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4 lads mom
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and stay at home, or leave infrequently, what would be your best bet? What is working for you? I know our story is no different than others, but with two kids in college, several medically intense kids, and an old, old Suburban with 240,000 miles on it....a bit of extra cash would be nice. 
Suggestions? Have any of you made the MLM businesses like Pampered Chef work?
I am working very hard on reining in our food expenses, and making my primary job, (after being a wife and homeschooling mom) to be as frugal as possible....and that might be about it for now, but I sure wish there was something else I could do.
Does anyone teach knitting on the side? I could do that...
Just thinking out loud....
Thanks! 
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JennGM
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Do you design knit patterns? Could you sell some on ravelry?
How about custom knitting jobs? Selling items on Etsy?
I'm at a loss on making money. It seems you have to spend it to make it (postage, taxes, supplies, etc.). And you have to find a market. At times I seem so off what the normal person would like.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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4 lads mom
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Designing is Betsy’s job  She does amazing work! I have arthritis in my hands, (and everywhere els), so my knitting is slow and not going to make me a lot of money, but I sure wish I could do that.....I am looking into teaching at Joann’s but it is so far from us, it would not be a whole lot with gas money.
I’m with you, Jenn, some of the things that are really hot on Etsy, I am scratching my head and going UH?
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mom2mpr
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Can you take a medical coding class at a community college and find an opportunity there?I think some coders can work from home. Figured with your experience in the medical field it might come easy. Just a idea I occasionally consider.
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Anne, married to dh 16 years!, ds,(97), Little One (02), and dd (02).
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SallyT
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I constantly ponder this -- well, intermittently-constantly! I'm currently back to pondering it again 24/7 . . .
I have done direct sales (Usborne Books), and my experience is that to make real money doing something like this requires more time and energy than I'm willing to expend being a salesperson and a setter-up of parties in other people's homes. I kept my "consultant" account for several years, but finally gave it up because as much as I like Usborne Books, I discovered that maybe I was too Charlotte-Masony to be comfortable pushing them as *the* books people should buy. Pampered Chef would be different, obviously, though again the challenge is always to break through the circle of your friends willing to do Pampered Chef parties as a favor to you (and then they've got their raft of free stuff, so they're set for the next two years) to a wider audience. That does require a certain amount of fairly aggressive sales work -- not that you're aggressive to people in the sense of shoving things down their throats, but you do have to be aggressive in the sense of working it pretty much daily, giving time to it. I found that aspect of direct sales to be really in conflict with our home life, though of course my kids were much smaller when I was doing it. Still, I haven't been tempted to pick it up again.
Things I am trying (though of course it's slow):
1. You already know about my curriculum stuff. I'm revamping my Ancients course a little to sell on Currclick.com. I'm trying to find a wider audience and boost sales a little without having to splash out for conference booths and travel to promote it. This is . . . slow, obviously. But it's something, and at least it's not costing me anything. Exposure is great, but it so often comes at great personal expense. And I have sold a few just through the Lulu page and the blog, which was a little extra change to spend on homeschooling things for this year.
So, if you've put together something cool for your kids, even if it's a relatively small resource, check out CurrClick for starters as a place where you might market printables of whatever it is. They have all kinds of cool journal-y things, mini-courses, and so forth, made up by homeschooling moms like you, so . . . why not be inspired? It's worth a shot. (I think of this as Etsy for people like me who don't do handiwork)
2. Tutoring: language arts, whatever you're good at. You can put up flyers or register with something like Wyzant, which puts you in a more public and accessible pool of tutor profiles (for a price -- they do take a percentage of your earnings which is quite a shock at first, but does go down over time). I'm also pursuing this as of very recently and have had some good leads and exchanges, though I have yet to meet with an actual client. Still, it takes time and patience to get something started. I don't know how much time and energy I have to devote to a tutoring business, particularly if I have to drive to conduct it, but if I had one or two steady clients, I think I could manage that. I don't have any little children/childcare issues to worry about any more, and that helps.
