Extra money ideas?

Kelmaz323 · March 2014

Hi all! I'm looking for some ideas to make a few extra bucks a month....any ideas??? I'm trying to put money away so I can be a sahm.

SmarieMcB84 · March 2014

What skills do you have?
Do you craft or DYI? etsy and eBay stores to sell things.
Off the top of my head are the type of product sales consulting for companies like It Works "That crazy Wrap thing", Mary Kay, 31, etc.

I am a Graphic designer and transitioned to working from home and has been beneficial although very difficult with two lo's.

Kateysomething · March 2014

I poke around on Swagbucks.com. It isn't a traditional money earner, but you can cash in earned points for (amongst other things) Amazon gift cards... So I store them up and use them for purchases of needed items or birthday/Christmas presents. I've probably gotten $25 in gift cards over the past 3 weeks or so, so obviously not a supplemental income. But it's a little something, when I remember to do it.

Everyusernameistaken · March 2014

What kind of work do you do and what kind of hours do you have? Are you able to babysit, dog walk, that kind of thing? Sometimes small local catering companies need an extra set of hands as wedding season picks up. Are your work skills transferable? I.e., my H is an accountant and does peoples' taxes/ small business bookkeeping on the side, I'm a teacher and used to tutor to make extra $.

Are you looking for something just to do now to save up, or something you can do from home when your LO gets here?

As for being a rep, I have never met anyone who has made money selling for companies like Mary Kay. I had a friend who wanted to SAH and tried all those annoying sell-to-your friends deals (diet supplements, candles, environmental cleaning stuff) and she is now back at work and has lost friends who got tired of her always trying to sell to them.

Good luck, let us know what you figure out

blue+skies · March 2014

Everyusernameistaken said:

As for being a rep, I have never met anyone who has made money selling for companies like Mary Kay. I had a friend who wanted to SAH and tried all those annoying sell-to-your friends deals (diet supplements, candles, environmental cleaning stuff) and she is now back at work and has lost friends who got tired of her always trying to sell to them.

Amen! If I get one more fb message from a friend or family member trying to sell me some crap, and after refusing, then telling me how smart and driven I am and I should consider making a ton of money selling the crap I'm not interested in, I may just lose my shit. After the third or fourth attempt, I ignore them and hope to not run into them because it is awkward. And I have also heard people rarely make money off of them. Additionally, I find it odd that very little third party info is readily available for all of the nutritional and skin care products that are pitched to me. No thanks!

Not sure what would work for you since we don't know a thing about yourself, but I'd personally advise against the MLMS.

ashaw512 · March 2014

I'm a sahm and I sell Mark. Its a division of Avon. Pretty easy money, basically sells itself and a lot of cute stuff. Not to expensive either

mikrinikki · March 2014

I sell 31 and i can make a couple hundred on one party a month. However, since being pregnant...I have lost the motivation to keep up with the newest inventory.

On another note, coupon! I couponed majorly the whole year before our wedding and i saved a whole lot of money on household products just by stocking up when they are on sale. Now that I feel better than the first few months, Im going at it again

SingleMom31 · March 2014

mikrinikki said:
I sell 31 and i can make a couple hundred on one party a month. However, since being pregnant...I have lost the motivation to keep up with the newest inventory.

On another note, coupon! I couponed majorly the whole year before our wedding and i saved a whole lot of money on household products just by stocking up when they are on sale. Now that I feel better than the first few months, Im going at it again

I couponed a lot when pregnant with our first and saved a lot on baby stuff that way. OP, check out The Krazy Coupon Lady's site if you're interested.

MrsLaLaBug · March 2014

Maybe you could look in to pet-sitting, being a nanny, cleaning houses?

AR1of2 · March 2014

I know everyone already knows at least 1 person who sells Mary Kay, Avon, etc., but I do have a close friend who's a SAHM and has found a lot of success with Mary Kay quickly. She just earned her first free car (for 3 years, I think a white Chevy cruise or something like that), or if she doesn't want the car she gets $300+ a month. Her goal setting isn't based on selling for profit, it has to do with other goals like a certain # of make-overs per month and other challenges her sales team does. Her kids aren't babies anymore, though, and it does take evening and weekend time (which happens to work out well with her H's job). I don't know that her success is typical, but it's absolutely helped them to make ends meet! GL to you in your future endeavors!

brittneyandadam · March 2014

I'd go with the others and ask you about your transferable skills. I have my phlebotomy certification and will be looking into per-diem work once I finish my degree...just until the baby comes. Are you good with organization? Scrapbooking? People would pay a good amount if you could organize photos and put them into scrap books, etc....

Justabean3 · March 2014

I sell Jamberry and make 200-500 a month not trying too hard and a the consultants under me are making about the same.

