[USER]

I’m a stay at home mom and I’m wanting to make a few extra bucks to be able to afford having an outing with my kids or even just an outing for myself. I don’t have a high school education or anything higher than that. I’m interested in doing some “old fashion” type income. I’ve considered baking, house cleaning, babysitting (can’t due to certain life circumstances), I’ve sold 60% of my stuff. What other options do I have?

I’ve gone through our budget and there isn’t much left. I’m already hang drying laundry all year, reusable everything (ziplock bags, napkins, etc.,) I don’t buy juices, and make all my snacks and meals homemade. I feel like I’m doing all the things and still isn’t enough.

[Loana]

Don’t sell yourself short. Go to nearest community college and take free GED classes free. They usually have free child care at the community college. I know the one I went to also had free English as a second Language classes and then GED free.

It will get you and your kid/s out of the house, meeting people in person and you can explore free career counseling and tuition support resources for mom’s further education and skills.

They also often have a job board for nearby employers. Often they have non credit classes for getting into real estate, computer classes, continuing education. Taxes pay for these things for you. Take advantage of them.

Take trips to local free library for events for kids and yourself. Get books to read to your child, etc.

You will make the greatest investment when you start on yourself and it will pay dividends on your outlook, mental health, fitness many times over.

Community colleges often have a gymnasium and or pool that you can work out in at low cost. Many programs are available to young mothers to make them marketable.

[Nicole]

I am always looking for a backup dog sitter to keep at a home.(Have someone that I love thankfully) I don’t leave my dog in kennels when I vacation and feel like there could be a lot of people who feel the same.

You could look into dog sitting for people’s fur baby’s.

[Dana]

You can make a lot cleaning houses if you have the time.

[Angelica]

Grow a garden and sell at a farmers market. Maybe can goods to sell there too.

[Kathy]

Something else to consider go to an adult learning g center and get a tutorial help you study fir your GED and then apply for a job in your kids school district. You could apply for a cook, bus driver, teachers aid, custodian etc.

Work while your kids are in school and be home when they’re home.

I worked as a cook part time while my kids were in school I went in at 10am and was done at 1pm off every weekend off every holiday off every summer.

Related: What do you do to make extra money?

[Crissy]

If you can coupon, it will make a huge difference – all the best to you.

[Linda]

I think you are amazing and resourceful! What a great Mom you are in what you are willing to do for the sake of your kids. Daycare costs are through the roof.

Since you are a stay at home Mom if you could care for another child (or two) during the week that income could make a big difference!

[Alicia]

Check around with friends and family does anyone have a older relative that needs help with cooking or cleaning even just companionship for a hr or two day.

You can make meals take to Drs appointments help read their mail.

Many would love to have companionship checking in on them. Many people have full time jobs and need help with a aging family member.

[Yenaiv]

I know it’s hard, and money is tight. I been buying stuff from Temu with the intent to resell like girl’s hair accessories. I get them bulk, I buy little by little, been doing it for months. I have enough now to start selling on flea markets.

I priced them cheap to sell fast and will still make 100% profit on my items. I know you not trying to spend money but that’s an idea. I honestly wish I would have started doing this during covid lock down.

That’s something can be done with your kids at home during vacation time so you font worry about a sitter while you make extra money.

[Esther]

I make custom cookies! It started out as something I just did for fun but then people started asking how much I charge so now I have a set price that I recently just upped a little bit too

[Joanna]

Cleaning houses is actually a great business if you do have the time to do it and have a way to travel to your clients.

I knew a woman who was also ironing clothes for some well to do family, it was giving her a little extra income.

[Veronica]

If you could afford the risk try buying things at yard sales/thrift stores and selling them for a profit.

[Sherri]

I crocheted custom blankets before I went back to work. I had steady customers and made enough side money to afford the little extras.

I just heard about this mom who would buy spices in bulk and repackage them to sell at farmers markets.

I love the suggestion of pet sitting. But you could expand that to include garden watering with the heat we have this summer you can’t afford to miss a day.

[Wendy]

There is a guy in the little town next to our city, and he bakes bread out of his home and makes fair amount of money. That way, he will also do cinnamon buns and a few other specialty things, but he always sells out. I forgot to mention, he does it out of his house.

[Tina]

Could you work 2 days a week 3-4 hours in the evening when your spouse is home ? Grocery stores, gasstations, fast-food are always looking for help.

[Tina]

Consider attending a community college or trade school. Generally will take 9-12 months to earn a trade so you can support yourself and children. Education is something no one can take from you.

[Patricia]

I know a couple of house cleaners that started at $20 an hr and increased as they got more clients.

[Liz]

I know Doordash, GrubHub, Instacart, etc. can be good options for a lot of people. The biggest caveat is that you need a vehicle that has decent gas mileage and is in good enough shape that you can drive with it. In my little town, I didn’t make much with DD, but I had a lot of fun doing it!

I’ve also seen people have great success with things like print-on-demand work. I’ve seen people design greeting cards, business cards, banners, etc. and sell them on sites like Etsy, eBay, etc. I know on Etsy you can also set up digital products like that, too. You can use apps like Canva (free) to design the product, then print and ship once you have the order. You could also do tee shirts and stuff, too, but that can be a little more cost prohibitive when you’re first starting out.

I hope this helps!

[Author]

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