3. Responding to surveys. There are a number of reputable companies online who look for people to respond to surveys. I need to find another one, in fact -- I've been a responder for surveysavvy.com for a long time, but I tend to get knocked out of qualifying rounds for surveys because they're not looking for my demographic, so I haven't even tried for a while. But a friend of mine does this and makes a little extra pocket money doing it, and I need to remember to ask her what company she uses.
Other things I've seen in my own money-grubbing research, but have not (yet) tried:
*mystery shopper/mystery diner
*ads on my car -- seriously, google that one. There are companies who will pay to use your car as a billboard. Now, obviously you'd want to be pretty picky about what, exactly, you were driving around advertising, and that might knock you out of the running altogether, but it's worth at least a look!
Meanwhile, I'm really trying to rein our grocery expenditures way in. That's the black hole in our budget, always, and we've come to a place where we just can't sustain that.
Wishing I could get paid for just staying home and being me, but the reality that comes back and bites me says that there's more to it than that . . . Anyway, if you need a buddy, I'm right with you in this.
Sally
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JennGM
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The direct sales or MLM is very hard to do if you're an introvert like me. I have my pool of friends and family and hate to put them in a position to buy things. I don't like cold calls, and I'm just not in a position to drum up new business.
The other negative side of Pampered Chef is that many of their products are made in China, or not as "safe" as I would like them. I don't believe non-stick coatings are safe, and they are pushing that. The items I try aren't lasting long. So, without bashing PC completely, what I'm trying to say if you're into the non-chemical, BPA free, GMO and additive free etc. kind of crowds, then it might be easier to do marketing like Ava Products.
But again, this kind of marketing is hard if you are taking care of ones at home and need to do the promotions at night. I think you could keep the "parties" down to a minimum and get regular sales at some point, but at first, it would be hard.
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Betsy
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4 lads mom wrote:
Designing is Betsy’s job She does amazing work! I have arthritis in my hands, (and everywhere els), so my knitting is slow and not going to make me a lot of money, but I sure wish I could do that.....I am looking into teaching at Joann’s but it is so far from us, it would not be a whole lot with gas money.
I’m with you, Jenn, some of the things that are really hot on Etsy, I am scratching my head and going UH? |
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 Thanks 4 Lads!
Ummm...although I LOVE to do this, designing knitting patterns has not been a great way for me to make money.  Yet....
On Etsy I have done really well, but it takes time and like Jenn said it takes $$$ to make $$$ so it's hard to get a head. It's also very "brain intensive". I am always reading about needed to do this and that, and trying to learn new things. So, while I would be happy to share my experience with anyone I am not adding any $$ to our family's bottom line in a real tangible way, yet.....
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jawgee
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Part-time child care can be a nice way to make some extra money - esp. the after-school hours until the parents' work gets out. Just a few hours a day can really help out!
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Monica
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SallyT
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Oh, after-school care is another one I've done! The child in question was my oldest daughter's best friend (she was 11 at the time), which helped -- it can be not-un-stressful to have a child or children besides your own in your house every.day. at the end of a long school day. That she loved all my kids and they loved her made a huge difference, though there were days when everyone had to be in a different part of the house from everyone else because they couldn't stand each other any more.
Her mom paid me, if I recall correctly, $75 a week, which was about market price at the time, and she brought me a gallon of milk every week, which I hadn't asked for, but which was a nice contribution. In return, I picked her up from school and kept her until about 6 every evening, feeding her a good snack and occasionally dinner if her mom was going to be late. She basically did all the activities my older kids did that year: sang in a choir, acted in plays, because that was what we were doing at the time. We'd have kept it up for longer than a year, but our family moved away (snif). It was a great arrangement, and it did bring in a little extra cash weekly without a huge outlay on my part. At the time, we were really pretty desperate, and that money made a difference.I can think of children we knew at the same time with whom this would not have worked, even as desperate as we were -- it would have been so disruptive to have them on that regular a basis that keeping them just wouldn't have been worth it for me -- but Emma was a dream. I kept her many weeks in the summers, too.
