New to Being a Stay at Home Mom

Mary Kay, Avon, Tastefully simple, Lia Sophia rep? How about taking on another child to babysit for $?

Were you paying for childcare?? if you were paying for childcare for 1 child.. and then had your second that you would have to pay for.. a big part of your income would have been going to childcare costs...

Your husband can probably change his tax withholding now that you have the second child. We payed almost zero taxes when I was at home full time.

clark howard has a list on his website of reputable WAH companies.

I second the babysitting suggestion.

I've seen a lot of people take on a couple of shifts on the weekend delivering pizza. There are bound to be 2 days a week that your husband doesn't work. He could stay home, while you take the car and deliver pizza. It would be a flexible enough job that you wont lose it when you have to take time off for surgeries.

btw - have you filed for unemployment, social security disability, food stamps, medicaid, wic, etc? This is not your fault and that's what you have been paying taxes in for all this time.

Hi L.,

I completely understand that you need income. However, the focus of a SAHM is really on *saving* rather than *generating*.

So, when we moved and I was a SAHM for about a year, my focus was on the budget and where I could bring us in line..... rather than how to earn extra money or have an income.
Are there areas you can reduce your spending? Are there things you can sell? Can you get rid of cable and substitue with an $8/mo Netflix subscription etc etc etc.
I know it's tough, especially when you have been living off 2 incomes.... typically you budget for 2 incomes. and then to have medical stuff on TOP...... I feel for you.

To be a WAHM that earns any kind of a decent wage you will need to hire childcare, especially if you have a 2 year old!!!! as well as a child with some medical needs. You absolutely will NOT be able to have an *actual* job that earns good money if you are chasing around kids.
So, you will need to account for how much that costs and then figure out how to much you would need to earn in order to cover child care (or WAH when hubs is home so he can be the parent in charge). However, depending on what you did at your last job or what your skillset is, that can be do-able.
I transitioned from a SAHM to a WAHM when my daughter went to Kindergarten. I was basically a virtual assistant, but I have a computer background (and I had written policy and procedure manuals in a past job, and that is what I found a company that needed) so the transition wasn't that hard. You just have to find a company that needs someone with the particular skillset you have.

Watching kids in your own home is usually a good solution - if that's something that you want to do.
You can also do catering, if that is something that you have a knack for.

Good Luck

Offer childcare services
Print church bulletins (but you'll need a good printer)
Web writing/web design

I have a friend who is a travel agent and she works out of her house. She's been doing it for 20 years though, so not sure what kind of experience you need for it.

I hope everything will turn out ok with your daughter.

I have no work suggestions, but can I suggest some ways I have found to save money? Get diapers from Amazon subscribe and save/Amazon moms. The big box is normally like, $45, I get it for $37. Do extreme couponing... Buy things you use that are on sale and you have a coupon for. As long as it doesn't perish quickly, I buy it. I don't go bananas like some people do, but when you het into it, you will know what price you can pay for items you use are. Like diet Pepsi cans, I won't pay more than $2.50 a case. So when I see it for that price, I make multiple trips to the store to get as much as I need to hold me over until the next sale. Boxes of cereal, no more than $2... Usually around $1.50. Spaghetti sauce, $1 a jar and past is either free or under 50 cents. At first you will feel like you are spending more for things you don't need right away, but once you have a little stockpile built up, you will be surprised how much more you can buy on less money. Also know your grocery stores and price check around. I vary my trips based on who has the best price on what I need. You will also notice your utilities will be more money since you will be home all the time. You have to play around with where you can cut back. You can also sell any old items you may have around on eBay. It's a hassle taking pics of everything and figuring shipping, but you could always do that route. Some people find things at stores that are a really good deal and resell on eBay. I live near some Coach outlet stores and anytime I am in there, I always see people with 5 or more purses that I know they are going to resell. If you have a talent, you can sell it on eBay. Just check around on there and see what is selling. Don't bother with those places that will sell your stuff for you unless you don't want to make much money. Learn to get good at it. There are books on selling that you can get if you are clueless.

It is unrealistic to work from home, even part time, while caring for a 2 yo and a baby with medical issues.

I work from home part time. I work about 12 hours a week. I have 3 kids, older 2 are in school M-F.
The 1 yo naps 2 - 3 hours a day and that's when I work.

During the summer, I will have a part time babysitter so I can work.

Consider taking on some part time child care for another mom if you can.

