It’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.
- Schedule 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:
- 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.
- 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!
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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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