So -- that can work, but I think it works best if the child or children in question are a good fit with your children. You do have to ask yourself how much "extra child" you can handle, day in and day out, and that answer may vary, depending on who/how old the extra child is.
Sally
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SeaStar
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I know I sound like a broken record about the couponing thing, but seriously, you can save a bundle on groceries if you get serious about couponing.
I paired Sunday paper coupons this weekend with Harris Teeter eVic coupons and sales. My bill before coupons/sales: $52. After coupon/sales: $7.33.
Seriously. Among the free items I got were Robitussin cold medicine, shampoo, deodorant, and shaving cream. I also got Pampers wipes for $0.50 cents a bag (we use them in the car for hand wipes) and Barilla pasta sauce for $0.50 cents a jar.
I am not trying to brag- I was just blown away by the savings. It does take some time and effort to do the coupon thing, but I am learning to think of it as my side job. The savings are tremendous, and there are so many easy ways to save big.
The best part is that there are tons of mom bloggers out there telling me exactly what to buy and when. They are doing the hard part. I just have to follow along. 
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JennGM
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SeaStar wrote:
I know I sound like a broken record about the couponing thing, but seriously, you can save a bundle on groceries if you get serious about couponing.
I paired Sunday paper coupons this weekend with Harris Teeter eVic coupons and sales. My bill before coupons/sales: $52. After coupon/sales: $7.33.
Seriously. Among the free items I got were Robitussin cold medicine, shampoo, deodorant, and shaving cream. I also got Pampers wipes for $0.50 cents a bag (we use them in the car for hand wipes) and Barilla pasta sauce for $0.50 cents a jar.
I am not trying to brag- I was just blown away by the savings. It does take some time and effort to do the coupon thing, but I am learning to think of it as my side job. The savings are tremendous, and there are so many easy ways to save big.
The best part is that there are tons of mom bloggers out there telling me exactly what to buy and when. They are doing the hard part. I just have to follow along. |
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I buy so few things in the middle of the grocery store, that when I get flyers and coupons, most of the coupons don't apply for me. So I don't do couponing. Aren't I saving more money if I don't buy the stuff in the first place?
I do believe it works, but to have more paperwork accumulating on my counters and having to organize makes me hyperventilate. 
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Jennifer G. Miller
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I've done direct sales and it's hard. Those that do well live in areas where people have money to spend and they work full time at it. I live in a conservative area and I can't make any money at it.
After school care by be a money maker depending on your area. You would be surprised what a parent would pay for dependable care for their child for two hours. Of course it depends if places are lacking in your area.
I know there is a need in our area for people to take care of the elderly and/or ill. It usually amounts to spending a few hours visiting, cooking, and a little cleaning. It pays $10-15 an hour in our area and there no cost but gas money. Sometimes family members just need a break. This is usually something you have to ask around about.
There's not much out there. Good luck!
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jawgee
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SeaStar wrote:
| I know I sound like a broken record about the couponing thing, but seriously, you can save a bundle on groceries if you get serious about couponing. |
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This is SO true. An experienced couponer can cut a weekly grocery budget significantly!
I couponed a lot when my oldest was a baby and then when my second child came along. Now that I have four, though, I find it too time-consuming to be feasible for me.
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Monica
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jawgee
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JennGM wrote:
| I buy so few things in the middle of the grocery store, that when I get flyers and coupons, most of the coupons don't apply for me. So I don't do couponing. Aren't I saving more money if I don't buy the stuff in the first place? |
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This is true, but it applies to more than food items! Toiletries, personal hygiene, paper products, etc. Back when I couponed a lot I rarely paid for those items, because it was too easy to get them for free!
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Monica
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SeaStar
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jawgee wrote:
JennGM wrote:
| I buy so few things in the middle of the grocery store, that when I get flyers and coupons, most of the coupons don't apply for me. So I don't do couponing. Aren't I saving more money if I don't buy the stuff in the first place? |
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This is true, but it applies to more than food items! Toiletries, personal hygiene, paper products, etc. Back when I couponed a lot I rarely paid for those items, because it was too easy to get them for free! |
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That is what I am finding... the coupon world has really expanded.
