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missyc
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Do you have a sewing machine? Could you do alterations, mending for friends/family?
What about making those knotted felt blankets-easy to do and great for baby showers, christmas, etc. The kids could even help tie the knots while watching TV in the evenings!
Ever try your hand at cake/candy/cupcake decorating? Lots of holidays coming up where those could sell quickly. Just a few thoughts.
missy
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JodieLyn
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I was going to suggest baking.. you're home, it's somewhat forgiving of needing to stop and take care of things.. it can be done at a myriad of times through out the day so you don't have a small window for doing it.
Breads especially, can be fairly low cost to make and sell for good prices (higher return on your money).
Consider variation.. like breads with no soy.. soy is quickly becoming a major allergy and most breads use a soy oil or soy lecithin.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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jawgee
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SallyT wrote:
And Melinda, who are these mom bloggers telling you what to buy? I need somebody to tell me what to buy, too.
Sally |
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http://thekrazycouponlady.com/ is a good one!
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Monica
C (12/2001), N (11/2005), M (5/2008), J (8/2009) and three angels
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SeaStar
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jawgee wrote:
SallyT wrote:
And Melinda, who are these mom bloggers telling you what to buy? I need somebody to tell me what to buy, too.
Sally |
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http://thekrazycouponlady.com/ is a good one! |
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I like that site! I like the way she lists her Walmart deals... I find it very easy to follow, which is not the case with all coupon blogs.
I am new to this modern couponing thing, so I am just learning.
I am finding that right now, for me, the grocery store deals are working out the best. I have trouble at Walmart and Target because:
1. I don't go to either one that much (they are not close by) and
2. There is a lot of regional variation in stock and price. Sometimes my local one doesn't carry the right size/type of product for a coupon match.
It can take me a long time to find what I need, which annoys me.
But having said that, I was at Walmart yesterday and got Suave Professionals shampoo for $0.49 cents a bottle and Colgate toothpaste for $0.49 a tube. I know many coupon moms hold out for free, but I have to do what I can with the time I have.
If I lived closer to Target, I could really clean up there because you can use a manufacturer coupon, a Target coupon and a Target Cartwheel coupon
*all on the same item*. That often makes it free- with a profit that is applied to the rest of your purchase. Sweet.
Delly's Deals is my very favorite site, because she lists deals at Harris Teeter, Lowes and CVS- all stores where I shop. AND- she lists her deals step by step, often including a video, which I find very helpful. She does tell you *exactly* what to buy and when. You can sign up for her news letter, but I like to check her site daily, since she posts often. She is the mother of 4. You can print coupons right from her site. (FYI- some Harris Teeters have triple coupons all the time, but not mine. Delly lists final prices for stores with both double and triple coupons.)
Southern Savers is another site I like. The mom there- Jenny- lists the deals with multiple sites to print off coupons for each deal, so you can literally go through and just pick the coupons that you want.
She covers Publix, Kroger, Harris Teeter and more and does a good job.
I have a couple of more to list, but no time now. I will be back!
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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4 lads mom
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JodieLyn wrote:
I was going to suggest baking.. you're home, it's somewhat forgiving of needing to stop and take care of things.. it can be done at a myriad of times through out the day so you don't have a small window for doing it.
Breads especially, can be fairly low cost to make and sell for good prices (higher return on your money).
Consider variation.. like breads with no soy.. soy is quickly becoming a major allergy and most breads use a soy oil or soy lecithin. |
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This is a consideration....my kids have tons of food allergies, I bake some pretty wicked scones, cakes, etc....all egg and milk free. I wonder if I could offer them at the local farmer’s market, or put up a shingle that I can bake vegan, or something like that....I am not very good at decorating. It’s funny, things that are beautifully decorated often taste pretty crummy. My stuff is not fancy, but good!! (There’s my first tag line  )
I’m going to think about that one....I might do better by setting up shop at the market, vs. doing it on order, only because I live pretty far from a larger town, not convenient for pick up or drop off....
Mulling that one over, and Melinda, and all, thanks for the coupon sites, definitely looking into them. I’m up North, I’ll poke around and see if there is anything like that around here.
