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6 Real Ways You Can Make Money As a Stay-At-Home-Mom

6 Real Ways You Can Make Money As a Stay-At-Home-Mom

StickyNote_6RealWaysToMakeMoneyAsASAHMIt’s no secret, I’m a stay-at-home-mom and I love it!  There are so many positives to being home with my kids all day!  I know I sound all “chummy” and“happy go lucky-the world is full of rainbows,” but I really do love that I get to be home with my kids and also create income doing some of the simple and complicated things I do as a mom.  If you have read a lot of my blog posts you know that I’m very business-minded, God just made me that way.  In high school I spent all my time running our school store, as well as being a part of every business club our school offered and competing at the National level in many of them for things like Job Interview and Desktop Publishing.  By the time I graduated I was determined to make a million dollars before I turned 30 with my own business.  I was an entrepreneur from the get-go.  Now, I’m proud to say I’m a MOMprenuer and love that I can have the best of both worlds.  You don’t have to put your dreams of working and creating an income on hold just because you are now a mom and spend the majority of your day cleaning up spit-up and dirty diapers.  Trust me moms, I know!  I’ve been there and I’ve just passed the potty training stage for my youngest and am literally doing the happy dance!  Through all the stages of my 3 kids, I’ve kept a candle burning for my business dreams and am happy I’ve not quit.  When the kids were babies I was not able to spend as much time working as I can today, but being a mom comes first above any work EVERY DAY.  I’ve learned ways to work in a little bit of work here and there while I’m doing the mom thing and I’ve gotten pretty good at it.  Here a couple quick ideas of ways to keep working during the day when you are in full-time mommy mode – then, I promise I will give you some REAL ways you can make some money:

  • Make A List (I actually keep 2 at all times): Keep a notebook/notepad with you when you are being mommy-chauffer taking kids to and from school, soccer practices and dance class.  Jot down a list of things you need to do that day for your personal life when you are a stop sign or waiting on your kids during practices – like chores, phone calls you need to make, cleaning you need to do, etc.  I’m slightly crazy, so I actually have 2 notebooks that I take everywhere – one is for my personal life and the other if for my business.  Anytime I think of things for either one I add it to the list.  Oh and because I’m always thinking about coupons/groceries, in my personal notebook I always have a running list for the grocery store.
  • K_Kenz_work_webSchedule Your Time:  This is a no-brainer.  In order to be effective both as a mom and as a MOMprenuer you MUST schedule your time.  I know so many moms who struggle with time management.  They get so wrapped up in doing something silly (like watching a quick program on TV) that all a sudden the whole morning is gone and they didn’t get anything done.  I’m a huge fan of scheduling – and I’ve found that when I get up early in the morning and start the day with a some strenuous exercise as well as a good cup of coffee and some quiet time with the Lord and my Bible I have a much better day.  That helps me get going and then I can attack the day.  I will then spend the next 10mins before kids are up to get out my personal notebook and make a list of all the things I want to get done that morning while my older kids are at school.  I try to block out about 45mins each morning to spend some time working in my office.  I allow my youngest son that time to pick out the educational games he wants to play on my iPad and this is his only chance during the day to play uninterrupted (from his older siblings) on my iPad.  It’s a win-win and I know exactly which tasks in my office I want to get done and I set right to it (because I had already made my list).
  • Get Off Facebook:  Yeah, I just went there!  I mean it.  Get off your phone.  I’m so bad at this, but I try to be present for my kids when they are awake.  Let’s be honest, there is nothing more annoying than trying to talk to someone who is also checking their Facebook or phone at the same time.  Imagine how this feels to your kids?  Plus, think of how much time you truly do WASTE on Facebook.  A lot huh?  I understand, I have the same problem!  But I’m really trying to work on it.

