How do you earn extra $ from home?

[viluvsdisney]

Hi there - I came across the thread for on-line surveys that pay a few $. I was wondering how you earn extra cash for Disney vacations while at home with kiddos? I do some of the obvious - Ebay selling, surveys, garage sales, etc. Does anyone have any great ways they earn extra cash? This is the first year in 15 years that I haven't worked (out of the house) and would like to find more ways to make a few extra dollars! Any hints out there Thanks

 

[PugLover]

What sort of work did you do outside the home for the last fifteen years?

I ask because often, especially if you have worked in the same industry for several years, it is quite easy to parlay another/similiar career out of the one you had.

Do you have any hobbies or special skills?

If you can provide a bit more info it might be easier to brainstorm with you.

I have been self employed for four years... the first two years were lean, now I turn business away simply because I cant keep up at times.

I research and produce business plans for small to mid-size companies in addition to providing analytical research for funding purposes. Is it my passion? No and it never will be. My passion is film/television production (which I do as contract work when available) however my skills allow me to be self employed and earn a very decent wage.

How did I start? I worked in a corporate environment first in the business development area as a liason between vendors and the distribution channel.

If you had a career for fifteen years then you must have a ton of contacts. Networking is key for earning money on your own.

Provide some facts, maybe I can help!
Nicole

 

[Peachygirl]

Viluvsdisney - what are these on-line surveys you referred to?? Do you earn any money doing them or what?? Thanks in advance for your reply!!

 

[crazymomof4]

In addition to the things you mentioned I "earn" money by saving money. I can do these things bc. I am home and have the time. If I were working, I would most likely not have the time. That's why I consider it earning $$ while staying at home.

I clip coupons and shop from the sale flyer of my local grocery store. More often than not, I combine sales w/ coupons and really save! Between sales and coupons I average a savings $20-$30 off of my bill each week. I only spend about $85/wk on groceries and we have a family of 6 that includes a very hungry 14 yo boy.

I save hundreds of $ each year by buying all of my kid's clothing on clearance a year in advance. For ex. I shop for summer clothing at the end of Aug and winter clothing in March. Last March I bought my son's entire wardrobe for this coming winter. I spent $225 but since I bought everything from the 75% off rack I was coming home w/ $1000 worth of stuff......I saved $750!

Also, I pack my husband's lunches, I make homemade baked goods, I clean my own house, I cut 3 of my children's hair. ( I could go on but I have to get my little ones to bed.)

These may seem like little things, but together they add up to big savings! Money saved is money earned!

 

[disneyvoice]

Two things I do -

I sell Mary Kay. It's great because I can sell as little or as much as I want. If I want some extra money I just work a little harder at it. I don't do this for a living or anything, just for some extra money.

Also, I joined the Navy Reserve!!! Drill is one weekend every month and two weeks each year.

 

[viluvsdisney]

Hi all - Thanks for your replys!!
Puglover (love the name - have 2 pugs of my own - Stella and Marv ) I worked in retail for 15 years. I started as a teenager and stayed with it but never loved it. I do what I can as far as resale of our clothes (ebay, consignments, etc) but you begin to have less and less inventory to sell (which is great for our closets ) My kids are my passion - I LOVE being at home with them. They are my full time job and it's the best thing for me. I do like, however, to find ways to earn a few bucks here and there. Thanks for your info!
Peachygirl - the survey info is listed under "Online Surveys for $" on the Budget Board. It had some on there I hadn't heard about.
Crazymomof4 - I'm right there with ya - saving $ here and there. And of course, because of my retail history, I never spend more then a few $ on anyone's clothes beacause I know how cheap you can get them. My DD4 is stocked until she's 8 yrs old and my DS 6mo has a closet of stuff until he's 4!! It does help when you get the stuff for so cheap - and it's fun to find those "deals."
Disneyvoice - you mentioned Mary Kay - and 3 other people in my family sell it as well - including my sister. It's a great option - Thanks!

