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seeker
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| Posted: July 19 2011 at 11:13am | IP Logged
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I don't know where to put this. I have been trying and trying to figure out some way to increase our income. We moved out to the country so DH could take a promotion, but it has been a demotion. The increase in income has nowhere near been a match to the increase in our expenditures. Housing is higher, utilities are much higher, gasoline is higher, child support is higher, groceries cost more. Then yesterday my car broke down for good.
I could work four days a week from 7pm to 10pm, but there are no businesses around here that are open after 8 or 9pm; and those (two stores) would want me to work other hours than those I listed.
I'm trying to figure out some way to maybe work online... but I'm not good at anything. I thought about trying to sell a pdf of a calendar/planner I made, but I'm not sure if it's any good and it's not quite done (well, I made it for me and it runs July to June, so I'd have to fix that to make it for 2012...). I can't think of anything else I could do.
I thought I was going to be sitting a little girl for my neighbor, but the times were really sporadic and then I was never paid for the three times I did keep the little girl. I don't know how feasible that would be going into my first year of home schooling.
Ugh, I feel really helpless. Dh said yesterday that he really regrets moving here... I want to find some way to help him 
Advice? And prayers please?
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Gaudete in the Everyday
li'l macabbey lane: handpainted inspirational art
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SeaStar
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| Posted: July 19 2011 at 11:37am | IP Logged
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 Praying for you, Seeker.
Can you make anything that you could sell on line in an etsy shop?
Etsy shops are free to set up, and then there is a small fee per item you list (I think 25 cents?). Could you use that 7-10 pm time slot to make items to place in the shop?
Also- you could offer babysitting in your home... not a casual set up like the one with your neighbor, but a bona-fide day care type of situation, where you would care for children M-F while the parents work.
Craig's list is always good fro selling things and raising some extra money.
I will be praying that the Holy Spirit will inspire you and guide you.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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Grace&Chaos
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| Posted: July 19 2011 at 1:43pm | IP Logged
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I really feel for your situation. My dh works for the state and there is always panic right around budget time. Like you, our move sometimes feels like a demotion because even though salary went up so did our expenses.
We just keep reprioritizing our extra expenses and make sure that the basics are always covered. I try very hard to put things on ebay or other used lists that we really don't need/use or the girls have out grown. Then I try to use the extra income to replace items for the kids and get used school items/books as much as possible.
We're known for being thrifty but not cheap. You would be amazed at the great deals you can find at Yard Sales, online, and coupon savings at the market.
How about some sort of demonstration selling business? The hours you mention might be perfect for this. I remember going to demonstration parties in the evenings and sometimes during the week. Is there a favorite product you might enjoy? Princess House, TupperWare, Usborne Books, Jewelry...
The constant for me has always been to pray and give thanks that our needs are met and we are all together. It might have been in Mary Kay Clark's book Catholic Homeschooling, which I read ages ago, but made an impression when she emphasizes not being afraid to down size in order for family preservation. We keep this in mind, we love our new home, our very nice neighborhood; but would buy something more affordable in a heartbeat in order to maintain the living home education lifestyle that we want for our children.
I wish I could be more help. I'll keep you in my prayers 
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Blessings,
Jenny
Mom to dds(00,03) and dss(05,06,08,09)
Grace in Loving Chaos
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: July 19 2011 at 1:52pm | IP Logged
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Sometimes it pays more to use your time for reducing costs than it does to bring in income.. bringing in income almost always means spending more in the process as well.
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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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jawgee
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| Posted: July 19 2011 at 2:13pm | IP Logged
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Prayers. What a difficult situation.
I agree with babysitting in the home. A friend of mine contacted me when she was in a bit of a bind asking if I could watch her two kids for a total of 6 hours during the week. My kids had playmates for the week, and I got an extra $40/week towards our expenses.
Maybe you could watch kids after school - from the 3-5 time frame - so that it doesn't disrupt the rest of your day.
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Monica
C (12/2001), N (11/2005), M (5/2008), J (8/2009) and three angels
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guitarnan
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| Posted: July 19 2011 at 5:01pm | IP Logged
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After school care might be easier in terms of state regulations, too. I know in Maryland all day care providers have to be licensed, and the process is a huge pain.