Now on to the good stuff, 6 REAL Ways to Make Money as a Stay-at-Home-Mom and here they are:

  1. Start using coupons regularly.  Start to think of them as paper money, which they truly are.  Every single coupon you have is just like a couple quarters or a crisp dollar bill.  While they may not actually make you money – they will keep the money that you have made in your wallet by not having to pay as much for the items you need.   If you need help getting started with coupons download my FREE ebook – 7 Biggest Mistakes Couponers Make.
  2. Consign your old clothing.  This is a great way to make couple extra bucks on something you were going to donate or give away.  Go through your closet and your children’s closets and take all the stuff that is still current and in great shape to a consignment store and watch your account collect money!  You can get paid with a check, or you can buy clothing directly with the money you just made on the clothes you brought in.  It’s a win-win!
  3. Join an online selling group like VarageSale – it’s a local community app that you can put on your smartphone to buy and sell anything you have or want to have!  Clothing, household products, toys, shoes, etc.  All you do is take a picture of the item and pick a price and upload it to the group.  I personally love my community Varage Sale group and love that I can sell stuff without having to ship the items out.  Your community members just stop by your house or wherever you plan to meet them and yOu are done!  Check out VarageSale.com and see if your community has a group and get involved.
  4. Have a Garage Sale!  I love, love, love, love garage sales!  They are one of my favorite things to do from spring to fall.  You can make a great amount of money and get ride of a ton of stuff all in a matter of days!  It’s wonderful!  Make sure to check your community and home owner’s association for any rules they may have regarding garage sales.  My community is pretty strict, so I have to really be careful.
  5. Blogging is another great way to generate an income.  Set up a free blog and start writing.  What you have to say may go viral!  I love blogging, it’s a great way to relieve stress – it’s almost therapeutic to me.  Plus I love “meeting” new people online!  You never know what post will skyrocket your blog to the top of a search result.  Add some affiliates to your blog and you can start generating some income right away.
  6. Network Marketing – consider working part-time for a network marketing company.  There are many out there that have amazing products that you can share with people from makeup, to bags, to health and wellness products.  Choose whichever one fits you best and get online and start marketing your business.  Of course, I have my favorite that I think is best and would be happy to share it with you if you want to know how I make extra money.  Leave me a comment or shoot me an email and we can set up a time to talk to hear more info.  You also need to download this FREE eBook that I have written – 5 Financial Success Secrets For Stay-At-Home-Moms.

Hope this list helps!  If you have any questions, let me know! Love ya all!

 

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February 20, 20150 commentsRead More
Help! I Use Coupons, Why Am I NOT Saving Money?

Help! I Use Coupons, Why Am I NOT Saving Money?

7BM_LandingPage2My my long anticipated couponing eBook, 7 Biggest Mistakes Couponers Make,  is finally finished.  I’ve been working on this eBook for the past several months and I’m so excited that I’ve finally finished it!  This is my very first eBook and I hope there are many more to follow in the months and years to come.  This particular eBook is full of practical advice and useful tips to help both the newbie and experienced couponer succeed with couponing!  All seven mistakes that I’ve discussed are my own personal mistakes that I’ve made on my coupon journey, and I wanted to share them so you can avoid the same mistakes I’ve made.  

I’ll answer one of the questions I hear most often, “I use coupons, but why am I not saving any money?”  This is a common misconception of couponing – just because you use coupons, doesn’t mean you are going to save money.  There are a lot more factors that contribute to big savings at the grocery store.  7 Biggest Mistakes Couponers Make discusses all of these misconceptions and provides practical advice on how to really save your family some money at the grocery store. 

Download my FREE eBook right now and please share it with your friends and family, and with anyone you know who needs help couponing!

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January 24, 20150 commentsRead More
Katrina’s Coupon Tip #4 – Hunt for FREE Inserts

Katrina’s Coupon Tip #4 – Hunt for FREE Inserts

CT4_HuntForFreeFREE coupon inserts can be found in all sorts of places!  You just need to be creative!  On Sundays mornings make a stop at your favorite bagel/coffee shop – you can usually find a discarded Sunday paper lying around.  Ask the owner if you can have the coupon inserts!  Try any place you can think of where people like to go sit and read the paper – places like bookstores, restaurants, coffee shops, even grocery store coffee shops.  Be honest and make sure you ask permission before you take home any inserts!