 

[PugLover]

Originally posted by viluvsdisney
Hi all - Thanks for your replys!!
Puglover (love the name - have 2 pugs of my own - Stella and Marv ) I worked in retail for 15 years. I started as a teenager and stayed with it but never loved it. I do what I can as far as resale of our clothes (ebay, consignments, etc) but you begin to have less and less inventory to sell (which is great for our closets ) My kids are my passion - I LOVE being at home with them. They are my full time job and it's the best thing for me. I do like, however, to find ways to earn a few bucks here and there. Thanks for your info!

*************************************************

Stella & Marv are precious names for pugs! Cali is our pug and we just love her to pieces. She is fawn and 5.5 years old. We hope to get another pug soon, we would like a black one.

On to your original question...

Have you ever considered merchandising or mystery shopping? Both are ideal positions for a SAHM as they are not structured hours, more of a work when you like position. I have friends that to do this a few hours each week and often earn several hundred dollars (after taxes) each month plus some nice perks (free meals and/or services when mystery shopping).

Your experience in retail would be a huge bonus and you can make your own hours and/or decline assingments based on your schedule and needs. My friends often work for a few hours each week on the evenings or weekends when their husbands are home so they incur no childcare expenses.

I cant provide you with direct information but web searches should yield you plenty of companies to contact. Another avenue would be to check out some SAHM message boards, almost always you will find a good bit of information on this very subject.

You also mention being with your children is your passion. That is lovely. This is the business development/opportunity side of me talking so pardon me of this is way off base....

Think of the possibilities where you live. In your neighborhood how many parents stay at home with their children? Would childcare out of your home be a viable money earning opportunity for you? Perhaps just starting with before school or after school care?

I personally do not have any children yet but I know plenty of couples with children that both have full time thriving careers. Many of them utilize at home care situations (in lieu of a daycare type facility) for those early morning or late afternoon hours. The benefit to you is you are earning money, you can still be with your children and lastly, your entire day wont be dedicated to this work.

Do you live in a large city? Shopping services, especially for executives or corporate structures are in big demand in some areas. Your retail experience would make you an obvious fit for that sort of service.

I probably just gave you way more information than you cared to have, lol.

Have a great day!

 

[Traveliz]

I was going to add to this thread and realized the above post suggested the very items I was going to suggest.

So I will reinterate: Mystery shopping is good for SAHMs; many jobs are even conducive to taking the kids along with (grocery stores for example).

Also home day care; if you don't want to jump in full time you could do back up childcare to see if you like it. All states have different regulations regarding home day care but it can really be a great money maker.

If you are looking to do something that wouldn't tie you down so much just consider yourself CEO of your home and find ways to make things cheaper. pay less for items or services, etc.

Another thing I have done is find a crafty item that no one else is doing and do a few...sit them around the house and start taking orders for them.

Good Luck
Liz

 

[viluvsdisney]

Hi - Thank you for both replys. I appreciate the great suggestions. I have done both, secret shopper and daycare. The secret shopper was too soon after being employed by 2 major retailers - so I was not eligable. I guess you're suppose to less experience I did watch 2 other kiddos once a week (niece and nephew) for quite some time, but stopped when I realized we all had each others colds all year long Yuck!! I may look into the secret shopper again, though. Thanks for reminding me! I'll take any other thoughts - Thanks again!!

 

[PugLover]

Depending on you and your DH's schedule for childcare have you ever considered taking a seasonal job? Retailers are always looking for winter holiday help. Tax time (Jan - April) is always busy for tax prep/accountants and they usually hire temp help also. The spring is always busy for florists/bridal salons and catering companies for weddings. Say in a seasonal position you worked for 10 weeks and after taxes you brought home 300.00 each week. If you banked every cent of that and "paid yourself" at the start of each month you would have 250.00 per month all year long. A very meager sum of money but one that might serve useful for family extra's, activities for your children, unplanned expenses or to add to a existing vacation fund.

