10 Ways to Make Real Money as a Stay-at-Home Mom

Make Money While Staying Home With Your Kids

Last week I talked about how we lived on one income for almost fifteen years, and how we made it work. How we survived on one income. I also mentioned that we’re working to become debt-free. Sometimes, in order to get out of debt (or just to make ends meet), you have to go beyond simply saving money. You need to make more.

If you read through my list, you can see that we’ve tried to live as frugally as possible, without a lot of extras. But it hasn’t been enough for us. At one point, we came to the realization that we needed to increase our income. But how? We’re committed to homeschooling and I’m very committed to being a stay-at-home mom.

Our situation led to lots of late-night brainstorming sessions about how to make more money while staying home with our kids.

Here are some of the ideas we’ve come up with. I haven’t tried all of them, but the ones I’ve tried have been successful for me (in varying degrees).

10 Ways to Make Money as a Stay-at-Home Mom

1. Start an In-Home Daycare

I know quite a few moms who have brought in a good income through offering childcare in their homes. This allows them to stay home with their own children while earning income at the same time.

2. Become a Freelance Writer

If you like to write, this is something you can do from home to earn money. Check out this website if this is something you’re interested in.

3. Become a Virtual Assistant

I know several stay-at-home moms who are virtual assistants. A virtual assistant is a self-employed administrative or personal assistant who provides various services to businesses.

4. Sell on Etsy.

This is something I’ve considered doing for years, but I just can’t seem to get it going. I even have a half-opened Etsy shop! So many moms are making an income from selling on Etsy. You can either make your own goods to sell or sell vintage items or craft supplies.

5. Pet Sitting

One idea I haven’t seriously considered is taking care of other people’s animals. I love animals, but I don’t think it’s a job I would enjoy (even though my kids would love it!). 🙂 However, I have heard of people making a full-time income doing this!

6. Sell on eBay

My husband and I have been selling on eBay for years (we’re now PowerSellers!), so I know it’s a legitimate way to make money. Usually we just sell items we no longer need, although there have been a few times that we found new items at a very inexpensive price and made a good profit on them. Selling on eBay is pretty easy but it can be time-consuming.

7. Sell Used Books

If you’re a homeschool mom, you probably have lots of books sitting around! I always try to take good care of our school books so they can be sold at the end of the year if they won’t be used for another child. This won’t bring in a regular income, but it’s a good way to make enough money to cover school books for a new school year. I’ve sold books on Half.com, eBay, and Homeschool Classifieds.

8. Medical Transcription

After our first baby was born, I did medical transcription for awhile to bring in extra income. I had worked in two doctor’s offices and a hospital, so I was familiar with medical terminology. You can actually make a full-time income from home doing medical transcription, but you might have to put in full-time hours to get it, and sometimes this is a hard field to get into.

9. Start Your Own Business Through a Direct Sales Company

Otherwise known as multi-level marketing, I’ve had a really good experience with direct sales companies. The very first company I joined was Lilla Rose, and from the beginning (four years ago) it has been a wonderful experience. One December we were really short on funds, but I was able to make about $1200 that month from my Lilla Rose business, which helped pay for Christmas (and I know moms who make a lot more than this with Lilla Rose every month!). Lilla Rose has been a huge blessing to our family. (Contact me here if you’re interested in starting your own Lilla Rose business.)

10. Blogging

The past several years, most of my income has come from blogging. Almost everyone I know who makes an income from blogging has multiple streams of income, which means it doesn’t all come from one place. Even several smaller “streams” can add up to a substantial income.

If you’re interested in learning more about how to start a blog from scratch and get started with affiliate marketing, I have a very reasonably priced eBook here. This guide provides step-by-step instructions on starting your blog and how to make money with affiliate marketing. Get my eBook here.

See Also:

4 Ways to Make Money Blogging

Are you a stay-at-home mom who needs to make money from home?

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