Time, and lack thereof.

Now that I've been a SAHM for a year, I'm wondering how I ever had time to get out the door and get to work before. I have waivered back and forth between trying to make money online, and focusing on the house. It seems I can't find a happy medium.

I have really gotten out of the habit of checking out MTurk everyday. For a while I really got into a good groove with them, logging in at certain times of the day, searching out requesters whose work I enjoyed, and I was making around ten to fifteen dollars a day. Slacking off for several months, I'm finding it difficult to get my routine back.

One thing I haven't stopped doing was looking for the perfect work at home job, and I did stumble onto some opportunities on the WAHM.com forum. Because of a NDA agreement, I can't say a whole lot about it. But I passed all my required testing and am set to start working this week. I am so excited, but so worried that I'm not going to be able to juggle everything. Eh, I guess I don't know how it will work out until I try. :)

But becoming a WAHM vs just a SAHM, I'm just going to have to buckle down on scheduling. Work is work, and you get out of it what you put in. Maybe it will work out beautifully, maybe it won't. But if I don't take the chance I'll never know either way.

I am hoping once I get back into the routine of working at home that I can squeeze in an hour or so each day for MTurk. It's really nice to have that little bit of spare change for new books for the Kindle. 

Zazzle

One more way to make money from home that I've found is Zazzle. A little creativity is all that's needed to create your own Zazzle products, which Zazzle will print on their products and give you a commission. I love photography, so I took the leap and signed up. About half of my Zazzle products are nature photography, some geared toward local teams and schools, and others are just funny quotes.

As with any online venture, you get out of it what you put in. Quality and quality are both important, and a little promotion doesn't hurt, either. Keywording and creating products that are in demand should also be taken into consideration.

It's been a couple months since I starting putting up items on Zazzle, and today I made my first sale, yippee! I sold a travel coffee mug that said "I like my coffee like I like my men, tall, dark and rich." I made $1.40, it's a start! I can't wait to make more products now!

Getting back in the swing of things

I took a little break from everything for a few weeks to clear my head, but I'm back in the saddle and hoping to head in a good direction this year. It's still sometimes a little rough making the transition to SAHM, but now that the holidays are over I'm ready to focus on moving forward.

I've still been plugging along with MTurk, and at just shy of $1,000 earned so far. I've been trying to make $10 per day on there, sometimes it's easy to make double that, and other days I can only squeeze out enough time for a couple bucks. When I get enough routines down pretty well, I want to up my daily goal to $15 per day. 

I've been trying out a couple different strategies for working on MTurk, and they seem to be paying off. I spend two hours each  morning working on MTurk, another in the afternoon when time allows, and another around midnight. The mornings seem to be when I'm making the bulk of my money, the other times I've found it hard to focus well enough to really make a lot. 

Another thing I've been doing is to request any and all qualifications I come across that look even remotely useful. I've noticed the HITs available seem much more this way. The Retail Data HITs are usually pretty plentiful, so I've requested and received most of their qualifications. They may be penny work, but they're easy and they pay in a reasonable amount of time. Plus, when nothing better is going on there, you can almost always find Retail Data HITs. 

eHow's earnings are still doing okay for me, I wrote a few articles in Nov and Dec, and they seem to be holding their own. I consider my eHow earnings my bread and butter, they may not always be consistent, but I know they are there waiting for me once a month. I just need to up that residual income a little more and I'll be doing just fine.

So all in all, I'm really thankful the holidays are over! I'm getting over the winter slump and working hard to up that WAHM income. It hasn't been easy, but I'm learning new tips and tricks every day. 

Making money on the side

Given the hours I work, taking a second job or making money on the side can be a little challenging. Which seems ironic since being a bartender is often touted as a side job to supplement the income of a 9-5 job. I've already cut my hours so I am almost a stay at home mom, and focusing on earning some residual income and other ways to make money as a SAHM.

One way I've found to make extra money while being a stay at home mom is to do freelance writing on the internet. eHow.com is a great site to get your feet wet in the freelance writing community and earn some extra money. You won't get rich overnight, but building up a nice sized library of eHow articles brings in a decent amount of residual income, perfect for a stay at home mom. Plus it allows you to tweak your writing skills and earn as you learn. What could be better than that?

Of course, there's always yard sales to make extra money. Kid stuff sells really well in yard sales, as well as other mom stuff and household items. After a big yard sale, consider listing the remaining items as a yard sale lot on eBay, Craigslist, or other bulletin board type advertisement. I've seen small lots go for a hundred dollars or more. Getting rid of clutter and making a few bucks at the same time is always good!

Here's another thing I've done to save up for vacations or other expenses throughout the years. It's probably the easiest way for a bartender to save money, given all the change and one dollar bills we bring home. It's fun to watch the fund grow, too! Grab a big jar, and throw all your change into it at the end of every day. If you're feeling especially lucky, throw a few one dollar bills in there, too. You'd be surprised at how much money can add up over the year doing this!

One last thing is Plasma Donation to earn extra money. It helps save a life, too. The process is better described here, but can add upwards of $150 to your monthly income. It's really quite painless, and after the first appointment, it generally takes about a half hour or so, and you can go twice a week. Not bad!

I'm exploring other venues for freelance writing, but haven't gotten enough of a start to blog about just yet. I will keep you updated as I progress through those sites.

Getting started

I've been thinking for some time about becoming a stay at home mom. It's proving to be a daunting task, can I afford it? Will I lose my mind at home all the time? This is my journey to become a stay at home mom, getting finances in order being the most important aspect in making this happen. Once I find some ways to make money being a SAHM, I've got half the battle won.


I'm approaching this journey on several different levels. Getting my bills and budget under control are key to being able to afford to stay home. Finding a few ways to bring in income from home is another key strategy. I've been experimenting with a few things and some are working, such as eHow and MTurk. I know the possibilities are endless with online income, I just have to find what works best for me. I will cover the various ways to earn money at home as I go through my journey.


I am really looking forward to being a stay at home mom. I find all the housework and cooking very rewarding. I know it's not the life for everybody, but it's the life I want. I hope by this time next year I can accomplish this goal, hopefully sooner!