Melissa & Doug coupons, free shipping and a free toy offer (3/26)

Just wanted to draw your attention to a few new Melissa & Doug coupons, free shipping offers and a free set of binoculars that I've added to our Coupons and Deals page.

Get 'em while they last because these deals will be gone soon.

Free Melissa & Doug binoculars with purchase of $45 

Melissa & Doug 10% off all orders over $60 with Code: SPRINGTEN  (valid thru 3/31)  

Free Shipping on all Melissa & Doug orders over $50 with Code: FSFIFTY (Regularly $60)

 

Don't forget to check our Coupons and Deals page often as I update it several times a week with new deals and codes. 

Playroom ideas: Decorating with kids art is a budget saver

 

It's been two years since we moved into our house and finally we have something on the walls in the playroom.  I've been searching for playroom decorating ideas for a few months.    I knew I wanted to use the kids' art work to decorate, but I wanted to decorate the playroom on a budget.  The tough part is we have four huge walls, so to cover them with anything -- art or otherwise -- wasn't going to be easy or cheap.   

Mom Deals of the Week 10/17-10/24 (Halloween, Coupons, & Melissa & Doug steals!)

DEAL OF THE DAY: Tuesday


GROUPON - $15 for $50 worth of Photo Books, Cards and More at Mixbook 
Free, easy to use software helps create fully personalized photo books, cards & invitations with fully customizable images and text


Halloween:  
Discounted Kid's Costumes from Halloween Mart


Toys:
Save 15% On Easels &Accessories At Melissa & Doug.com! Click Here! Good Thru 10/20/11 Code: easels15

Sitewide Sale at LittleTikes.com. Now thru February 24th! Enter Code: LOVE at checkout for 5% sitewide.

Coupons: 
Sign up now for $5 in exclusive Kellogs brand coupons!

Just For Mom:
20% Off All Contact Lens Orders & FREE Shipping with coupon code CONTACTLENS20

Payless BOGO - Buy One Get One Half Off Everything. 

Free Shipping:
Don't pay full price for Shipping Again - Exclusive Deals from FreeShipping.com

Check back every day for new, updated, and exclusive deals!

Steep Discounts on Photo Gifts (perfect for the grandparents)...but you have to hurry

Every year I scratch my head trying to figure out what to give my grandparents and my husband's grandparents as a Christmas gift. Now that I have Olivia, a framed picture is always a welcome gift. But as I was trying to decide which, of the many adorable pictures I should print and frame, I had a genius idea! I would make a photo calendar and I wouldn't have to have decide!


A few years back I made my in-laws a Snapfish photo calendar using pictures from my brother-in-law's wedding. It came out beautifully and they loved it. I liked that I could pretty much customize everything including putting pictures on specific calendar dates for things such as birthdays and anniversaries.  


So, I headed back to Snapfish a few days ago and started putting together a few more calendars for the great-grandparents. I was so excited when I found this 30% off coupon for of all things...calendars! (I usually find some great Snapfish coupon, but it's for something other than what I'm ordering.) You can use the coupon too! Just go to Snapfish through this link and use the coupon code 30CAL2009 at checkout to get 30% off all photo calendars.

Here are a few other Snapfish coupons I came across as well...if you're ordering something other than a photo calendar!

50% Off Photo Books with Coupon Code RRBOOK (Offer Expires 12/2)

By using this code Snapfish will also donate $1 from every order to a food bank in your state!!!

Free shipping on orders of $30 or more with coupon code 30SHIP09  

25% Off Photo Cards Use Coupon Code 25CARD2009 (Offer Expires 1/31)

Me and My Sewing Machine: New BFFs

I've spent more time with my sewing machine in the last few days than I have with my husband. It's partly his fault, he bought $12 suit pants and a $30 matching jacket at Target that need to be hemmed. For $12.99, I'll hem anything. But I've also had a date with the new playroom couch and a baby parrot.


