wishing to be a stay at home mommy!!

Kelly - posted on 11/21/2008

You definitely have to stick to a budget and give up a lot of extras to stay-at-home. It's a big lifestyle change. But don't forget the money you'll actually be saving on child care.



If you would like to work part-time, you could babysit for other families in your area. I currently work from 9-4 three days a week. I go to the their house and bring my two kids with me. It works out great because they all play together.



I also sell things we no longer need on eBay and I also buy things for my kids on eBay. A great money-maker/money-saver. Kids outgrow clothes and shoes so quickly, you can find a lot of really nice items for a fraction of the cost.



I'm also a big coupon shopper. couponmom.com ... check it out!



Good luck!! I've been staying home for 3 years now. It seems to be getting harder in this unstable economy but it's three years with my babies that I'll never get back. I can go back to work when they are older!

Jill - posted on 11/20/2008

I have a great work at home business in the wellness industry. If you would like to hear more please feel free to write me here or at Jann3b@aol.com or fill out the form on my site and I will contact you. Jill http://www.GetwithitGoGreen.com

Kris - posted on 11/20/2008

Well I work for a great health and wellness company. There are no inventory, deliveries, parties, etc. It's absolutely risk free. I would love to tell you more and give you an online presentation at no obligation to you, send me an email at krisdenise136@yahoo.com

Angela - posted on 11/20/2008

If you are looking for a way to stay home AND make money, I may have the solution. You can work at home with Motivated Moms. It's great! This way you can be with your baby and still have an income, while saving money and creating a better environment for you son. Check out my website and click on get more info. Once I receive your request, I will personally call you and tell you what we do and then you can decided if it's something you'd be interested in. It's a great opportunity!
Angela
http://www.motivatedmoms.net/angelamouch...

Corynn - posted on 11/17/2008

I'm really not trying to be corny, but just remember what your baby thinks is important is time with you. I have a little girl, and it is really hard to not buy her every cute outfit I see; however, she doesn't care what she has on! Besides, you can get really cute clothes second hand and at cheap stores.

Does your husband take his lunch with him? Brown bagging it really helps! Also, I never used to look at sale papers, but CVS has some really great sales and money back offers. Last week, I got 2 free tubes of toothpaste after the money back offer. Just keep your eyes open!

Kari - posted on 11/17/2008

Hi Alexis,



I have recently been laid off and we deceided to just have me stay home. We have set a budget for everything and I am actually very surprised that we can afford for me to stay home.We didn't think we could do it either. I have been getting books and dvds at the library because they are free.

Good luck!

Carrie - posted on 11/17/2008

my husband has a good job - but doesnt get paid much. i have 2 boys under 2 and stay at home full time with them. This is the best decision we have ever made (savings on me buying lunch for work; clothes; driving; gas; child care) i would not have made enought money per week (minus all the expenses) to make it worth it for us - but you learn needs and wants and things you thought were 'needs' change to 'wants' as you see your goal -to be home with your son) things we did - i make homemade baby food; and home made baby wipes (since i dont work - i have the time to do this - but it honestly takes like 2 minutes) i have also started selling on ebay some babystuff i dont use anymore; and stuff just laying around the house (its like having a garage sale - all the time) i called our insurance company and told them my jeep is for 'pleasure only' and they lowered my rate as its not for commuting. i buy my diapers at BJ's as well as staple stuff and for me that is bisquick (you can do SOO much with bisquick) vinegar and baking soda - extremely cheap at BJ"s and you can use those for MOST of your cleaning needs. hope this helps! Carrie

Paula - posted on 11/17/2008

Some not so popular ideas are:
Downsizing-Do you NEED the big house?
Do you NEED a second car?
Getting rid of cable or internet

Alexis - posted on 11/17/2008

thank you so much for all of this info!!! I really appreciate it. Sometimes I doubt we can do it, but this gives me hope!!

Dinnae - posted on 11/16/2008

hi alexis,

BIGGEST tip - do up a budget, and then stick to it. (i find the last part the hardest. ;) )

when you do your grocery shopping, plan a week's worth of meals ahead of time, and go shopping ONLY ONCE a week.

don't impulse buy, or go out for dinner often... try to eat at home, you'll save LOTS.

make stuff from scratch - don't buy pre-made pasta sauces, or packet pasta... or muffin or cake mixes - it's just as easy to make it from scratch, you KNOW what's in it, AND it tastes better!

use concentrated cleaning products - don't pay for water (ie: a bottle of windex, like 85% water or more!)... find cleaning products that allow you to add your own water, save on waste AND on the products!

if your son isn't toilet trained, and you aren't already, consider switching, even part-time, to cloth diapers. it'll save you LOTS. both my boys are in cloth, and it only makes an extra load of laundry every 2nd or 3rd day.

there are lots of options out there as well for you to bring in an income whilst staying home, ranging from working from home (job/telecommute), to having your own business. there are also TONS of good books and sites to help you find info too, just google work from home.. but be diligent and search through about 10 pages. also, go to amazon.com and look for work from home books.

most options, regardless of whether you're doing a traditional job or owning your own business, will still need you to promote yourself or your service or product in order to get work, orders, clients, etc.

things like:
- web or graphic design (i'd ONLY recommend this if you had appropriate training - there are too many people out there doing BAD jobs in web/graphic design - i know, my hubby is a web designer)
- medical transcription (a course is required for this - you can take it via correspondence, or often at your local college)
- secret shopper (not really AT home though, but do a google search for this)
- data entry (be WARY of this one - this is a really good one for scams, but there ARE some legitimate data entry jobs out there, just difficult to find)
- party plan (mary kay, epm empowernet, creative memories, stamping up) or distributorship (avon, monavie, quixtar)... i'm personally not a MASSIVE fan of these unless it's something you're passionate about (like, i LOVE stamping up products, so i might sign up as a HOBBY consultant, knowing full well that i don't intend to make alot of money at it) the reason WHY i'm not a massive fan is that i want to stay at home: i don't want to run around to parties every night, or run around collecting money, delivering orders, etc.
- other network marketing options
- nail tech or esthetician or hair stylist (easy to set up your own salon room or corner in your home - again, you'll need training for this)
- life or business coach (again, training and certification needed)
- seamstress (some businesses need help with keeping up with demand, so contract out sewing work to sahm's... hard to find, but out there if you are a sewer)
- tutor or teacher (if you are good at anything that you are passionate about, another good option)
- many many other options

both my hubby and i work from home and i LOVE it. it's the most amazing feeling knowing that when my boys are sick or really need me, i'm here for them. and on those days i'm under the weather, my hubby is here too. it's great when my oldest asks for daddy, and i say, he's working baby, go say hi if you want. and my hubby absolutely LOVES it when xavier slooooowly opens his office door and says "daddy?" just too cute!

i hope some of this has helped, holy cow, i just read back through it, it's alot of info! ... let me know if you have any questions! :)

cheers,
dinnae ;)

dinnae79@yahoo.com.au