In today’s age, every member of every family needs to make money, if they are to afford a normal, relatively care-free lifestyle. Kids can mow lawns, and help clean-up yards, and even say-at-home moms and find something to do in order to make some money on the side.
The following tips and strategies have been tested by people around the world, and they have been found to be the most efficient ways that stay-at-home moms can make money. Also, the following side jobs will enable you to make an average of $3,000 per month; some months you may earn more, and some less. The amount of money that you earn depends on how much time you invest in these jobs and how much effort you put into doing a great job.
The following four side-jobs are great for stay-at-home moms, but can also easily replace a day-job if you like the idea of working from home.
4 Side Jobs That Will Enable Stay-at-Home Moms to Make Over $3,000 per Month
Most of the time, we don’t plan to be stay-at-home moms, and letting go of the dynamic lifestyle that we’ve become used to at work can be a pretty difficult process. However, being able to stay at home with the kids is incredible, and it’s great to actually be close to our children at all times.
Luckily, you don’t have to give up on work in order to be a stay-at-home mom. There are many ways in which people can earn money on the internet, however, only few of them pay well enough in order to actually make a living out of them.
Truth being told, in today’s age money is slow to make and fast to spend, and it’s important that every family member does his part in order to ensure that nobody goes over budget.
This having been said, there is only so much that a family can do in order to keep to a budget plan. Sometimes, there just isn’t enough money with only one source of income, and having ways to make money without leaving home can make a big difference.
So let’s take a look at the ways that stay-at-home moms can use in order to make over $3,000 per month, all while also taking care of their children.
It should also be specified that these jobs do not require any kind of training. Again, anyone can do them as long as they have a good internet connection and a computer or a laptop.
- Mystery Shopping
This is a side job that has a bad reputation but is in reality extremely stable. The reason behind all of the bad press that it has gotten lately is the fact that there are a lot of scams built upon the concept of mystery shopping. However, if you do a bit of research before starting to work for a company, it is usually pretty simple if they’re legitimate or not.
A great place to start (and a legitimate company) is Trend Source. Once you join, you will be able to do gigs that will bring you $10 for 30 minutes of work. Unfortunately, you won’t get too many of these, so you will have to join a few other companies and work for them at the same time in order to make more money.
However, as an example, let’s say that you only join Trend Source, and that you get 10 gigs every month. That’s $100 that you earn without leaving your kids at home, or actually doing any kind of work.
- User Testing
Another great way to make money on the internet is testing websites in order to determine what kind of user experience they offer. Platforms like Usertesting.com are constantly looking for people to do various tasks on newly published websites, in order to establish if there are any glitches that still need fixing, or if they require any kind of improvement.
Once you join, you will be able to complete tasks that only take 10-15 minutes, and you will be paid $10 for each of them. The best part about this is that you don’t need any kind of training. You just have to join Usertesting.com and you can get started.
User testing can help you discover some great websites, before other people have a change to find out about them, and this can sometimes help you get ahead of the others and take hold of opportunities that others don’t even know about yet.
If you’ve got a stable internet connection, a laptop, computer, phone, and/or tablet, then you’re good to go. Sometimes, you may be asked to explore a website’s features using more than one device, however, you will still be able to work, even if you only have a laptop or desktop computer.
Each test takes 15 minutes to do, and you will have to install an application that will take screenshots of your screen every few seconds. This means that you will have to find something for your kids to do, however, if there is ever an emergency, you will have a pause button that you can press in order to take care of your children, and then resume work. Pressing it will not have a negative impact on what you earn.
If you can manage, there is nothing stopping you from taking care of your children while doing the tests. The application records your screen, not you.
Over the course of a month, you should be able to earn somewhere around $100 by working only two or three hours in total.
- Blogging
Blogging is one of the best online businesses around, and it is extremely easy to get started. Many people don’t create a blog due to the fact that they don’t know what to write about.
Choosing a subject is easy, but we’ll get to that in a moment. First let’s discuss what you need.