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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Aagot
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Do you have some property on which you can raise food to cut down on the grocery bill? Fruits and veggies? Chickens are really easy. If you raised extra food, you could sell to neighbors or after church.
Best wishes,
Aagot
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: July 19 2011 at 7:25pm | IP Logged
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Aagot wrote:
Do you have some property on which you can raise food to cut down on the grocery bill? Fruits and veggies? Chickens are really easy. If you raised extra food, you could sell to neighbors or after church.
Best wishes,
Aagot |
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Yeah. I used to sell eggs from my chickens. They were so easy to sell, once the word got out through church and dh's work. I had folks waiting in line to buy them as fast as they were laid.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
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Angie Mc
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| Posted: July 19 2011 at 7:26pm | IP Logged
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JodieLyn wrote:
Sometimes it pays more to use your time for reducing costs than it does to bring in income.. bringing in income almost always means spending more in the process as well.
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I agree and will happily brainstorm thrift ideas. In our family, my dh works 2 jobs and I work to spend wisely what he earns. That's a job! 
Praying for peace...and more money in your pocket.
Love,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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ShannonJ
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Money problems are always so frustrating. We recently went through a scare before we moved seeing the drop in our home value.  We were looking at losing all of our savings. I couldn't think straight for days. After my head began to clear we realized that things always work out in the end - and they have.
I will be praying for peace for you and your family during this rough stretch, but here a some things that we did, and are still doing:
- We cut the cable and got a digital antenna for local channels. We don't watch TV anyway, but like to have it available.
- No movies. Cancelled the Netflix for a few months, while we regrouped.
- Cancelled home phone service. We have a prepay cell plan and phones. There are a lot of great choices now, it's not even a step down, and so much cheaper than using both.
- Cancel any unnecessary extracurricular activities for the kids. It has the extra calming effect of being less hurried. Even a few weeks or months can give you some time to regroup.
- Change the thermostat. Can you stretch that comfort level? Even during part of the day can make a huge difference. The biggest difference for us is during the winter. We cut the temp way down at night and pile on those blankets.
- I know others suggested growing your own produce, but there may be neighbors around already do that and be willing to share!
- Coupons. No not extreme couponing, but a lot of the grocery stores and drug stores run promos that can get you basic necessities for free with coupons. I net about $50 in savings a week. Stores are always reimbursed for coupons plus a handling fee, so there is no reason to not to take advantage of the savings. Southern Savers is my favorite site to keep me up to date. She puts little acorns next to all the really good deals.
Above all relax and support your hubby. Seems like you guys are both really frustrated. If you can take on the attitude that you can and will make it through this it will pervade throughout the family. Adjusting to a new area (and how much the cost of living is) takes time.
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guitarnan
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| Posted: July 19 2011 at 9:34pm | IP Logged
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If you are a good (mechanics and creativity) writer with a thick skin and good research skills, you might consider freelance writing. It takes a while to break in, and the starting pay is low (and subject to self-employment and state sales and use tax), but I've managed to make a modest profit each year since I started...wow...over five years ago now. PM me if this sounds like something you would want to try.
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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mamasue
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| Posted: July 19 2011 at 11:00pm | IP Logged
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You could look into selling thirtyone or Tupperware or Mary Kay
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seeker
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| Posted: July 20 2011 at 10:54am | IP Logged
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Well, here are some of the things we are doing.
We have a 5000 square foot garden, so lots of veggies are starting to come in.
We usually buy 1/2 a cow every year - starting to run low on that, but it saves us a lot of money.
Dh announced last week that when netflix's price increase occurs we are cancelling our subscription.
He told the kids yesterday that we are dumping directv. That is going to be a huge adjustment for my kids - we have always watched too much tv - I'm actually going to be glad for this.
We have a home line for the internet, but we don't have any kind of long distance plan.
We don't have craigslist here, but I've been putting things on a similar network that we have. I've not had much luck with it - most sales have fallen through, plus I'm having to consider how much I'm spending in gas to meet the buyer vs. the price of the items. I have sold two things and got $90 which went to hs books.
