TheMartianChick
Power Conserver
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2008
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- 57
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I now work one day per week, though it has nothing to do with being able to stay home and take care of the kids. Our children are grown with the youngest being 21. The opportunity to stay home came rather suddenly last summer, but we had been paying down debt and positioning ourselves to make some (different) moves. Since the original plan was to move someplace far away, I've been working towards job freedom for years. I figured out a bunch of things that I could do from home to bring in the money. I've worked as a business consultant for small business owners for 10 years and find that it is easy to locate clients that need business plans, marketing assistance and help navigating the how-to's of starting a business. I also write agricultural articles and novels.
As I went along, I found other things that replaced my "lost" income. Photographing natural subjects was an easy fit for me and it doesn't require any more of my time. Hubby and I enjoy visiting farms and national parks so while we're there, I photograph them. For the most part, I'm home. My experience has been that there are a million ways to make money but it does hinge on the skillset that you have and your willingness to learn new things. It also depends on how quickly you are able to ramp up to earn that money from home.
One final thought: I thought that I was a pretty good master of managing the household resources. Once I began to mostly stay home, I found a lot of areas that could be tightened up. I didn't cut cable and internet costs. In fact, I increased a few services that allow me to work virtually (Constant Contact, Efax, VoiceNation, etc) I was able to pay for those services by cutting the cost of the food we were wasting, cooking more each week and increasing the garden. With less money initially, we've managed to continue to pay down debt. Most of those things could be done while I was doing other work. In general, moms are pretty good at multi-tasking!
If you want to find a way to be able to stay at home, then make a plan and work the plan.
As I went along, I found other things that replaced my "lost" income. Photographing natural subjects was an easy fit for me and it doesn't require any more of my time. Hubby and I enjoy visiting farms and national parks so while we're there, I photograph them. For the most part, I'm home. My experience has been that there are a million ways to make money but it does hinge on the skillset that you have and your willingness to learn new things. It also depends on how quickly you are able to ramp up to earn that money from home.
One final thought: I thought that I was a pretty good master of managing the household resources. Once I began to mostly stay home, I found a lot of areas that could be tightened up. I didn't cut cable and internet costs. In fact, I increased a few services that allow me to work virtually (Constant Contact, Efax, VoiceNation, etc) I was able to pay for those services by cutting the cost of the food we were wasting, cooking more each week and increasing the garden. With less money initially, we've managed to continue to pay down debt. Most of those things could be done while I was doing other work. In general, moms are pretty good at multi-tasking!
If you want to find a way to be able to stay at home, then make a plan and work the plan.
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