Depending on your choice, you may only need a computer with internet access, or you may also need a bit of money in order to create your blog.
There are several platforms that allow you to create free blogs, and who pay you for your work. For example, you have BlogSpot. This platform gives you the option to create a free blog, and then to monetize it using AdSense, with only a couple of clicks.
Alternatively, if you’re confident in your abilities, you can buy a domain and create a stand-alone blog. This opens up several other possibilities, such as selling the blog, or using other types of monetization in order to earn from the content that you post.
When it comes to topics, just write about what you know, or about what you’re going through at the moment. Chances are that there are a lot of people who have just had a kid, or are preparing for one, and who would be extremely interesting in what you’re going through. There aren’t any real manuals to parenting, and most people will appreciate your stories and opinions regarding this subject.
The money is pretty good, and it’s a form of passive income, which means that you will continue to make money from every piece of content that you post, for as long as your blog is online. Unfortunately, it may take a while until you start actually making money.
In order to monetize your blog, you will first need an audience, and it may take a while for people to discover your website and start following it. However, once you do monetize the website, you will be making increasingly larger amounts of money, as you post more attractive content.
Another great advantage of blogging is that you can always turn it into a full-time job, and take it to the point where you will be making a few thousand dollars from what you write alone.
In other words, it is completely possible to go from $200 per month to $20,000 per month. You just need to be smart about how you create content and to avoid spamming your audience. Also, you don’t have to post daily. There are great blogs that share content two times per week, or even two times per month. In the end, it’s not about how much content you create or how often you share, it’s about the quality of your posts.
If you provide your audience with useful information, you will be successful.
- Childcare
While it may seem complicated, childcare is a great way for stay-at-home moms to make some money on the side. While it is true that this job can make your life a bit more hectic, and also impose a few restrictions on your day to day life, childcare can bring you a lot of money.
Also, by being a stay-at-home mom, you are basically already taking care of your children. So why not look at the local laws and regulations regarding licensing and make some money by taking care of a few other children.
Depending on how many children you want to take care of, and what their ages are, you can make anywhere from $200 to $800 per week. This having been said, the rates do vary from one region to another, and you will also have to pay close attention to what you need in order to get a license.
You won’t have to jump through any hoops, however, the laws that govern this occupation are very different from one state to another, and you will need to do a bit of research beforehand.
In terms of activities, and what you can expect, things are pretty straightforward. Parents will contact you in order to have you take care of their children, and once you agree on a price, they will drop them off at your house. The children will stay with you until the parents have finished their work, after which they will come to pick them up.
Alternatively, if you either don’t have enough time, or would simply like to spend more time with your own kids, you can consider doing before school or after school care. The parents could drop of the kids when leaving for work, and the school bus would pick them up and take them to school. The same bus will also get the kids back to your house where they will stay until their parents come to get them.
So the only thing that you have to actively do is to take care of them as you would your children. Their parents will do the rest.
In addition to the money that you’ll get for each of the children, you will benefit from great tax deductions on the taxes that you have to pay on this income. However, in order to take full advantage of these tax deductions you will have to keep track of everything that you spend for childcare. Save every receipt that you get and should do just find.
If you take care of 4 children in addition to your own, you can could easily make around $1,800 per month, and the best part is that you can always keep your kid in sight, and take care of him like you would normally.
These have been four side jobs that can bring you over $3,000 per month. Now, you should keep in mind that you can work more, and take care of more children, or write multiple blogs, and make a lot more money. If you work less, then you will make less.
Now, let’s look at a few jobs that could help you make money as a stay-at-home mom, but that may be done at the same time with the ones above.
Other great side jobs for stay-at-home moms
Start a business on eBay
Starting a business on eBay can be a great source of income, and it wouldn’t require you to actually leave your home in order to make money, or if you would, it wouldn’t be for more than half an hour.
There are a lot of ways that you can make money on eBay. For example, you can buy clothes from the thrift store, and only pay a few bucks for them, only to resell them on eBay for 2-3 times the amount of money. If clothes aren’t your thing, you can always look for bargains at yard sales, and then clean those items up and sell them online.