A few weeks back while trying to figure out what my daughter would be for Halloween, I had the brilliant idea that we'd dress as a mom-baby duo...we opted to let dad in on the fun, too. I've seen lots of Halloween costume ideas for moms and babies, but when I remembered that my mom had a man and woman's pirate customs I settled on a parrot for my daughter.
If you've ever looked for a baby parrot costume you can stop...they're all pretty much lame-o. Sorry to be so blunt. So, I decided I'd make one. My mom made every single Halloween costume my sister and I ever wore so I thought I'd just follow in her tradition. (We'll see how long this lasts!) I looked online and found a homemade Halloween costume site that actually had about a dozen different versions of a parrot. I got some great ideas and went from there.
At first I started looking for a red fleece one piece to be the body, but I couldn't find what I was looking for. During a quick trip to the dollar store I spotted a red fleece shirt...for $1 that was right up my alley. But, no pants. I went across the street to Goodwill and what did I find but a .50 pair of red sweatpants...the only pair and they happen to be in Olivia's size! Then I went to Joann Fabrics and bought half a yard of half price fleece in red, blue, yellow and green. That's right I paid $7.53 for the entire costume. While I've been busy sewing my parrot, I informed my husband his job was to teach our 13 month old how to flap her wings...to which she picked up in about 5 minutes. (He always gets the easy jobs!) Here are a few pictures from a recent unfinished-costume fitting! The second one, you can see, features "The Flap."


The parrot project actually put a halt on a previous project...which I was happy to abandon, at least for the time being. Being thrifty, we bought a used sleeper couch off Craigslist for the playroom. Every intention was to cover it with a slip cover...it's U.G.L.Y. But silly me I didn't pay close enough attention to the arms and through my search for a slipcover only now realize I'd need a custom cover. Doesn't that defeat the purchase a thrifty purchase? So I went on my way making a cover out of two queen-size flat sheets that I bought for a total of $40...I was able to make three curtains out of extra material too. So while that project is about 80% done, the couch is now only half ugly and must wait for my little parrot!

Gee, I love my sewing machine...at least it's no longer covered with dust!

Making Money Online: My Most Successful Month as a Mom So Far

Far and away, August has been my most lucrative month in my little side business (aside from being a full time mom, of course) as an online freelance writer. I'm really starting to see some serious money rolling into my PayPal account each month. A full year after my daughter was born, and 10 months after leaving my job as a TV News Producer, my online venture is starting to make a real difference in our monthly budget.


As you read down and look at my sources of income keep the following in mind: I am a fulltime, SAHM. I do not have a babysitter any day of the week. I only write or "work" when my daughter is napping (max 3 hours a day) and I rarely do work after my husband comes home (around 4pm) or on the weekends. Some days I do not write or "work" at all because I have other more pressing things to do such as housecleaning or grocery shopping. That being said - it is possible for moms (yes, even those of walking, curious and on-the-go one year olds) to make $500+ a month in extra cash. Here's how I did it in August.

Ehow Earnings: $252.26
Ehow Article Written in August: 0
Note: 100% passive residual income
Learn more writing how-to articles and earning passive residual income on Ehow.com

Examiner Earnings: $44.24
Examiner Articles Written in August: 23
Learn more about becoming a freelance writer for Examiner.com

Examiner Bonus Earnings From Referrals: $150 ($50 per referral)

eBay Earnings: $33.84
Items Sold on eBay in August: 3

Affiliate Earnings in August: $ 15.07
Commission Junction: $1.25
Amazon: $1.32
E-Junkie: $12.50
Total Products Sold thru Affiliate Programs: 4
Note: 100% Passive Income
Learn more about Affiliate Marketing as a way to earn passive residual income

August Dual-Family Yard Sale: $58
_____________________________

Total Online Earnings in August: $ 495.41
Grand Total for August Earnings: $553.418


Through my Examiner column, which focuses on Baltimore SAHMs I have started a weekly series called Make Money Mondays which offers moms creative and legitimate ways to make money from home.