I have tried to sell Creative Memories before (actually have leftovers I need to dump), but I just don't have the network to do the parties for these kinds of things (I thought Barefoot Books looked neat, but it wouldn't sell well). My best friend sells thirty-one - and my mil and my sil and everyone it seems - and I remember her saying they aren't taking anymore consultants right now.
The only extra things we do are go to the library and church choir. We were actually able to afford gymnastics when we lived in the city, but we havn't been able to afford any extra-curriculars since we moved.
We have a chicken. We used to have eight but something got the rest. The one girl we've got quit laying so she could nest, but the eggs were bad or something. I cleared the last of them out yesterday so hopefully she'll return to laying in a couple of weeks. I'm hoping we can get some more chickens soon.
I travel to the next town for groceries (well actually for everything it seems), so I try to plan carefully. I'll check out Southern Savers. I spend about $100 a week on groceries. Sometimes that includes necessities. We have two big dogs that gobble up dog food like it's air. I'm trying to get rid of one of them...
I really don't want Dh to take on another job. One reason is that he's absolutely exhausted as it is, but also because every dollar he makes is half eaten up by his ex-wife.
After school care might work... I could do that only four days a week, though.
The only thing I might be able to put on etsy are those little saint wooden peg dolls. But I'm not nearly as good as St. Luke's Brush or St. Anne's Pixies.
Well, I'm going to shuck some corn for dinner. I truly appreciate all of your advice so far!!
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Gaudete in the Everyday
li'l macabbey lane: handpainted inspirational art
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Angie Mc
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My 15yo ds did a fundraiser for himself this past spring and will do another one in the fall. He told all our friends that he was having a yard sale to make money to go for out-of-state baseball training (which he happens to be at as I type!) Friends and neighbors were eager to get rid of some of their stuff and enjoyed supporting my son. He made some good money and it only cost him time.
Let the brainstorming continue .
Love,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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stefoodie
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No advice, but praying!
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stef
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Michaela
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seeker wrote:
| We have a 5000 square foot garden, so lots of veggies are starting to come in. |
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Sell seedlings ~~ if you have extra space to grow them. I bought a large quantity of tomato plants from a woman. At the most, she paid $4 for a pack of seeds and sold young plants for $1 each that she grew in large paper cups.
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| We don't have craigslist here |
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We are blessed with bookoo.com -- I checked and there are several in Tennessee, but it looks like unless you're near Ft. Campbell they're not near as active as the Ft. Lewis list we use. Sell anything, buy cheap, services...people ask if you can mow their lawn for $20, watch a pet while someone is on vacation, clean homes, ect.
 A positive of less TV is hopefully, less electricity usage.
I was soooo temtped to take a babysitting job for $100 a week. After I figured the $20 a day for 12 hour days for her two kids in diapers...feeding them....ummm, that extra $1.75 an hour can be cut elsewhere like utilities...gasoline...
Praying for you!
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Michaela
Momma to Nicholas 16, Nathan 13, Olivia 13, Teresa 6, & Anthony 3
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Devoted21
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ShannonJ wrote:
- Coupons. No not extreme couponing, but a lot of the grocery stores and drug stores run promos that can get you basic necessities for free with coupons. I net about $50 in savings a week. Stores are always reimbursed for coupons plus a handling fee, so there is no reason to not to take advantage of the savings. Southern Savers is my favorite site to keep me up to date. She puts little acorns next to all the really good deals.
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I agree! Southern Savers is a great website. I started using it to coupon when my dh was laid off last year, and I managed to buy all the groceries we needed (including toiletries, cleaning products, etc.)for $250 a month. Admittedly, that was a bit extreme in the sense that I bought nothing at all unnecessary, like soft drinks or cookies. Now that dh is employed again and I have more wiggle room with the budget, I do buy more fun things, but I still spend only about $400 a month (we have three small kids). If you want to try it, I would recommend watching the tutorials on the site before you begin.
In the meantime, many prayers for you!
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SaraP
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| Posted: July 23 2011 at 9:10pm | IP Logged
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What about cleaning? Businesses and offices are usually done after hours and a small business might only need someone two or three times a week.
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Mama to six on earth, two in heaven and two waiting in Russia. Foxberry Farm Almanac
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: financial brainstorm