Keep it coming, thanks!!!! 
__________________
Mom of four brave lads and one sweet lassie
Scenes From This and That
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SeaStar
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When I first decided to do my coupon experiment, I got a couple of books from the library that were recently published. Some good take away advice:
1. Start small... try using coupons at just one or two stores and don't go crazy chasing after deals. I love this advice... I am trying not to take it all too seriously. If I don't have the right coupon or the store doesn't carry the item I want, well- next! There will be another great deal.
2. Follow one local and one national coupon blog.
I have a Harris Teeter two minutes from home, so I googled HT price match and Delly's blog popped up. That was a find for me- a great blog for my local store.
I've noticed each blog seems to favor 1-3 stores in particular. So, if you are an Aldi shopper, you should be able to find a great blog for that. Giant Eagle shopper? There is a blog for that.
For my national blog I like CouponMom.com and MoneySavingMom.com.
I still like Delly's site best, though. When I was in HT watching my bill climb to over $50, I do admit I started to sweat. But I trust Delly, and when the bill came down to $7.33, I was 
If you don't like paper coupons there are Saving Star and Cellfire
For a long time I resisted being serious about coupons- thinking there weren't any for the things I buy, I didn't have time, etc.
But it is funny how I do have time to spend a week and five hours on line chasing down a used copy of "Ship's Boy With Magellan" for a decent price.
Bottom line is that coupons do work... it's money there for the saving if you have time/inclination to go after it.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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JodieLyn
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4 lads mom wrote:
This is a consideration....my kids have tons of food allergies, I bake some pretty wicked scones, cakes, etc....all egg and milk free. I wonder if I could offer them at the local farmer’s market, or put up a shingle that I can bake vegan, or something like that....I am not very good at decorating. It’s funny, things that are beautifully decorated often taste pretty crummy. My stuff is not fancy, but good!! (There’s my first tag line )
I’m going to think about that one....I might do better by setting up shop at the market, vs. doing it on order, only because I live pretty far from a larger town, not convenient for pick up or drop off....
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If setting up at market is an option, that would be your best bet for people who are looking for healthy/alternative products. And you can always offer to do special orders too. Perhaps find a time each week that you can meet for them to pick up products. When you'd be in town already.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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SeaStar
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One last coupon comment from me
I also find it ironic that I would not dream of going to Michael's, AC Moore or Joanne's without a coupon.
And yet at the grocery store, where I spend thousands each year, I was not bothering to use any coupons at all 
__________________
Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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SallyT
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I found the Krazy Koupon Lady last night! And some coupons I can actually use. My husband also went back through his store coupons -- the ones they print out with your receipt at the register -- and found one for a *free* dozen eggs (and it's still valid, that's the miracle).
And then I got sucked into signing up for online-survey things . . . which mostly leads you to sign up for more online-survey things. I may just have ruined my life here, or at least my email inbox, especially since most surveys seem targeted at twenty-year-olds who do nothing but watch television. If you want to know what America is . . .
Re baking: check your local regulations related to the sale of food. It may be that to sell baked goods, especially at a farmer's market, you have to have your kitchen inspected/licensed by the health department as an "industrial kitchen." That's true for our vendors at our local market, here in NC (land of regulation). I don't know that it's true everywhere.
Also -- knitting! If you can teach knitting, why not offer a little class, either for adults or for children? Say, to make something simple for Christmas gifts? If you could collect ten kids, and charge $5 per child per class session, then that's $50/class you didn't have before. $5 is what our Irish dance teacher charges per child per class, and from my perspective, it's an incredible deal. But she has upwards of ten kids just in our one class, so over the course of a month that's $400 (minus the cost of gas). And she does multiple classes.
Now seems like a really good time to advertise -- in your parish bulletin, possibly, by flyers, whatever would work where you live -- for a "making Christmas gifts" basic knitting class, beginning in early November. Over time you could add more classes, as you had the time and energy. Have them bring their own needles and yarn to minimize your overhead.
