# Money making from home



## bennyg70 (Mar 8, 2013)

So planning ahead... 

Any good ways to make a little extra cash on the side from home whilst the OH is off on Maternity - Obviously having the baby will be a full time job in itself but any ideas for earning a little extra cash to help support from home that she could do with any spare time she may have during the day (It wont be much!! Lol) or I / we can do in the evenings?

Ideas welcomed - Wacky or not!!


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## Mark T (Mar 8, 2013)

New baby: spare time - what's that?

Depends how much you aim to earn.  But certainly she will have her hands full for at least the first 6 months (if not more) and mummy/daddy brain-drain can potentially leave you both too worn out to do anything for the first month.

If only a little bit is OK and don't mind about your data - you can do online survey filling.  Perhaps worth ?10 every couple of months.

You could also make things and sell them online - but that takes a while so it's a long term plan.

It's taken my wife about a year to get to the point were she averages one sale (<?5) per week and it's probably going to take at least another year to pay back the initial investment.


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## LeeLee (Mar 8, 2013)

Mark's assessment accurately reflects my daughter's experience as well.  She bought a load of stuff to make premium greetings cards to sell online, but taking everything into account has only just broken even.  However, if either of you has a really good idea and the appropriate knowledge of writing computer code, there is money to be had developing i-phone apps.  A friend of my son-in-law does exactly that.


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## Vicsetter (Mar 8, 2013)

Hows about being a secret shopper: http://www.secretshopping.org.uk/
There are others.


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## Twitchy (Mar 9, 2013)

Seriously, be very, very careful about piling expectations onto your wife...even if baby isn't early, colicky, a difficult teether etc etc you can't tell when it will start to sleep through & nothing but nothing prepares you for the physical & mental exhaustion if baby isn't a compliant one! Our first was a few weeks early (34w gestation), so didn't feed well, was colicky, and the pukiest baby I have ever known. Not wanting to be negative but I'd say just see how things go before adding balls to juggle.


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## Steff (Mar 10, 2013)

How about don't surveys etc I do some and recently got sent a?50 cheque as I had made enough points


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## Caroline (Mar 11, 2013)

bennyg70 said:


> So planning ahead...
> 
> Any good ways to make a little extra cash on the side from home whilst the OH is off on Maternity - Obviously having the baby will be a full time job in itself but any ideas for earning a little extra cash to help support from home that she could do with any spare time she may have during the day (It wont be much!! Lol) or I / we can do in the evenings?
> 
> Ideas welcomed - Wacky or not!!



you're wife will have her hands full with baby and running a home and you expect her to earn money too?


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## Vicsetter (Mar 11, 2013)

Caroline said:


> you're wife will have her hands full with baby and running a home and you expect her to earn money too?



Thats a bit harsh, which bit of I/We did you not read? and anyway a baby does not take up 24 hrs in a day.


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## LeeLee (Mar 11, 2013)

Vicsetter said:


> and anyway a baby does not take up 24 hrs in a day.



Oh yes it does for the first 3-6 months!  When not actually dealing with the baby, Mum is too wiped out to do much else.


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## HelenP (Mar 11, 2013)

Small return for little to no effort - some companies pay you to advertise their business on your car (with magnetic stick ons, I think).  That way your wife can get her head down when baby (eventually!!  good luck with that, lol) sleeps.

'Official' homework companies are a bit of a scam, pay very little when you've put in a heck of a lot of time, so be wary of going down that route.

Good luck.

xx


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## Mark T (Mar 11, 2013)

Vicsetter said:


> Thats a bit harsh, which bit of I/We did you not read? and anyway a baby does not take up 24 hrs in a day.





LeeLee said:


> Oh yes it does for the first 3-6 months!  When not actually dealing with the baby, Mum is too wiped out to do much else.


It's a "YMMV" situation - depending on the babe both mum and dad can be wiped out for some time after birth.  You don't know until you meet the baby.

I know parents who were back into the normal routine within a day of birth and others that were still suffering the affects of sleep deprivation a year (or more) after.

In our case, my little one is just coming up to 4 and my wife has had her business running for just over a year.  Because making jewellery is labour intensive she couldn't really get started until he started at pre-school.

None of these working from home type jobs are likely to cover the cost of placing the child in nursery.


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## lucy123 (Mar 11, 2013)

My baby is 25 years old now and I still feel shattered!!

I think it might be a case of give it a go if you can. You might find your wife appreciates doing something other than baby things. I did.

I think its down to the individual - so see how you both feel when the time is right!  Good luck with it - and oh yes Congratulations again!


