Looking for ideas for a stay at home mom to make money?
I love to save money and make the most out of every cent. If you’re making the transition to living on one income and being a stay at home mom, having a budget and living as frugally as possible is the smartest thing you can do.
But, what happens if you’ve cut your budget to the bone and you’re feeling the pinch?
Maybe an unexpected bill shows up, or a budgeted expense blows out.
That’s when it’s time to make extra money.
You can do a lot by saving your money, but learning how to add some extra dollars to your bottom line each month? That’s gold. Having diverse income streams increases your financial security too.
What could you do with extra income? Well it might mean:
- you can ease up on your budget and include more spending money for fun family outings.
- you can pay down your debt or mortgage.
- you can finally invest in needed renovations.
- you might be able to spend more on things for your kids like swimming or music lessons.
But, how do you go about making extra money? Some people seem to make money easily. Whatever they do, wherever they go, they’re always earning. They don’t even have to have a full time job.
The thing is, these days there are SO many ways you can make money – in person, online, from home…Once you know you can do it, things can only grow from there.
Ideas for a Stay At Home Mom to Make Money?
I’m not going to tell you that it’s easy. It takes work, especially when you’re just getting started and learning your what will work for you.
Here’s 11 things you can try to start making money:
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Get Cash Back With Ebates
What’s better than making $100? Getting $100 back on money you’ve already spent.
There are several options out there that will give you money back on your purchases.
My favorite is Ebates. Use them while shopping online to earn cash back on the things you’re buying anyway.
Want to sign up for Ebates? Click here!
Psst… you can make even more money by telling your friends. And since they can save money too it’s kind of a no-brainer to sign up.
Sell Your Opinion With Online Surveys
Online surveys get a bad rap. Yes, for some people the time and the money might not be worth it. But, if you’re just watching TV or stuck in one spot breastfeeding your newborn, idly filling out a survey at the same time is still making more money than you would’ve just sitting there (and keeping you mentally engaged).
One thing that may slow you down is that there aren’t always surveys available for you to take… if you’re just focusing on one company. Once you’ve exhausted your list of potential surveys you have to wait for more to come available.
You can get around this by signing up for multiple survey sites, here’s a quick list of some I’ve tried:
- Vindale Research ($2 bonus for signing up!)
- Swagbucks ($5 bonus for signing up!)
- Opinion Outpost
- Survey Club
Start an In Home Daycare
If you enjoy looking after little ones, you could turn this into a job and start your own in home or family daycare.
Some of the benefits include:
- getting to stay at home with your baby
- your work is looking after and entertaining the kids… so you don’t have to feel guilty about ignoring your little one to spend time on the computer or on the phone
- you can choose your work days and hours – if you work out how much money you need to earn, you might be able to choose to work only a few days a week.
How do you do it? You’ll need to check out the legislation in your state for your legal requirements and any organizations you might need to register with. Then follow the process from there!
Test Websites
There are a LOT of websites online. I thought you might’ve noticed 😉
Website owners are always hungry for feedback on their site/app. What do their visitors think when they arrive on the site? Is it easy to navigate? Do people know what’s going on and what to do?
It’s not that easy to get feedback from a casual visitor, which is where companies like User Testing come in. And where you can make money.
User Testing pays $10 to:
- visit a site or an app
- complete a set of tasks, speaking your thoughts aloud
- Boom! You collect your $10 via PayPal.
Too easy!
It should only take you 20 minutes to half an hour to complete a test, so if you want to make $100? That’s only a few hours of your time.
Sell Your Old Clothes On ThredUp
Is your wardrobe full of clothes you never wear (or don’t fit anymore)? Why not convert those old threads into cash by selling them on ThredUp?
It’s the best place to sell used clothes!
Drive People Around In Your Spare Time
If you’ve got a car and some spare time, why not sign up to be an Uber or Lyft driver?
To be a successful driver you’ll want to choose your route carefully:
- do pick ups close by to minimize time spent in transit without a fare
- don’t take runs in areas you aren’t familiar with – wrong turns and unexpected one-way streets can cost you time, money, and stress.