I would sign my daughter up for a class like that, were one available. And I'd tell all my friends, so it would make.
Sally
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Castle in the Sea
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JennGM
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SeaStar wrote:
One last coupon comment from me
I also find it ironic that I would not dream of going to Michael's, AC Moore or Joanne's without a coupon.
And yet at the grocery store, where I spend thousands each year, I was not bothering to use any coupons at all |
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I'll have to look further into this, Melinda. The reason I always used coupons at the craft places is that it was a percentage off, so it would be dollars off, and not just cents worth.
For my grocery store, there is a limit on the coupons. Only certain days are "double coupons" and the limit is up to a $1.00. So no coupon could ever be worth more than a $1.00. So that doesn't seem worth while.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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JennGM
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SallyT wrote:
Also -- knitting! If you can teach knitting, why not offer a little class, either for adults or for children? Say, to make something simple for Christmas gifts? If you could collect ten kids, and charge $5 per child per class session, then that's $50/class you didn't have before. $5 is what our Irish dance teacher charges per child per class, and from my perspective, it's an incredible deal. But she has upwards of ten kids just in our one class, so over the course of a month that's $400 (minus the cost of gas). And she does multiple classes.
Now seems like a really good time to advertise -- in your parish bulletin, possibly, by flyers, whatever would work where you live -- for a "making Christmas gifts" basic knitting class, beginning in early November. Over time you could add more classes, as you had the time and energy. Have them bring their own needles and yarn to minimize your overhead.
I would sign my daughter up for a class like that, were one available. And I'd tell all my friends, so it would make. |
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A lady from our community had a "crochet camp" for a week in the summer, costing $60.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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pumpkinmom
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4 lads mom wrote:
JodieLyn wrote:
I was going to suggest baking.. you're home, it's somewhat forgiving of needing to stop and take care of things.. it can be done at a myriad of times through out the day so you don't have a small window for doing it.
Breads especially, can be fairly low cost to make and sell for good prices (higher return on your money).
Consider variation.. like breads with no soy.. soy is quickly becoming a major allergy and most breads use a soy oil or soy lecithin. |
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This is a consideration....my kids have tons of food allergies, I bake some pretty wicked scones, cakes, etc....all egg and milk free. I wonder if I could offer them at the local farmer’s market, or put up a shingle that I can bake vegan, or something like that....I am not very good at decorating. It’s funny, things that are beautifully decorated often taste pretty crummy. My stuff is not fancy, but good!! (There’s my first tag line )
I’m going to think about that one....I might do better by setting up shop at the market, vs. doing it on order, only because I live pretty far from a larger town, not convenient for pick up or drop off....
Mulling that one over, and Melinda, and all, thanks for the coupon sites, definitely looking into them. I’m up North, I’ll poke around and see if there is anything like that around here.
Keep it coming, thanks!!!! |
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I have a friend who makes specialty bread (organic wheat she grinds herself). She has a baking day once a week and everyone pre-orders. You can pick up the bread at her house or she has a pick up spot (parking lot of grocery store) around the time everyone is getting off from work. She started off selling at the farmer's market and she builds her business using facebook too. It's labor intensive and she has invested in putting ovens in her basement. She also has friends who help on baking day (they work for bread I assume).
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Cassie
Homeschooling my little patch of Ds-14 and Ds-10
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Betsy
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I am currently teaching a knitting class and I am hoping to make some $$$ doing it long term. IMO, selling your expertise is a better way to make money than crafting. Crafting is limited to the time you have to craft and then sell. When you sell your knowldge you only have to work on the selling part. 
4 Lads---if you are interested we can talk!
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When handcrafting my work, I always pray that it will raise your heart to all that is true, modest, just, holy, lovely and good fame!
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4 lads mom
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Betsy wrote:
I am currently teaching a knitting class and I am hoping to make some $$$ doing it long term. IMO, selling your expertise is a better way to make money than crafting. Crafting is limited to the time you have to craft and then sell. When you sell your knowldge you only have to work on the selling part.