I am getting quite a few things for free- so my only cost is time. If an item is free and it is not something my family usually eats, I donate it to the food bank at church. There is a huge need there- someone will eat it!
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SeaStar
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Serial posting...
I think couponing can definitely be a season of life type of thing.
Before my ds was born, I enjoyed it. Two kids later- I felt I had limited time for it. When my dd was sick and we were going to Johns Hopkins every month, I felt I had zero time for it.
Now my kids are older, and it's a bit easier to shop with them.
In ten years I have found that the coupon world has exploded and there are so many ways to coupon- including paperless (places like Saving Star make it super easy).
Anyway, I find that there are certain items that I just don't/can't make from scratch and that I need to buy. And there are coupons for all of them. My short list includes:
pasta (coupons work for gluten-free brands, too), rice, milk (all kinds: almond, soy, organic), organic yogurt, cheese, tortilla chips  , pasta sauce and salsa (maybe someday I'll make my own ). Also Honey Nut Cheerios (about the only cereal I buy), sugar, flour, chocolate chips, frozen veggies, plastic bags, toilet paper, feminine products and toothpaste.
If I only clipped and used coupons for these items, I would still save a ton.
I think there are seasons in life when we just need to save more- kids in college for one, as 4 Lads Mom said. I could see using coupons to make care baskets for my college kids- or filling a Christmas stocking with soap, shampoo, etc.
This season of couponing for me started because we have had several unexpected expenses. I was also determined not to spend a ton on Halloween candy this year, plus the local food banks have put out an SOS for food, which is flying out the door as fast as it comes in.
I don't know if any of that helps you, 4 Lads Mom. I know that you might not want to babysit other kids given the germ factor and the medical issues at home.
Maybe you are already using coupons... if not, maybe they can help
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Aagot
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Foster Care in our area pays $800 per month, per child. It adds more driving to appointments and home visits etc but it may work for you. You could also do respite care for foster families and then it would not be all the time. That pays about $250 per weekend.
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4 lads mom
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Aww, Ladies, you all are the best. Lots and Lots to think about and mull over. I think PC is not going to work. After reading about it and talking to dh, I’ve been down that road before and it seems like you really have to put in so much effort to make any profit. Plus, I live so far out from civilization, that I would be driving a lot.
Coupons....hummm....I hadn’t really paid much attention to them in recent years because we eat so little processed food, with the kids’ allergies. You have me interested...what sites are your favs for signing up? I’ll look into Saving Star.
Child-care.....yes, I thought about that for about three seconds. With all of the medical drama around here, I know I can’t be that dependable. I would LOVE to watch a few babies, but school is pretty intense this year. I am picking through some things that need a lot of work after being on the back burner with the kids’ health. So....I have to focus on school and the three here during the day. BUT, that is a great idea, maybe another season, when it is just Lily and me at home.
I have thought about freelance writing. You would not know that I could write from my hastily written, poorly edited bites on here, but I could probably do some very nice articles on life with a medically intense family. I have quite a few poems that I usually get a lot of nice responses from when read.....I am really praying on that one.
Lord, Lord, where am I suppose to cast my net?
Thanks again, Ladies.
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SallyT
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You know, I've written off the couponing thing because
a) like Jenn, I don't buy a lot of prepared/name-brand food items
b) it seems like a lot of extra work, and I am lazy. L.A.Z.Y. With Capital Letters.
But from $50 to under $8? Sold.
And I like your point about the food banks. Our church has been running a "2-Can" program for the past year -- you just bring in two cans of something per person in your family (or, each person brings in two cans) when you come to church. It's cheap and easy to do regularly, because canned goods are always on sale. But a free something would be even better! Plus they also always need toilet paper, diapers, soap, and toiletry items as well as food. That is a good use for coupons that you wouldn't ordinarily use, especially if you wind up with freebies.
Sally
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SallyT
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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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Topic: If you needed to make money....