Ehow Earnings: A SAHM Making Money Online

This is a huge month for me Ehow-wise. I've passed the $600 mark...total, not on the month. (Maybe one day!) That means in the six months I've been writing for Ehow, my articles have made me over $600!  For the last six months, I've been publishing my growing earnings on this blog. But this month I'm going to do something a little differently. I'm going to give you a few screen shots of my earnings so you can actually SEE the cash flow.


Before I get to the actual meat and potatoes there are a few things I need to get out in the open.

June was an extremely busy month for me. Besides the fact that we could finally get outside the second half of the month, my family spent most weekends away from home.

 I also started a few new freelance writing ventures in order to bring in additional streams of passive income. So while I've been concentrating on building my Squidoo lenses (with the intention of promoting my ehow articles, while making a little extra cash through affiliate sales) I've also been working hard to promote my eHow articles. 

All that being said I didn't write too much on Ehow in June. Here's how it breaks down:

12 New Articles
Average: 3/Week
Earnings for Articles Written 6/1-6/30: $6.77
June Articles Earning Money: 8/12

Here's why this is significant: even though it sounds low, $6.77 is almost what I made in both November and December. "So what?" you ask. In that amount of time I had 42 articles!!! 

NOTE: If you do not pass the $10 threshold on the year, you're docked a dollar. So I was actually only paid $7.20 for November & December. 

The point of all this is that my June articles are all written with a focus on keywords and SEO or search engine optimization. January was when I purchased an ebook by one of Ehow's top earners (well into the four figures) and when I noticed a significant jump in my earnings...and hence earning potential. I guess what I'm trying to say (in far too many words) is now that I know how to write eHow articles, and how to get them picked up by the search engines, I don't have to write as many in order to make money online. 

There's one other thing I want to point out and that is page views. You might think that the more page views an article has, the more it makes. What I've found is that is far from the truth. For example, my highest earning article has made $75.82 to date with 1,678 view. I have four other articles, each with more views than that, and they have only made me a combined $12.45 with two of them only earning $1.63 total (not to date, total)! By the way, at least one of the four I just described is a recipe. It just goes to show, that recipes don't do well on ehow. While someone may find your article useful, they're not interested in the ads on the page, they're solely interested in how to make xxxx. So topic, category, and ad relevance matter...a lot. 

What I'm focusing on now is promoting them so they can earn to their fullest potential. My husband thinks I'm crazy for biting off yet another project.  But I never feel overwhelmed because it's all freelance work. I write on my time. If I'm busy I don't have to write. If I'm blessed with a three hour nap I get two ehow articles published. I'm off to write...as my daughter is napping....finally!

Recommended Reading:

How to Earn Passive Income at eHow.com

Ehow Earnings Month by Month

The Frugal Texter: Send Free Text Messages by Email

I admit, I am probably one of the last people with a cell phone to not have a text messaging plan. I just don't text very often...perhaps because I don't have a texting plan. But now, the frugal mama in me has found a way to send free text messages.


It's so simple all you do is type the text message like you would an email. Now, don't go crazy and type paragraph after paragraph (that's called a phone call), but you can type up to 160 characters. If you get a little long winded that's fine too. Just send another free text message! I LOVE THIS! Where you would normally type the email address type the person's 10 digit phone number and the wireless carrier's email text extension. Here's a little more help when sending to Verizon Wireless, AT&T Wireless and Cingular customers.

Send Free Text Messages to Verizon Wireless Phones
Sending Free Text Messages to AT&T Customers
Email Free Text Messages to Cingular Customers

Text away, Frugal Texters!!!

Earning Money Online (Doing What I Love)

May has been my most successful month on Ehow. I'll be able to pay off my entire gas/electric bill with the money! Ironically, it's the month I wrote the fewest articles. For an entire week I didn't even log into my ehow account. As I do every month, I've updated my original blog post with my most recent Ehow earnings so you can continue to follow my success.  

Original March Post: 

I just did the happy dance. My hard work and dedication to writing ehow articles and trying to help my family's bottom line is paying off. The best part is my writing work is done online, from home (and in my pj's, if I want). It's passive residual income meaning it makes money even if I don't work for a few days and for an indefinite amount of time after the work is done. Three months in and I've already hit the lucky number!  