You can look into a direct selling company. I know some people have given them a bad wrap but they work for some. It is very flexible and fun! Check out who I am with and see if it might be something you would like. Www.mythirtyone.com/jennh
Best of luck finding something that is right for you and your family.
J.

Shop at the getto stores! I know its not exactly the info you asked. But recently I shopped at the HEB store located "on the wrong side of town" because I was in that part of town. The sliced cheese we buy at the HEB near our house is 5.and some change. The HEB in the dodgy part of town was 3 and some change. Juice is 2and some change and there it was 1 even!!! I was shocked at the price cut. Someone mentioned that it had to do with the cost of rental on the location. Not sure but it was worth the few dollars extra in gas to buy over there. Also cupons have gotten smarter and its harder to be a cupon queen but they do help a little. Off brands when you can. Home made meals, cutting your own foods, even growing a garden (with a infant and 2 yr old might be difficult )

Fun for free or cheep. Specials at IHOP tuesdays?? kids eat free. Parks are free fun, parenting mag . com has great fun activities for kids. Can you make bows? those can be sold on fb. i would skip etsy because thats been done. plus friends are more apt to buy something from you. if you can bake you might ask your fire station to purchase things. as well as sheriff office, police station and emt locations. I would make a tray of assorted goods and leave them at each location with a stack of business cards. Espically around the holidays. Pumpkin roll cakes for thanksgiving halloween and christmas. fourth of july picknick cookies would be a great seller, also candied popcorn in individual sizes with red and white sprinkles. while they watch the fire works. you get the idea. wreaths. mail box bows. get crafty. sentsy is over priced for me and i dont buy from avon or mary kay. just fyi

While you are till above water, I'd put myself on a budget. I was a budget holdout for a LONG time but it has made my life tremendously easy now. This will go a long way to finding out exactly where you are so you can make a plan. The biggest surprise to me was how much I was spending on groceries!!! It'll take some time to perfect it but it will help you a great deal. Good luck!!

What a great day to have a Dave Ramsey blog post as the headliner.
Although I don't really have any new suggestions for your location I was going to tell you that I am registered with a couple of market research places in Austin, Tamadge, Media Panel, and sometimes go do the clinical trial studies. It is usually flexible and definitely worth the money. Media panel pays 20-25$ to sit for an hour and watch tv interrupted! It isn't consistent, but it always comes in handy! I think finding other children to watch is the best idea, also budgeting and couponing, go over your finances and see if there are some things that you can do without for a little while,. cable tv, extra phone lines ( if you have internet service go buy a magik jack instead of a home phone line) Or call the cable company and tell them you are cutting costs and they will usually work pretty hard to cut your bill down so that you don't cancel. We usually don't like to cut stuff that we have gotten so use to, but when my husband and I went through a rough patch we knew we had to do it ,and honestly it wasn't as awful as I had anticipated. Couponing is great! I save 50+ $ every time I go to the store, but be careful and use discretion because sometimes you save more just buying the store brand and not using the coupon. I know it may seem far off but I am confident that you guys will pull through! Sending prayers out for a good outcome!

It would be tough to have part-time income with two little ones so young. I would focus on how to save money. There are a lot of groceries you can eliminate from your shopping cart. Google just about anything and you will find a cheaper homemade version, even for stuff like taco seasoning. For example, buy chicken, cut it up and toss in a baggie of seasonings and you have chicken nuggets - cheaper and healthier than the frozen ones. Don't pay for babysitting - just trade with a friend. If you have to eat out, order water to drink and don't go anywhere that you have to pay a tip. Think fast and cheap. Don't order dessert either. Don't buy your 2-year-old a kid's meal. Let him eat some of your food. For dessert, freeze juice and make your own popsicles. Imagine yourself in the olden days when they didn't have conveniences. Spend any extra time googling ways to save money. It is amazing how much money we waste because we have gotten used to buying things or having things. Hang dry clothes, google ways to clean without chemicals and you will find out how cheap you can sanitize or clean your home! Make a menu and shopping lists and stick to them. No use throwing out food that goes bad. Eat what you planned. Shop around for all of your insurance policies. We saved a ton by switching. Shop around for electricity too. We have Cirro Energy and have saved over $400 in two years. (They tried to entice me back with a $350 check but I would have to sign a 2-year deal. It would still cost me more to go back to TXU Energy.) Make it fun and celebrate your accomplishments instead of thinking that you have to do without. It's all in the attitude. Enjoy this time at home! I wouldn't have traded it for any amount of money.