4 Lads---if you are interested we can talk! |
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Call me! I am very interested, especially what was said about doing a Christmas craft kind of deal....very interesting. I think I could handle that one, especially if we could get it done in one sitting. Let’s brainstorm....if I could do a few classes before Christmas, that would be very helpful.
I am so appreciative for all of your responses, Friends, thanks! 
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Mom of four brave lads and one sweet lassie
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4 lads mom
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SallyT wrote:
Re baking: check your local regulations related to the sale of food. It may be that to sell baked goods, especially at a farmer's market, you have to have your kitchen inspected/licensed by the health department as an "industrial kitchen." That's true for our vendors at our local market, here in NC (land of regulation). I don't know that it's true everywhere. Sally |
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Yes, I just looked into it, Sally, and you are correct, it is highly regulated to be able to sell at our local markets. Drat. If I were in a larger metropolitan area, I could definitely see baking and meeting people, but my town is very small and not very “think out of the box” kind of area, they would be like, “Uh? Why would I do that when I can get a donut at the Ma and Pa’s grocery store!” But....knitting classes, I could see doing this with local homeschoolers.....I’m thinking hard on it, thanks for the suggestion!
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Mom of four brave lads and one sweet lassie
Scenes From This and That
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SeaStar
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JennGM wrote:
SeaStar wrote:
One last coupon comment from me
I also find it ironic that I would not dream of going to Michael's, AC Moore or Joanne's without a coupon.
And yet at the grocery store, where I spend thousands each year, I was not bothering to use any coupons at all |
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I'll have to look further into this, Melinda. The reason I always used coupons at the craft places is that it was a percentage off, so it would be dollars off, and not just cents worth.
For my grocery store, there is a limit on the coupons. Only certain days are "double coupons" and the limit is up to a $1.00. So no coupon could ever be worth more than a $1.00. So that doesn't seem worth while. |
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Jenn-
It is well worth your time to read the coupon policy closely and make double sure you are clear on how it works. Even ask at customer service if you have to.
My Harris Teeters will double coupons up to 99 cents every day. It's worth it to double check and see if the coupons up to 99 cents can be doubled at your store, or if the limit is 50 cents that can be doubled. That is a big difference. If coupons up to 99 can be doubled, then 75 cents becomes $1.50.
There is a limit at my store of 20 doubled coupons per day. For a long time I thought that meant I could only use 20 coupons per trip. Just recently I went back, reread the policy and figured out that after the 20 eligible coupons have been doubled, then I can still use the rest of the coupons at face value.
So I could use twenty coupons that are doubled, then still use all my coupons greater then $1 just at face value.
It doesn't sound like much, but it really adds up, and quickly. Plus many stores will let you use a manufacturer's coupon with their store coupon and sales, which is when you get the big savings.
It is taking me awhile to figure this all out, but it is so worth it.
While dd was at ballet today, I went to a grocery store near the studio.
Bill before coupon and sales was $84.50. After sales and coupons, $28.18. PLus I got a $2 voucher to use as cash on my next order, plus I earned gas reward points.
This coupon thing is amazing, really.
__________________
Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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4 lads mom
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Melinda, that is crazy!!! Is this stuff that is prepackaged? I’m just curious...I’ve got my work cut out for me....but THANK you for all of your input, it really has opened my eyes.
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Mom of four brave lads and one sweet lassie
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VanessaVH
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Do you do quilting too?
Classes in quilting or sewing would be great! Not just for homeschool kids, but moms too. There was a discussion on FB with some local moms a while ago who would all like to learn how to sew or sew better.
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Wife to Mark, Mommy to 4 boys:Luke '05, Eric '07, Nicholas '09 Nathaniel '11
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4 lads mom
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Vanessa, I can quilt but I'm not great at it. I actually was sewing last week and a trigger point in my back reminded me why I can't sew much anymore.  I think I'm sticking with knitting.
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Mom of four brave lads and one sweet lassie
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Betsy
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4 Lads -- your PM box is full! 
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ImmaculataDesigns.com
When handcrafting my work, I always pray that it will raise your heart to all that is true, modest, just, holy, lovely and good fame!
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: If you needed to make money....
