How to Earn Income From Home
February 29, 2012My wife made a comment the other day about how much food our household is going through lately. As some of you may know, we have four children, including three boys, the oldest of which is turning 12 in April. Like all growing families, as the children get bigger, so do their appetites and this has caused my wife to question whether or not she should take on work as a way of bringing in a little extra income to help support the increases in the grocery bill.
One of the luxuries we have right now is Susan’s ability to be a stay-at-home mom, which gives her lots of flexibility. She’s had this kind of flexibility ever since Rachel was born over 13 years ago. I’m not suggesting that having children doesn’t come with its own limitations but as the children have grown, Susan has appreciated her ability to be available for them whenever needed. In fact, it is my preference that Susan continue to “be available” until the children are, for the most part, self-sufficient.
With this in mind, we’ve embarked on a quest to find potential income opportunities that would allow Susan to bring in a little extra income without sacrificing her “flexibility.” Here are a few of the ideas we are currently exploring:
Independent Consultant
What do cookware, jewelry, and cosmetics have in common? They are all items that are available for purchase through independent consultants that work from their homes. Whether it’s the ubiquitous pink Mary Kay® Cadillac or an invitation to a cooking party where you can demo the latest from The Pampered Chef®, there are a variety of products that you can make money selling. (Even I sold Cutco® cutlery when I was in college.)
Being an independent consultant has its advantages. For starters, you get to set your own hours. Also, depending on how long and hard you are willing to work, you can just about earn as much or as little as you want. On the downside, it is sales and like any type of sales you only get paid when you sell your product and it can take a while before you begin to see the fruits of your labor. So if you are a fan of the product, have a large potential pool of buyers, and don’t mind the idea of selling, this may be a good option for you
Survey Taker
Google the words “income from home” and you’ll probably get over 500,000,000 hits. One idea for earning income at home that appears to be gaining popularity is being a survey taker. As a survey taker, you basically get paid for giving your opinion. On the one hand, the great thing about giving your opinion is that everyone has one. The downside is that each survey you take varies in the amount paid and unless you have the time or the desire to take a large number of surveys, it doesn’t necessarily have the same income potential as other opportunities.
If you think this is something you’d like to learn more about, good luck. With so many websites to choose from, it’s hard to tell which are legitimate and which are bogus. (There’s probably even a survey asking which “paid for surveys” website is best! I came across this site – http://getpaidsurveysonline.com/?m=201202 – which at least had a short list to look through but if you have an opinion about any of them, please let me know.)
Substitute Teacher
Now here’s something that might be right up Susan’s alley (given the fact that she earned her teaching credential following college). As a substitute teacher, you don’t have the usual burden of having to prepare a lesson plan, grade papers, or deal with upset parents on a regular basis. It’s not the best paying job in the world but depending on the school district, you could earn anywhere from $65 to $85 a day. It’s not steady work but if you live in an area with a high population of students, you may find your phone ringing quite regularly and the best part is you have the option to say “no, thank you” if you don’t feel like working that day.
I’m sure there are a thousand other ideas out there and I’d love to hear of any that have succeeded for you. What I like about these is the relative ease and flexibility they offer but just like anything, you get out of it as much as you put into it. At the end of the day, it’s either this or put the kids on a diet—I think you know which one they’d prefer.