Become a Micro-Task Master
Outsourcing is super duper popular these days… you can outsource everything from your grocery shopping, to collecting your dry cleaning, to making a nice chart graphic for your report.
Best thing about outsourcing? There’s an outsourcee (person who is doing the work and making money!) Annnnd, there are quite a few websites dedicated to these micro tasks. Check out:
Drive Food Around In Your Spare Time
If you’re not really the chatty type, you might think this whole ‘driving’ side hustle thing is out of your comfort zone… but consider being a food delivery driver.
Companies like UberEATS and PostMates let you sign up to become a delivery driver and make money delivering food to the masses.
Sell Your Blood
Sell your blood? How ghoulish!
Yes, you can sell your blood at the local blood bank for about $30-$40 a pop. You can do it weekly too.
Quick note – it’s not safe to give blood while pregnant, and the American Red Cross advises waiting at least 6 weeks after giving birth. So wait until after those first 6 weeks.
Sell Old Books and Declutter at the Same Time
Got any old books from school or college? Sell them off on Amazon!
Any other books are good too.
I used to have quite a collection of sci-fi/fantasy novels. But, then I bought an Amazon Kindle and all my books live on it. If you get a Kindle Unlimited membership you’re basically set for life. Or if you prefer to listen to books, Audible is even better.
(psst, if you don’t have any books of your own to sell, you can pick them up cheap on Craigslist or at garage sales and flip them for profit.)
Hold a Garage Sale
If you want to make some quick cash, why not hold a garage sale? It’s old-fashioned, but it works.
You can sell all kinds of things at a garage sale:
- Books
- Tools
- Kitchen Appliances
- Clothes
- Furniture
- Old DVDs
- Games
- Knickknacks
Think you don’t have anything to sell? You’d be surprised at what people will buy.
Get Paid to Hang Out With Kids and Babysit
Frazzled parents are always appreciative of trustworthy offers to babysit. Spending a few hours looking after the kids so the parents can have a date night can be a relatively easy way to make extra cash.
A few hours on the weekend or a couple of weeknights and you’ll easily make it to $100.
Become a Cleaner
The days are busy and no one really wants to spend their time cleaning house. You could offer your services for a win-win situation for everyone. You make some money, they get a clean house.
Other things you could clean:
- House cleaning
- Auto detailing
- Jewellery and Silverware cleaning
- Laundry +/- ironing
If you specialise (and do a great job), you can charge higher prices. For example, you could specialise in cleaning wedding rings or polishing silverware.
Mystery Shop
Becoming a mystery shopper sounds like so much fun doesn’t it? Go undercover and get free things and you get paid to do it too!
Try signing up for BestMark – they pay out in gift certificates.
Sell Ad Space on Your Car
You can make up to $400 through Free Car Media simply by allowing companies to put their advertising on your car.
Yes, you will look like a moving ad. Is it worth it? Check it out and decide for yourself!
Join a Focus Group
If you live in a city, there’s always focus groups available to join who’ll pay for your time. You can make up to $100 for an hour or two of your time.
Not bad, eh?
What to do with your first $100?
What are you going to do with your hard-earned shiny cash? Here’s some ideas!
- Start a mom blog – $100 covers the essentials to get you up and running. Or if you spend just a little more, you can even get a professional theme to go with it.
- Splurge a little – get your little one that special something you have your heart set on.
- Invest in your baby’s sleep – I swear by these sleep suits. My little guy went from waking up every 2-hours to sleeping 10-hours straight the first night. Hallelujah! They’re not the cheapest, but well worth it.
- Do something for you – go get a massage or a manicure, whatever makes you happy and relaxed.
- Date night! Have a nice night out with your hubby.
Or you could put it away for a rainy day.
How about you?
I hope these ideas for a stay at home mom to make money help YOU start making some money soon.
>>> read more on the Making of Mom home page.