You can message me if you like. It is Jamberry vinyl nail wraps.

I had to go back and look. I started dec and made 200 that month. January I made 473 and in Feb I made 657. I have sold anything in March at all because if m/s

Everyusernameistaken · March 2014

RollinOnDubs said:
Before jumping to earning more cash, have you tried tighter budgeting to live on a single income? I thought I'd need to go back to something part time to cover our lifestyle, but it ended up we were able to settle into a few adjustments and do just fine.

This is great advice-- look at couponing, meal planning, cutting cable, going down to just cell phones, etc.

Kelmaz323 · March 2014

Ladies, thank you so much for all of the ideas! I'm sorry it took me a bit to get back to everyone. A little bit about me....I just finished my phd in instructional design/leadership. Right now I adjunct at two universities. The pay is okay for me and my husband, however it's never guaranteed work. I have a ba in communications, an ma in communications and then my phd. One would think it would be easy to find ft work In higher Ed, but that's def not the case. I have been selling things in eBay, but trying to figure somethjbg out that is a bit more stable.

I'm an awesome organizer, in fact, love organizing clutter but I have no clue how to get the word out about it. I also am pretty crafty, maybe I can come up with some ideas from there.

My husband makes good money, and we can live w/o me workjng, however once my student loans start coming in and the baby comes, I think things will be really tough....

I greatly appreciate all of your advice!!!

pshaortao · March 2014

Couponing and money saving suggestions through websites like hip2save, krazycouponlady etc are really helpful! I use hip2save to keep up with the deals for target. Recently, I was able to take $3 off a pair of skinny maternity jeans plus another 40% off with an app. Really helpful!!

Good luck with whatever you decide to do

lovesazzie · March 2014

I definitely support the suggestions of swag bucks, couponing, and cutting back on expenses like cable. We've done all those and it makes a difference! I've also had some success selling gently used clothes on poshmark.

I've done both a handmade etsy store and an MLM. I shut my handmade shop because I was making more selling. I never push the business, EVER. I talk about the products I love, my results with them, etc. What I make varies, but in the past few months, I've been averaging $400-$500 a month. Not huge, but I also get to stay at home and I don't devote a ton of time to it. A woman on my team who recently joined has made a few thousand since she started in early Feb - she's another one who is not pushing business, just talking about how she loves the products. Neither of us have lost friends or alienated people (which was a HUGE concern for me and turned me off from this kind of thing for a long time). There definitely are some great options for these types of companies out there. IF this is a model you are interested in, I suggest one that makes a product you love, that makes sense with your current life (don't sell Mary Kay if you rarely wear make up lol), that has a fairly low start up cost (low risk), that doesn't require you have stock in your home, etc. My company sells consumable products, which I also recommend because it is something where your customers will need to keep coming back if they like the products, whereas with jewelry or handbags, it is less of a necessity. Just a few thoughts! I'm happy to answer more questions if you are interested, but I personally was extremely skeptical of these things and am happy to give honest feedback about my experience so far.

Regardless, good luck!!! There are so many options out there, it can be tough to wade through, but if you really want to stay home, it is worth trying for!

aliciak316 · March 2014

I coupon a lot and watch the little girl who lives down the street. It's easy money most days and I charge the very little but I watch her 10 hours a day 5 days a week so it adds up fast. We're not rich but we have some extra play money most weeks and I get to stay home with my daughter.

Ceridwen21 · March 2014

What about substitute teaching? If you make yourself readily available you'll become an asset to local schools and can fill in a few days per week in no time. From my experience (elementary school), it was pretty easy money cause the teachers leave the lesson plan, so you don't have any planning or correcting to do.

Trish&Pete07 · March 2014

Forget trying to make extra money. Set a budget and stick to it and save your money! You would be amazed at how much money you waste every month. Stop going out for lunch, make one at home and bring it in. No more fancy drinks/coffee or trips to the vending machines. Make dinner at home, fire the maid and clean yourself. Cancel all the extra channels on TV, you probably don't watch them all anyways. make a list of what you will need to buy for baby/yourself over the next year and find it on sale or second hand. I have been a SAHM since 2009 and have never had to "earn extra". Just be realistic. If you can't simply live on one income now, you can't do it with a baby. make the changes now. It is easier then you think.

Katsouza1 · March 2014

I would start by looking around your home to see if there is anything you can sell on ebay, Craigslist or amazon. Then look into some data entry places, you can work from home but sometimes they require you to have previous admin/typing skills. You can also look into companies like ThirtyOne, Pampered Chef etc that you can do on your own time. Mystery Shopping can also be a great way to get items or experiences such as dinners and things for free.