Listing the items on eBay is extremely simple, and you only need a smartphone in order to take pictures of the items and then upload them to the website.
Once you have a buyer, you can handle shipping through UPS, so you don’t have to leave your home and deal with your clients face-to-face.
You wouldn’t be making too much money, but then again, you wouldn’t have to spend too much time taking care of the business. You could probably make around $700 per month, but you would have to constantly keep an eye on places to get new things to sell, and you would also have to sometimes deal with emails from unsatisfied customers.
Become a Voice-over Actor
If you have a good control over your voice, you can make money by being a voice-over actor. You will find a large number of courses and tutorials to help you get started, and you would be working from home, so this is great for stay-at-home moms. Also, if you ever want to turn it into a full-time job, you shouldn’t have any difficulties finding someone to hire you.
The best part about this is that you can get your kids to work along side with you, so it can also be a great family activity, and you would all earn money to spend however you see fit.
Work as a Proofreader
Proofreaders are always in demand, considering the fact that even the most advanced software that has been designed to do this job can still make a lot of mistakes. You would basically have to read documents and to correct any errors that you find. Again, you will find a large number of online courses that can help you get started, and you would basically be a freelancer. So if you ever decide that you need a break, or a week off, then there’s nothing stopping you, and you can get right back into it when you feel like it.
Bloggers and authors are constantly in need of good proofreaders, and if you do a good job, they should supply enough work for quite some time.
Become a Freelance Writer
One of the easiest and most interesting things that you can make money from online is freelance writing. Also, if you decide to start a blog, then you should also get into freelance writing. The blog would basically help you showcase your talent and writing style.
Overall, you would basically get topics to write about, and then get paid for your work. Some clients will pay per word, some per project. Sometimes you may even be contacted by representatives of various websites in order to write an article for them.
This having been said, you don’t need to be a good writer, or to have any kind of experience with whatever you are writing about. You just have to be able to do some research and be consistent with your writing style.
Work as an Online Teacher
You can easily find people who want to learn something online. For example, if you know how to speak a foreign language, you can find people who are willing to pay you in order to teach them. To get started, just think about what skill you have that others would be interested in.
Become an Online Tutor
If teaching isn’t your thing, then you can become an online tutor. There are a lot of children who need help with they homework, or with various projects. Go to Tutor.com and get started there. You will find someone who needs your help in no time.
Work as a Virtual Assistant
The Internet has given us the opportunity to work from anywhere in the world, and being a virtual assistant is a great example. You don’t need to be near someone in order to work as his secretary. Virtual assistants can work from anywhere in the work, and do a great job. Some of the tasks that you may have to do are: handling emails for your employer, schedule meetings and clients, make reservations, and handle social media accounts.
Work as a Dog Walker or Make Money from Pet sitting
Depending on how much free time you have, you could work as either a dog walker, or make money by pet sitting. A lot of animal owners need someone to leave their pets with while they are out of town, and this could be a great opportunity for you. Your children would be delighted to have a few animals to play with, and most clients would have no problem in both bringing the pet to your house, and also coming to pick it up when they can. So you wouldn’t have to leave home.
On the other hand, as a dog walker you will have to stay away from home for a couple of hours each day, so you should go for this one only if your children can take care of themselves for a short while, or if you are willing to take them along.
Set up an Etsy Shop
If you like DIY projects, then Etsy is a great place to sell handmade jewelry, accessories, and pretty much anything that you can think of. You may not earn a lot of money, but it’s something different to do, and you can make the products with your kids.
Make Money From Stock Photography
If you have a good camera, then you may want to consider starting to photograph everything from furniture and electronics, to receipts, grocery carts, and vehicles. There are a lot of people who are constantly looking for photos of various items in order to use them on their websites, projects, or presentations. While you don’t need any kind of training, you should look for a few online guides before starting to photograph things, just so that you can get a sense of what is currently in demand.