’ll be auto-enrolled into your workplace pension scheme.
However, lots of summer workers do not meet that criteria, which means you have to enrol yourself. You may be tempted to put off putting into your pension, but it’s worth doing, even with seasonal jobs. Not only are you saving up your money, but your employer adds money to the pot too. And on top of that you’ll get tax relief on the income that you’d normally pay – which is essentially a top-up from the Government. Have a chat with your employer about it.
Ride that financial wave
When you work with tourists, your income is likely to fluctuate, which makes it difficult to consistently pay into your pension – it’s not easy!
However, you don’t have to put money in every month.
You can make the most of a busy summer season and top up the pot when you’ve had a good month and hold off when you haven’t - it all adds up!
Use MoneyHelper’s Pension calculator to figure out what you’re on track to receive in retirement and see how that can change when you put even a little in your pension during the busy summer period.
Summer savings and prepping for winter
While things are good in the summer, save save save. There are loads of ways to do it, but give our Savings calculator a shot, which will help you work out how much to put away and will give you some tips on how to stay on track.
Concentrate on that rainy day fund if you have some extra cash. If possible, aim for your fund to cover at least three months of living expenses. This money will help you out in an emergency if you have nothing coming in and have bills to pay.
But if you get to a quieter period and find yourself struggling, there are things you can do.
If you can’t pay your bills, check out our Bill prioritiser, which helps you work out which ones you need to pay first. Not all bills are equal when it comes to consequences.
You may decide that you need to borrow some money. Some ways are better than others when doing this, give our the best way to borrow money tool a go to make sure you do it as safely as possible.
And finally, our Debt advice locator tool can be a great turning point if you’ve missed or are unable to make an important payment like your rent, mortgage, or council tax.
