How to make money as a stay-at-home mom to increase your income and have more cash on hand

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If you’re wondering how to make money as a stay-at-home mom, you have a few different options.
First, you’ll want to be clear on how much time you can devote to your side job, whether there are any start-up costs, and what types of jobs best suit your skill set.
Once you’ve started working, you want to make sure to check in with yourself regularly about how it’s going, and whether you want to keep going or change gears.
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Staying home to care for growing children is a full-time job in itself, but the frustrating thing is … it doesn’t come with pay. If you’d like to make some cash on the side while still focusing on your time at home with your kids, here is a smart way to do it.

How to make money as a stay-at-home mom

1. Consider your availability

As a stay-at-home mom, your hours are probably very limited. If your kids aren’t in school yet, the time you have to devote to an outside job are probably before they wake up, during nap, and after they’re in bed. Try to figure out how many hours a week you can devote to a paying job, while still accounting for some down time to focus on yourself.

2. Think about your skill set

Consider a couple factors when it comes to picking the right job to bring in some money while you’re also staying home with the kids.

For example, are you looking for a job that requires little to no training on your part? Would you prefer something that helps you grow or maintain your previous career skill set so you can more easily jump back into the workforce when and if you decide to?

Keep in mind some of the other factors that might determine the type of gig you do, as well, like whether travel is involved, or if you’ll need to put in a large amount of startup money to get the gig going. Use all of these factors to help settle on the type of job you want.

3. Decide if you want the kids to be a part of your money-making endeavors

Working during your "off" hours is one way to make some money while you stay home with the kids, but another option is to include them in your entrepreneurial escapades.

Depending on your kids’ ages, there are plenty of opportunities to pick up some side jobs that could include them, like offering up your childcare services for other working parents in your area (play dates plus a little extra cash seems like a win-win), walking neighborhood dogs, or checking in on other pets while people are away. Including your kids in your job is a great way to start teaching them about work ethic and the importance of earning.

4. Get organized

Depending on the type of job you go with, you may need to put some systems in place to make the most of it.

For example, if you’re hoping to pick up a couple hours a week working from home for a job that was in your career field, it might help to have a separate office space in which to work. Perhaps you’ll need some supplies or, maybe, it would help to have a sitter for even just a couple hours a week to really focus on your tasks, rather than simply fitting them in when the kids are sleeping.

5. Search for opportunities

Once you’ve decided how much time you can devote and the type of job you’d like, you can start looking for opportunities. If you’re looking for something in your neighborhood, consider using word-of-mouth to find gigs, or post your availability on neighborhood-friendly sites like Nextdoor.

If you’d like something in your old field, reach out to former coworkers and colleagues, or post on website forums that cater to your field. For other opportunities, check sites that focus on part-time, hourly or remote work jobs, like FlexJobs or Fiverr. It’s also possible to make decent money by doing things like completing surveys online.

6. Be business-minded

Once you start bringing in some cash, remember to treat it like you would any other income. That means setting aside a certain amount of money from each paycheck to cover taxes — how much you set aside will depend on where you live and how much you make, and an accountant can help you decide what that is — as well as having a plan for what to do with the remaining balance.

7. Give yourself time to adjust

Keep in mind that even a small job can seem monumental when you’re also tasked with keeping your little ones healthy and happy all day long. Making some extra money is nice, but it will likely cause a bit of added stress, especially in the beginning. Allow for a learning curve and give yourself time to get used to the new schedule.

8. Set a check-in date

If you decided to make some money while staying home with the kids to fund something specific — like an upcoming vacation some other unforeseen expense — then you might be able to stop working after you’ve reached your goal.

If you decided to make money just to bring some extra cash indefinitely, though, be sure to set periodic check-ins with yourself to ensure that things are still running smoothly and feeling good.

Even if you tried making some cash on the side and it didn’t work out right now, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it wouldn’t work if you picked it back up again in the future.

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