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January 14, 20150 commentsRead More
Katrina’s Coupon Tip #2 – Get Organized

Katrina’s Coupon Tip #2 – Get Organized

CT2_GetOrganizedYou must have a system to stay organized.  There are a bunch of different systems you can utilize, you have to find what works best for you.  I love my coupon binder.  It’s big, has a handle, zips up, and I take it with me to the grocery every time I shop.

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January 1, 20150 commentsRead More
Katrina’s Coupon Tip #3 – Utilize Rebates

Katrina’s Coupon Tip #3 – Utilize Rebates

rebateRebates are a MUST-DO by anyone looking to save money and score FREE stuff! Are you now scratching you head wondering what I’m talking about? Free product rebates are usually found in the newspaper coupon inserts and will say,“Try Me Free.” These are available because the manufacturer wants to get consumers to try out a new product.  That is exactly what you do! You pick up the product at the grocery store and mail in your receipt and you receive a rebate check or gift card in the mail! You just scored a FREE product!

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Katrina’s Coupon Tip #1 – Don’t Be Greedy

Katrina’s Coupon Tip #1 – Don’t Be Greedy

CT1_DontBeGreedyDon’t become greedy by not letting any coupon you have to go waste.  Just because it’s on sale, and you have coupon, doesn’t mean you actually need it.  If you can’t use, don’t need it, or know someone who does need it, then don’t buy it.  Leave it for someone who actually needs it to purchase it.

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December 29, 20140 commentsRead More
Katrina’s Coupon Tip #4 – Dig for Coupons

Katrina’s Coupon Tip #4 – Dig for Coupons

You’ll laugh, but I actually found a big stack of coupon inserts this morning on a walk with my youngest son.  We had just dropped the older two kids off at school and decided that since it was warm out, a whopping 34 degrees, that we might as well get some exercise and take the long way home from school.  We walked our regular route around the block, and it just so happens to be Thursday.  Thursday is trash pick-up day in our neighborhood, and usually the trash man comes pretty early.  We have several different trash companies that you can pick from and between the regular trash pick-up and the recycle pick-ups I honestly have no idea what time they come or whose truck is for which service.  But I do know that they come on Thursdays and I’ve seen a lot of recycle bins out in front of several neighbors houses (yes, I’ve walked our neighborhood and searched for which neighbors recycle).

I know of a few specific houses on our regular walking route that have a recycle bin for newspaper and if I happen to beat the trash man, I will go insertStackthrough their bins and help myself to their discarded coupons.  After all, one mans trash is another mans treasure!  So, this morning, I actually found a giant stack of coupon inserts from one single recycle bin in front of a neighbor’s house (this is the actual picture of the stack I found)! I was beyond excited! I plan to visit that neighbor later today and give them one of my “Coupons Wanted” fliers so they know that I would love to collect their discarded coupons and would be happy to stop by on a regular basis for any coupons they don’t want, especially now that I know they don’t seem to use their coupons.  

‘Shopping’ your neighbors trash bins is a great way to find out who uses their newspaper coupons and who doesn’t.  If they continually throw their coupons away then don’t be afraid to knock on their door and see if they wouldn’t mind saving them for you instead.  Nothing was ever gained by not asking.  Don’t be afraid to dig through trash bins, recycle bins or other places you find coupons discarded.  I look at discarded coupons as money – each one really is just like a dollar bill.  You would never throw away money would you?  Happy digging!

Have you ever dug through your neighbor’s trash for coupons?  Leave me a comment about the best coupon you found while digging!

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November 20, 20140 commentsRead More
7 Steps To Keep Your Kid’s Clothes Organized

7 Steps To Keep Your Kid’s Clothes Organized

I have three kids, so we have a lot of clothes…we all know that kids grow like weeds and it seems like every time I turn around another one of the kids has outgrown one size and have moved on to the next size.  If you are anything like me, I’m sure you are scratching your head wondering what to do with the clothes or shoes that they just grew out of, while still considering if you should save those items for their brother or sister.  If you do decide to save the items, then how would you organize them?  How can you remember where you put them when it’s time for the next child to use them?  What system should you use?  Help!clothes2

Katrina to the rescue!  I have been there and totally understand how daunting this task can be, especially if you are trying to pinch pennies and be as economical as possible.  I’m no expert, but here is they system I have come up with over the years to keep my 3 kids clothes organized by each season and ready for the next sibling to use.