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## runner (Mar 12, 2013)

Congratulations!  I make and sell things online and at craft/food fairs, but as others have said - it's a lot of work for very little return.  Hormones will be all over the place for first few months too.  Don't think any of my 5 children slept through the night until about 2 years old!  Don't underestimate the impact on yourself too - you'll still presumably be working, but on a lot less sleep and with a lot of extra chores at home!

When she/you both feel ready to take on extra work, you might consider childminding.  You will need to register/train/complete CRB checks etc.  I did this when mine were little because I wanted to be at home with them but needed to contribute to family income. Don't expect high financial returns though!

Good luck - hope you find something that helps.


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## Mossey (Mar 12, 2013)

Seems to be an awful lot of doom and gloom about lack of sleep and lack of time generally when a new baby arrives.  I've had three and I know friends all said I had it too easy but it really was. 6 or 7 weeks they all went through the night. First few weeks they slept between feeds which gave hours each day to get on with the renovation work we were doing on a chapel and cottage and by the time they were toddlers they had their own toy wheelbarrows to play with while we worked on the next project.  It can be done ... If they are accommodating !!!  Pre babies I used to work at a university and students were always looking for people to type up their thesis' and that paid reasonably well. Don't know if that sort of work is still needed in this day and age but must be worth a call to a uni.


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## runner (Mar 12, 2013)

Mossey said:


> Seems to be an awful lot of doom and gloom about lack of sleep and lack of time generally when a new baby arrives.



Ah but it's all worth it - just part of life!   



Mossey said:


> Pre babies I used to work at a university and students were always looking for people to type up their thesis' and that paid reasonably well. Don't know if that sort of work is still needed in this day and age but must be worth a call to a uni.



I expect most do theirs on computer now, but there might still be some who need theirs typed up.  Just be careful not to get pulled into scam agencies who charge students to actually write their essays/thesis for them - you woud need to make it clear that this is not what you're offering.

Depending on your background/s you might be able to become Associate Lecturers for the Open University - mainly home-based and a lot of online work.


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## bennyg70 (Mar 12, 2013)

Sorry dosnt sound like I phrased it clearly enough here. I never said I expected Lucie to be working or bringing in money 24 hours a day!! I just asked for some ideas that might help bring in an extra tenner here and there if a spare hour was had and thanks for the suggestions some have come up with.. She has brought up a child well on her own previous to me and fully understands the demands. Im not entirely sure how I phrased it now, but I did say about I / We in the evenings me, and/or her!


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## bennyg70 (Mar 12, 2013)

Mossey said:


> Seems to be an awful lot of doom and gloom about lack of sleep and lack of time generally when a new baby arrives.  I've had three and I know friends all said I had it too easy but it really was. 6 or 7 weeks they all went through the night. First few weeks they slept between feeds which gave hours each day to get on with the renovation work we were doing on a chapel and cottage and by the time they were toddlers they had their own toy wheelbarrows to play with while we worked on the next project.  It can be done ... If they are accommodating !!!  Pre babies I used to work at a university and students were always looking for people to type up their thesis' and that paid reasonably well. Don't know if that sort of work is still needed in this day and age but must be worth a call to a uni.





runner said:


> Ah but it's all worth it - just part of life!
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Good ideas. She is a teacher, so we have thought about home tutoring / online tutoring when I get home from work and Could take over baby dutys!


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## runner (Mar 12, 2013)

bennyg70 said:


> Good ideas. She is a teacher, so we have thought about home tutoring / online tutoring when I get home from work and Could take over baby dutys!



I taught for the OU for a while.  I enjoyed it, but because all the assignments come in at once, there are times when the work is intensive - but then it seemed to take me a lot longer to mark and feedback than other Lecturers! (I'm a bit too conscientious at times.) I know a lot of the other tutors also had F/T jobs, and you can mostly fit the work around your other commitments.  Different courses have different face-to-face tutorial requirements too - worth a look at their site if you're interested later on.


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## bennyg70 (Mar 12, 2013)

runner said:


> I taught for the OU for a while.  I enjoyed it, but because all the assignments come in at once, there are times when the work is intensive - but then it seemed to take me a lot longer to mark and feedback than other Lecturers! (I'm a bit too conscientious at times.) I know a lot of the other tutors also had F/T jobs, and you can mostly fit the work around your other commitments.  Different courses have different face-to-face tutorial requirements too - worth a look at their site if you're interested later on.



Thanks Runner - Ill mention that one too her for sure!


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