I hate to brag...but in my three short months as NewMama on ehow.com I've already earned over $100! My goal was to pay off one bill a month and in just three months I've done that and more! After all, it wasn't that long ago that I was so excited that I had earned my first 8 cents. That was at about the same time that my husband looked at my skeptically and said something to the effect of "this is a scam." A few weeks later he apologized, congratulated me and then asked how much I was transferring from my PayPal account to help pay off the credit card!

First I'll show you how my first three payouts break down, then I'll explain what I think is the key to my ehow.com success and the huge percentage increase each month.

November 22 (my first day)-December 31: $8.20
January '09: $26.75
February '09: $66.01

For a grand total: $100.96  (Read all the way to the end for continuing monthly updates)

It's hard to believe that I've earned over $100 just by doing what I love - writing. And by writing about what I know about! What's even harder to believe is that I earned 226% more in January than the previous month. And in February I increased my online earnings by another 146%! Have you ever gotten a raise like that? I haven't!

In three months I've written 93 articles. (As you can imagine it's difficult to find the time to write with an infant at home. Many dedicated ehow writers pound out 3 articles a day! Imagine how much they make!!!) The majority of my articles (60) were actually written before January 21. Why, January 21, you ask? Well that was the day I bought Writergig's Ebook "How to Earn Passive Income On eHow.com."  That was the day I realized, while my 60 articles were earning money, they could be earning so much more.  My articles weren't earning their full potential because I didn't know the proper strategies to follow. After reading this e-book I put the suggestions and techniques into practice..and, well, you see what happened.  I got a huge raise! 

Starting on January 22 I began writing a little differently, I promoted my articles differently, and I started seeing a huge earnings increase. I had a few articles that were already doing fairly well..maybe making $1-$2 a month. Those that were still sitting on a big goose egg I went in and tweaked. I changed their titles and their keywords to make sure the search engines were picking them up and I edited the copy slightly. I didn't want to spend too much time changing them since I decided to concentrate on the articles I was going to write from here on out. As of today the very first ehow article I wrote still hasn't made a cent. I'm done changing it. I have no idea why it's not making money, but I'm not wasting any more time with it. I've simply decided that's the way it is and fooling with it any more is only costing me more money.

On the other hand, I have one article that earned me $15.62 this month. I wrote it January 9th. That month it made $6.40 (since I can't see a history of per day payments I'll just say it average .22 a day). I went back and tweaked the title and added a few keywords according to ebook's suggestions and it's now averaging .56 a day. (If all 93 of my articles were making that much money I'd be making $1,453 a month! To that, my husband just said, "that's legit." Hmmm!) It's not a dated or topical article which means it has the potential to earn that much, or more, every month from here on out. I think I spent about an hour writing that one article. Think about that for an hourly rate. 

After purchasing and reading the book I also changed the way I pick article topics to write about. While I still focus on baby, parenting, and money topics (because that's what I know best) I've now tailored that focus to specific subjects that are highly searched in Google and other search engines. Out of respect for Writergig I'm not going to give away all her secrets...why would you buy her book then? But I will say there's a secret formula to earning big bucks on ehow. She should know..she's one of ehow's top earners! I only wish I had bought How to Earn Passive Income On eHow.com before I wrote those first 60 articles.

I know what it's like to go from two incomes to one. With the economy the way it is, many people are being forced into that situation. My family chose that situation. I left my job on my own terms so that I could be a stay-at-home-mom. Staying at home with my daughter is no sacrifice-I wouldn't trade it for the world. But living on one income means making lots of (simple) financial sacrifices. While Ehow certainly isn't a paycheck I would rely on, and it doesn't come close to matching what I was bringing in pre-baby, it gives me the satisfaction of continuing to contribute financially, and perhaps more importantly, it gives me the opportunity to have a creative outlet at the same time!

March '09 Update - 

Ehow: $84.35 

          + $52.00 (from a 2nd passive income stream that requires no work, as described in the ebook I read)

             March Grand Total $136.35!!! 