Katrina’s Organzied Kid’s Clothing System:

  • Step 1: Shop at Garage Sales.  I shop for 95% of my kids clothes at Garage Sales in the summertime and I try to buy for that upcoming year for the needs that each child might need.  I have an older boy, middle daughter, and younger boy.  In a perfect world, I want my boys to share as much as possible.  A lot of times this doesn’t happen because boys just tend to be harder on their clothes, but I try to pass as much down from my older son to my younger one.  There are a few items that my daughter can share from the boys as well, but usually she gets her own stuff – lucky girl!
  • Step 2: If It’s a Really Good Deal Buy It and Save It.  I try to buy stuff at garage sales only for that next upcoming year so I don’t have to organize and store as much stuff, but there are plenty of times that I run across a really great deal on something that I absolutely purchase and save for the next couple years before my child can use it.  A perfect example of this is a winter coat.  I found an awesome deal on a very warm winter coat in excellent condition for my daughter that was a size 5T.  When I found it she was only a year old.  But, I knew she would eventually grow into it and it was worth buying and saving until she was ready to wear it.  Be careful using this system, you can find yourself with a TON of stuff to store for the upcoming years and you have to be careful that you don’t forget what you have already bought.
  • Step 3: Save Boxes or Storage Totes.  Ever since my first son was born I have been saving his diaper boxes.  I would use them for all sorts of things, but quickly I realized how great and convenient they were for storing his clothes that grows out of.  If you don’t have diaper boxes readily available, then collect some storage bins, totes, or other boxes.  Diaper boxes are wonderful because you can store stuff in smaller portions and break down the contents by size and season.
  • Step 4: Make Labels.  This is VERY important!  I make labels for my diaper boxes.  You can make them however you want, but I have BOY labels that are blue and GIRL labels that are pink.  I made my labels in QuarkXpress and I have them   broken down from baby sizes like GIRL 0-3 Mths SUMMER all the way up to BOY 7 WINTER.  You can break them down into whatever options you want.  I also have a few that are for shoes that say SHOES 0-5 GIRL.  I print them on regular paper and then I keep a big stack of the various sizes my kids are in at that specific time in a little box along with a big roll of packing tape on the top shelf of my son’s closet so I have them readily available when I need to quickly pack up a box.diaper_boxes_clothes_labels
  • Step 5: Label Two Sides Of The Box. Make sure to print extra copies of your labels and label two sides of your boxes.  I put a label on the length and width side of every box so that no matter which way I have store my box you can see the label.  And make sure when you do store your boxes that you always store them with a label out so you can quickly know what is in each box.
  • Step 6: Have All Your Supplies Readily Available.  When my youngest son was a baby he had his own room.  I would put an empty diaper box on top of his dresser in the closet and I would tape a label to the box of whatever size he was currently in at that time.  Since babies grow of out clothes very quickly, as soon as he would move on to a different size I could quickly throw those items in the box.  This works out great when you realize that adorable onesie you loved will no longer snap and rather than try to figure out what to do with it, I would just toss it in the box.  Done.  Simple.  Easy way to deal with a problem especially when you are so tired with a newborn! Then once the box is full you close it up and store it, and start over with the next diaper box you purchase.
  • Step 7: If You Don’t Reuse Your Items, Then Sell Them.  I use this system for all three of my kids and since I only have one girl, I am able to sell a lot of my daughter’s clothes online to my VarageSale group or for your own garage sale.  Using this system it keeps all my clothes organized and very easy to grab sizes and resell.  It’s also great when a friend needs a certain size and season of an item and I know exactly which box to grab to find those things.  Plus, it feels great to be organized!

 

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October 31, 20140 commentsRead More