How to be a Stay at Home Mom Without Falling Into Debt

There are many reasons why a Mom stays at home until their child is school age. However, I do not know many people that do not take a financial hit when they make this decision. This day in age, it is almost impossible to survive off one income, therefore staying home becomes out of question for many. Here are my tips for making the stay at home life more of a possibility.

First and foremost, you need to find out how much of a difference you finances are going to change if you were working before. I wasn't making nearly as much as my husband yearly, so we were not taking a great as hit when I stopped working. Some people may still need additional income, or they may be able to get by covering certain expenses. Here is my advice regardless...

1. Cover specific bills by making money online.
The following sites are the ones I most highly recommend for quick income that can easily be done while entertaining your children or doing other household necessities.

• Swagbucks. I average $250 a month from Swagbucks. Their rewards are only in gift cards, so I get a Paypal gift card so I can transfer money directly to our bank account when necessary. To learn more on how you can make a similar income from Swagbucks, click here.
• InboxDollars. I average $30 a month from Inbox Dollars. What is neat about Inbox Dollars is the send checks directly to your house. I typically do not cash out until I have closer to $100 saved up and tend to use this money more towards emergencies. For tips on how to earn a similar income for Inbox Dollars, click here.
• CashCrate. I average $20 a month from Cashcrate. They automatically pull a check at the end of each month, but only if you make at least $20. This can be frustrating when you are only a few cents away, however the money does roll over to the next month. For tips on how to earn a similar income from CashCrate, click here.
• SendEarnings. I average $20 a month. This is almost identical to Inbox Dollars, just with slightly less opportunities.
• MyPoints. I am fairly new to MyPoints, but I am liking it so far. It is almost like a combination of Swagbucks and InboxDollars.

Overall, I bring in approximately $350 a month which is essentially enough to cover our cell phone, TV/Internet, water and most of our electric bill for the month.

2. Shop cheap when it comes to groceries

Couponing is an obvious and much easier than people think. 

• First off, you have to know what items are a better price where.  I don't believe there is one store that has everything cheaper than another. Also, some items are worth getting in bulk more than others. For my list of suggestions on what products to get where, check out this link.
• Let the KrazyCouponLady do most of your extreme couponing for you. Everyday they post amazing deals. My favorite is when they find ways to make money off of products (yes, it really is possible and I started experiencing this first hand shopping for Christmas presents this year).
• Download all of the Cashback apps. For a list of all the available apps and what they have to offer, go here.
• Print your coupons! Coupons.com makes it so easy to look for coupons you would want to use. Not only that, but get even more earnings when you get to coupons.com through Swagbucks or MyPoints. They typically give 10 points for each coupon you get through them and use!
• Shopping online? Go to shop.com and download the Shopbuddy widget. Shop.com is great for comparison shopping, to make sure you are getting the best deal, but they also give you 2-50% cashback on all purchases you get through them (on stores you are already planning to use)! The Shopbuddy widget does one even better by pulling up all available coupons for the store you are shopping at, meaning no need to waste time Googling for possible coupons that do not even exist. This is a game changer, especially for shopping for clothes and other retail goods. They are even partnered with Raise.com, which I will be explaining next... For more on extreme shop.com savings, click here.
• Use gift card discount sites like Raise.com. These sites offer gift cards that others are selling because they do not want them. Instead of paying full price, you get a percentage off. This is by go-to for stores like Target where I know I will spend at least $100 when I am there. For instance if they are doing 8% off, I pay $92 for a $100 gift card, money I have to spend anyway. Therefore, I get $8 instant savings. Better, yet buy your Raise gift card through shop.com! You will get an additional 2% cashback!

3. Make money off of a hobby

I love to give advice, therefore I started a blog. The more beautiful thing about it, is that I can make money off of it over time. Is writing not your thing? There are so many options out there. Here are some creative things I have found.

• Photography. Sell random photos you take to stock sites or do session for family and friends that may later expand into a small business.
• The Crafty/Creative type. Sell your works on Etsy. Super easy to use if you have an creative or artistic ability. There is a large multitude of things you can sell from jewelry, to clothes and more!
• Sportsy/Athletic People. Give private skill lessons on the sport you love or motivate people to get their butts in shape by offering workout classes (online or at a gym)!
• Love children? Babysit, there are always locals in need on care.com. You could also tutor!

4. Work part-time.

Although not many people want to do this, I find the easiest thing to do is something you enjoy, or at least work with people that won't stress you out. If you make going to your part-time job, more like your time to yourself, it makes it easier (as much as this is not ideal time to yourself). Coaching has always been my part-time gig, and it is more of a passion than a job for me. Others may have to resort to jobs like retail or food service, but at least there are a lot of choices out there. Try to find one that you will be able to connect with co-workers and make some friends out of it.

5. Start a small business.

I find that many people find this to be a risk, although I cannot understand why. There are many benefits to starting a small business, however you do have to make sure you get started in the right one. One of the greatest benefits are the tax write-offs at the end of the year. There are also many businesses that have the potential to grow into an asset or some serious income. Make sure if you are introduced to one, that they are accredited and have a good rating with the Better Business Bureau. Some major warning signs include if you have to pay just to sell the products. To have start up fees to be placed in a business makes sense, however I would never pay to just be a salesperson, that kind of start up should be free. Also make sure it is something you will enjoy. Being able to get products you love for cheaper is always a plus!