April '09 Update - 

Ehow: $121.67 

            + $12.50 (from a 2nd passive income stream that requires no work, as described in the ebook I read) 

            April Grand Total $ 134.17!!! 

May '09 Update -

Ehow $151.84 

           + $25 (for participating in a special Ehow writing program) 

           + $12.50 (from a 2nd passive income stream that requires no work, as described in the ebook I read) 

   May Grand Total $189.34!!!

Click here to view more details or to purchase "Earn Passive Income on Ehow.com"

Make Money Online: Write Articles That Pay

My Favorite WAHM Blogs: 

Make Money Writing at Home

Sources of Income for SAHMs

A lot of the Stay at Home Moms (SAHMs) I know were once working! Maybe not working moms, but working wives. They were contributing to their family's bottom line and relying on that paycheck. This was the case with me. In fact, I never intended to be a SAHM. We never planned for it financially - except if you count the two weeks between when I gave my notice and when I stopped working. At that point we knew we were going to one income. At least we thought we would solely be relying on my husband's paycheck. Turns out, I've found a few ways to bring home a pretty decent chunk of change while raising my daughter.


There are SAHM and then there are WAHM. I consider myself to be both. When I think of a work at home mom I usually think of someone who has a home office, telecommutes or freelances. I don't fall into any of these categories. But I do work from home with a baby, no less! I've found this site called Ehow where I can continue doing what I love - writing - and make money online all at the same time. I'm not committed to write any certain number of articles or on any specific topic. It's totally up to me when and what I write about. The great part is it's passive residual income, meaning the articles can continue to make money long after they're written. But I get no upfront payment for articles, so if it's a dud it could sit at $0 forever! The first month I was on Ehow I made a whopping $7. It's been 5 months and this month I'll get paid more than $120 for my Ehow articles. Here's more about my success on Ehow and some information if you want to get started too - it's free to sign up! (I get nothing out of you signing up, I'm simply passing along the information.)

I've also started my hand at Ebay. I first started by just looking around my house and seeing what I could easily get rid of. Stuff I no longer used, clothes that were too small, too big or never worn, purses that were collecting dust, an old flute...you get the point. Each month I've sold at least one item on Ebay which gives me a little extra money. Now, there are people who make a huge portion of their monthly income selling stuff on Ebay...they go to garage sales, buy wholesale, resell deeply discounted sale items for a profit (which I've tried and wouldn't recommend) and so on. I have simply looked around my house and sold what I no longer use and so far I've made between $10 and $75 a month through my Ebay sales.

This next money making tip is perhaps the easiest, but I have to admit it hasn't paid off for me just yet. Did you realize you could have unclaimed money just sitting somewhere waiting for you to claim it? Millions of dollars is being held by the government because people forget they have it! The IRS has unclaimed money, state treasury departments hold onto unclaimed property and funds, insurance companies and banks are waiting for people to come get their money, too! It's so easy to search for your lost money...all you have to do is enter your last name and the state where you live or lived and a database will pull up any missing money that belongs to you. (If you don't find your name on your first search, try back in six months the database is always being updated.) While I was trying this with my last name I found my husband's aunt. It said she was owed more than $100 from a time (who knows how long ago) when they lived in another state. I informed her of this and she was told she had an unclaimed escrow account of between $800 and $1000 waiting for her. She filled out the paperwork to claim her unclaimed money and is waiting for the check. That's like free money with no work involved!!!

So if you're like me and you're always thinking about your family's bottom line do something about it. Even if you're not making a traditional income you can make an income. Be creative, use the skills and knowledge you have - be it writing, sewing, researching, teaching - and put them to work on YOUR time. You'll be able to raise your children and contribute financially!

