With holiday shopping right around the corner I tend to keep a close eye on the bottom line, my budget. This can be very difficult for me since I love to buy gifts for people!
I have been a stay at home mom for almost three years now and I love it. I love being a stay at home mom, from cooking and cleaning my home to wiping runny noses and playing with my children. Being a stay at home mom is incredibly rewarding and very entertaining. I love everything about being a stay at home mom except the budget.
Being a stay at home mom means that we are living off of one income. Living off of one income means that we live with a budget and make some compromises when it comes to purchases. This is very difficult for me. If I want something, I want it! So I have found creative ways to make some cash for my holiday budget.
When I had my first child and started to get bored sitting at home I joined an online babysitting website and started looking for simple jobs that I could do with my child. For example, most babysitting websites also have pet care as an option. Since we love dogs and I am able to take my son in his stroller with me to walk a dog, this was an easy option.
Another creative way I have made cash is quite simple, driving. This is a job that my children can do with me. I strap them into their car seats and we are off. My job is to pick up a child from school and transport them to their afterschool activity. This is a quick and easy job that puts money in my money jar. As an added bonus I happen to like this family a great deal.
My driving job has turned into a babysitting job on occasion. I am not an in-home daycare, nor do I want to be. I like having the freedom to head out the door whenever I need to with my children. At the same time, I love kids and I miss being in the classroom teaching. Babysitting on occasion is easy for me and feels just like a play-date minus the extra adult supervision.
I blog. This is the newest addition to my creative ways to make money. My blogging started out as a way for me to share information. I started noticing other sites doing product reviews and thought, I can do that too! So I started writing product reviews, hosting giveaways, and writing posts for companies. This is my latest obsession and so far I love every minute of it!
Another way to make money while staying at home is to become a work from home mom. These jobs are great if you can get them and know where to look. A friend of minerecently informed me that http://www.workingmums.co.uk/ is a great online community for working mothers and worth a look. I have a family member that works part time from home and loves the flexibility it allows her with her toddler.
I know that staying at home is not something that everyone wants or is able to do, and I get it. I know that there are those days when I am ready to pull out my hair and cry. Everyone has them. One of the most difficult obstacles I run into on a daily basis is making my budget work for me.
With holiday shopping getting ready to take off, every penny counts. I hope that you found my creative ways to make cash helpful and you are able to apply it to your life if you so choose.