 

[Robinette]

Originally posted by viluvsdisney
Does anyone have any great ways they earn extra cash? This is the first year in 15 years that I haven't worked (out of the house) and would like to find more ways to make a few extra dollars! Any hints out there Thanks

I work from home doing medical billing. I have to go into the office two days a week and the rest I do during the kids naps or at night when the family is sleeping. I'm also licensed by my state for Family Childcare. Three days a week I take care of a little girl who has been with me since she was born (3 years ago). And then I'm back up for a few friends when their daycares are closed.

 

[sln88]

How do you get in to this? What experience or training do you need? What do they pay? Who do you work for? hospital? DR office? insurance co?

sorry for so many ??
I just got laid off 2 months ago.. so I am looking.

 

[princess crazy]

I too would like to know on the medical billing. Right now that would be a great thing for me to do at home--although I don't know about the previous experience--I would be willling to get some training --Anyone with any experience in this area or something similiar to it that can be done from home that is legit your input is appreciated!!

 

[Robinette]

I work for a Family Dr. Mine is a classic case of who you know,not what. The Dr is a close friend of our family and when he opened his own clinic he taught me the billing. You can go to school and take coding classes that would help. I had to ask a lot of questions in the beginning and also bought some good books on coding. I did have previous experience in accounting and computer work but the hardest part for me was learning medical terminology and coding (and dealing with insurance companies).

 

[marciaj]

I am quite a scrapbooker and found out about imprinting at a crop several years ago. The imprinter brought her machine to the crop and personalized scrapbooks for $6/line. A couple of years later I ended up buying a machine. The initial investment is about $2000 (depends on which machine you buy) but I paid the machine off in about 6 mos. After the machine is paid for there is little cost. The foil is the only expense and it is pennies/book. I do very little work in the summer but the rest of the year I leave the house to work 2-3 times a month. Either fri. nights or Saturdays and all my other work is drop-offs at my house. I could work more but I'm happy with the amount I do. I've got 3 little kids and they need me the most. My particular machine is a Howard Imprinting Machine (howardimprinting.com) but there are other brands. Hope this helps someone. It's how were going to disney in Jan.

 

[KJMAX1]

I actually was a political consultant, and I didnt want to give up my cash flow after I had kids, however, I didnt want to work insane hours. So I got a paper route. I know it sounds remedial, but its great. I work 2 to 4 am for a local paper, and make over 1,000.00 per month. Ive also done Pineconereasearch.com online for surveys, but thats only 5.00 a pop at once per month. The only other thing I can suggest is doing focus groups studies in your area. I do them for two local firms, and get anywhere between 75.00 to 150.00 for each meeting. The one we are on now is a diaper study for Huggies which means we get paid, plus we get free diapers.

 

[kimbac3]

Hi Everyone!

I'm new to the boards.... been reading and absorbing....so much info!!!
I've heard so much about mystery shopping but every time I try to get information I run into a site that wants a fee. Is this normal? or is it a scam?
With every extra penny going to our Disney trip in December I would hate to lose any on a scam.

Thanks for your help!
Kimba

 

[sln88]

What do you do about yoru paper route when you are on vacation? Does the company cover for you, or do you have to find someone?

 

[CuteAndFluffy]

Kimbac3

Reputable mystery shopping firms DO NOT charge fees. The best place to start is at www.volition.com. They have a listing of multitudes of sites to sign up as a shopper. They screen the people on their list pretty carefully. The forums on that site will give you the skinny on any companies that have trouble getting their checks out on time. (BTW--They also have information on survey taking.)

I've been doing it for 2 weeks now and have around $200 (some of that in reimbursements) coming to me and have eaten out for free or cheap 4 times.

It took more time to get started than I thought it would. I now spend around 15 minutes in the morning and evening checking job boards, but at first it was more than that. You can spend less time, but will get fewer shops.

All in all, not a bad gig to suplement the lamentable salary from the public library.

CuteAndFluffy

 

[toystoryduo]

To help earn money for WDW (and other things), my DH sells prepaid legal memberships. You can earn money daily and the service really sells itself. If you are interested in learning more, feel free to PM me.