Recommended Reading:

Tips for Surviving on One Income
Use Free Budget Worksheets to See Where You Can Cut Expenses
Ehow.com
Make Money Writing Online on Your Time
Search for Unclaimed Money Belonging to You
Unclaimed Funds and IRS Rebates
How to Claim Unclaimed Money


Favorite WAHM Blogs:

Make Money Writing and Working from Home
Work at Mom Blog

Save Money on Baby

Save Money on Diapers

Save Money By Making Baby Toys (They'll be your kids' favorites) 

Save Money on Baby Furniture: Buy Furniture Your Child Won't Outgrow

Save Money by Making Homemade Baby Food (Fruits) 

Save Money by Making Homemade Baby Food (Vegetables)

Time & Money Saving Tips for Moms

Just wanted to share a few time and money saving tips I've realized. Let's face it few of us have extra money or time to be wasting...so anything shortcuts we can take are well worth it!


Until this month I always bought Huggies or Pampers. It wasn't until I ran into Target, right after buying a box of $40 Huggies at Babies 'R Us, that I realized not all diapers are that expensive. So I bought a box of Target brand diapers (for $14) and took the Huggies back.

That being said: I have to admit, not all diapers are created equal. The Target brand do the job...for sure. But the other morning my daughter woke up with a soaking wet diaper and a damp onesie. Clearly they're not as thick or quite as absorbent (putting her at risk for diaper rash) as the more expensive brand. So here's what I've figured out....during the day, when I change my daughter more frequently, I'm going to have her wear the less expensive Target brand diapers. But at night, or whenever she'll go long periods without a change, I'm going to put a Huggies or Pampers diaper on her. I'll still save money on diapers and she won't be uncomfortable at night because she has wet pjs.

Here's the second shortcut I've figured out. This one has to do with making and freezing homemade baby food. Since I tend to make a lot at once, it can be challenging to neatly get all of the pureed food from the food processor into the ice cube tray. But a meat baster has become my best ally! Here's what I do...tilt the food processor container so all the food pools to one side. I then use the meat baster to collect as much pureed baby food as possible. Then simply squeeze the food from the baster into the ice cube tray. It's so neat and fast and the cubes don't stick together from frozen overflow that would normally collect between the cubes.

Recommended Reading

How to Make Homemade Baby Food (Fruits)
How to Make Homemade Baby Food (Vegetables)
Freezing Homemade Baby Food

Getting Back "Me Time"

I'm a stay at home mom, but I'm learning it may be more important to be a SYLM. As in a see-ya-later-mom! I've found, to be the best mom and wife, to have a happy home and a loving marriage, a stress-free week and a relaxing weekend, I need a little time to myself sometimes. A recharge if you will. It may seem impossible to fit it into you busy schedule, but if I can do it, you can too!

Getting time alone doesn't even mean you have to leave your house it can be as simple as handing your baby over your husband and taking a quiet, uninterrupted bath. Lock the door, turn on some relaxing music and try not to worry about the crying you hear downstairs. It's natural to want to run down and help, but this is your time...and it's only 30 minutes.

The moms in my neighborhood have a Ladies' Night once a month. It's supposed to be a game night but it's usually just a gabfest...about what else? Our kids. And that's okay. It's a time for all of us to commiserate, share our battle stories of labor, double check on if the dirty-diaper count  is normal and learn more than you'd ever want to know about ear infections, green snot and ear tubes. Having a ladies night can be as simple as getting together at a restaurant for a few hours after the kids go to bed or gathering at one person's house for a few hours of gabbing and drinks.

Working out is a stress reliever for a lot of women. The first few months of my daughter's life I found it challenging to work out. (Okay so I used her as an excuse because I hate working out). But anyway...I've realized working out for even an hour two or three times a week gives me a little time to unwind and burn off some energy. It helps me feel more healthy and boosts my self esteem. I feel like more than just a mom when I get done. It's also a chance for my daughter to work on the separation anxiety that she seems to be developing from being with me 24/7. My gym has a free daycare. It's perfect because I know my daughter is only a room away so if something is wrong the daycare providers can easily come get me. I always get scared when I see them walking the perimeter of the gym...why do I seem like the only one they come find to rescue my screaming daughter???

Run errands or go to the salon without dragging your baby along. Okay so running errands may not be fun, ever, but if you can avoid taking the baby, even just once or twice a month it will give you a little time to yourself. A fellow SAHM friend of mine offered to watch my baby while I went to get my hair done. It was a stress free trip to the salon knowing I didn't have to feel rushed because my little girl was getting fussy. If you can find someone who you can swap babysitting services with, even once a month, it'll really do you good.

If all else fails and the only time you get to yourself is nap time try to relax. I'm not going to say "sleep when the baby sleeps" because I know that's rarely possible. But don't break out the vacuum or balance the checkbook...instead get a have a cup of tea, read a chapter in a book, take a shower, dry your hair and put on a little makeup. Looking good is feeling good especially when you're a SAHM and it's tempting to stay in your pj's all day. Everything else will get done, just do it during the next nap. One nap a day deserves to be "mommy time."

Remember a happy mom is a happy home so find ways to get happy, relieve stress and get back a little me time. And don't feel guilty about it - you're doing everyone a favor!

Free Budget Worksheets

As a stay at home mom I'm learning living on a budget is more important than ever. At my house we use an monthly budget worksheet to easily see what's coming in and what's going out. If I had realized before we went through the hassle of creating a budget in Excel, that there are tons of free budget worksheets online, I would have printed one off! To get started
Printable budget worksheets make it easier than ever to live within your means. When you know you have to write down everything you buy, it's a lot harder to justify some of those unnecessary purchases. If you haven't started following a budget yet, you can still use printable budget worksheets to get started. Here are some of the best free budget worksheets I found and here's a link to help filling out free budget worksheets.

Basic Printable Budget Worksheet

Budget Worksheet for Families with Children

Budget Worksheets Specifically Designed for Seniors (but can be adapted for all households)

Yearly Budget Planner

Becoming a SAHM

I'm new at this whole stay-at-home mom thing.  In fact when I had my daughter in August '08 I fully planned to go back to work.  I shouldn't say "planned" I actually did go back to work in November.  Never would I have imagined staying home with my baby.  I wanted to work, to have a career and to raise my family. My husband and I always said after the second baby I'd most likely stop working, but not after the first. 

But after being back to work for a month it just wasn't working. I was working overnights in a busy TV newsroom. I left home at 10:30 at night and got home in the morning at 8am. I'd have to sleep all day, which meant putting my daughter in daycare.  Working overnights isn't for most people, but it's certainly wasn't for me as a working mother. It just wasn't jiving with any of our lives..my daughter, my husband or mine. 

We had to come to a decision and after weighing the options...many of them...(from having an overnight nanny to begging our moms for overnight help) we decided it would be best if I left my job and stayed home. 

The biggest thing holding us back initially was the financial end of it. What would not having my income mean for us? How would we pay the mortgage? How would we buy groceries? How would we pay to fill up the cars? 

Fortunately we're on my husband's health insurance so that wasn't a factor. But we did go over our monthly expenses line by line and with a fine tooth comb. If I wasn't driving 50 miles round trip to work everyday that would save us a lot of money. I'd be filling up my tank maybe every 2-3 weeks instead of every 5 days. If I didn't have daycare I'd be saving a huge amount of money (about one out of every two paychecks for us). If I was home I could pay more attention to grocery specials and clip coupons, make dinner instead of grabbing it on the way home. That proved to be a significant savings..into the hundreds of dollars! We never realized how much money we were spending on food! We cut our bi-weekly spending money that each of used on "want" items in half.  We also changed our tax withholdings which means at least $100 more per paycheck. And even though I'm home now during the day, it doesn't mean I'm not contributing financially. I'm looking for ways to come up with income, no matter how small. I've started writing articles online, I've started selling stuff we don't use anymore (clothes that are too big, etc) on ebay and I'm considering getting into direct home sales.  Check out this article for more ways to make sure you're financially set to survive on one income.

Leaving work was a huge decision for me, as I'm sure it is for most mothers. I now have another job though, and that's taking care of my daughter and our household. I'm glad I can keep contributing even if it isn't attached to a paycheck.