Looking for ways to make money from home and save on childcare while spending precious time with your kids?
Join the growing club! A whopping 60 per cent of mothers said they had put their careers on hold in order to stay at home with their kids, according to a Netmums survey.
But with the cost of food, clothes, fuel, holidays and basically everything only going one way, and that’s up, it’s understandable you may want to seek out new ways to make money. And that you want to do that flexibly around your kids, so you can work from home and spend time with them.
There are a few ways mums can make money from home that I recommend (and most are tried and tested by me):
- Blogging
- Making and selling digital or physical products online
- Write and sell ebooks
- Freelance work online in your area of expertise
- Online surveys
- Virtual assistant
- Tutoring
- Pet-sitting
- Help other people sell their stuff online
We’re going to take a look at these top ideas and more in greater detail so you can pick the best money-making idea for you!
This post contains affiliate links.
Ways to make money from home
If you’re looking for tips on what you could do to earn extra money from home, then you could try one of these ideas.
Don’t forget that this isn’t a comprehensive list. One of the best things about working for yourself is the flexibility to pick and choose what you do. What you end up doing may be totally unique!
Think outside of the box, and keeping on brainstorming to find what’s right for you.
Start a blog
This has been one of my work from home money-making solutions!
My blog The Mummy Bubble started while I was still on maternity leave in 2016. It not makes me a few hundred pounds per month.
It’s worth saying up front that blogging is NOT an easy way to make your money. In fact, many of the hundreds of tutorials and blogging gurus will tell you how easy it is, while taking your money for the privilege.
Some people have slated blogging for being similar to a “pyramid scheme”. This is where the people at the top of the pyramid rake in cash, while recruiting people at the bottom of the pyramid and making money from them, while the lower ranks earn a pittance.
My opinion? It is possible to make money from blogging, even in 2019, as a stay-at-home mum. BUT, you’ve got to be prepared to put in a hell of a lot of work.
You’ll need to learn about web design, SEO, social media, building an audience, graphic design, content creation and sales. It’s a long list and the learning never ends.
If after all of these warnings, you still want to start a blog, then my biggest recommendation is to come up with an amazing niche straight away.
Don’t just start a broad lifestyle blog. Narrow it down to a really specific topic, something that people are genuinely searching for on Google and a subject you can really help people with.
It might be breastfeeding, cleaning, coping with childhood eczema, cooking, baking amazing desserts. Whatever the topic, find your niche straight away. You’ll be on a faster path to making actual money that way.
I have a whole post on getting started with blogging here. If you have a blog already and want to increase your earnings or start making money then this brilliant ebook from successful blogger Angela Vas is for you. It’s called The Secret Sauce to Skyrocketing your Blog Traffic. Buy it here.
Make and sell products
Do you have a talent for creating beautiful things? Maybe it’s jewellery, or home decor.
Etsy is now one of the biggest online marketplaces, and you can set up a profile selling your wares within minutes.
Of course getting sales is another matter, and you will need to promote your products elsewhere on sites such as Pinterest and Instagram to get your stuff noticed.
However if you’ve ever had a creative hobby (knitting, sewing etc) that you loved, this can be a wonderful way of turning that into something lucrative for you.
As well as physical products you can also make digital products for Etsy.
These can be made for free with websites such as Canva, or you could use paid-for software like Photoshop.
Digital products that sell well on Etsy include:
- Planners
- Journals
- Checklists
- Invitations
- Party games
Write a book
Have you ever wanted to write a book?
Self-publishing to Amazon has never been easier. There are tons of tutorials and helpful tips for getting your work published on Amazon at minimal cost to you.
Of course getting your work read is another thing, but there are several authors who started life as self-published writers now making good money from doing something they are passionate about.
One of the keys will be to market your work, via social media or other book forums.
The most important thing is to get writing, so that you have a product to put forward.
Try these tips for self-publishing.
Look for freelance work in your area of expertise
As a former journalist, this is another area where I have been looking for work. I have managed to get the odd shift working for my old newspaper, which has been well paid and is work that I can pick and choose to do around my children.
Think about your old career. Is there a way you can offer your freelance services to your former or similar employers?
You can also use your skillset to branch out to different areas of work.
Many organisations need proofreading or copywriting services. You can register and advertise your services on sites such as Fiverr, Upwork and Freelancer.
It’s also worth going on Twitter and searching relevant hashtags for your career or area of expertise. Is anyone looking for someone to do some consultant work that can be done from home?
It can also helps to join Facebook groups relevant to your sector. For me, I joined the No 1 Freelance Ladies Buddy Agency which has loads of potential work for journalists.
Online surveys
Many stay-at-home mums make a few extra quid by filling out online surveys.
These are great because you can do it in your own time, including in the evenings after the kids have gone to bed. Some surveys take a short time, while others are more in depth.
You need to fill in a LOT to start making it worthwhile, but it’s a great low-skill, minimal effort option.
Two of the biggest sites you can sign up to do surveys on are Qmee and Swagbucks.
I personally love Prolific and have been using it for around nine months now. New opportunities pop up throughout the day so it’s a good one to have open while you’re working on your computer. It won’t make you a full-time income, but you can make some decent extra cash every month to put towards the bills or a treat.
With Prolific I make on average 50p per survey and they take an average of five minutes to complete.
Become a Virtual Assistant
With so much of what we do now online, even assistance is now virtual!
There are thousands of entrepreneurs and companies out there that want to contract out work virtually.
This many include social media management, such as overseeing someone’s Pinterest profile, replying to emails, managing website content or posting Instagram content.
There’s a long, long list of things that a Virtual Assistant, or VA, may be asked to do. The beauty of it is that it’s work you do from home. You choose how many clients you take on, so you get to manage your hours.
As a new VA you may not earn loads to begin with, but it’s a job that can become a nice earner quickly if you earn a reputation for yourself.
Look for VA jobs in Facebook entrepreneur and blogging forums, or on Twitter.
Rent out your parking space
Do you live right next to your local train station? Make the most of your premium location by renting out your driveway to commuters.
Childminding
If you’re looking after your own child anyway, you may as well have a few play mates for them to enjoy!
Of course childminders need to be registered with Ofsted, be super organised, able to cook fresh meals, be able to provide fun and educational activities, and be very patient.
You could offer to be a childminder for very young children, or offer your services for primary school kids after school hours. This is a really important sector for many working parents, who can’t make the school collection time of 3pm.
You could care for kids at your home, giving them dinner and space to do their homework, until their parents are able to collect them after work.
Laundry and ironing
If you’re a rare soul who just loves to iron, then you could take on other people’s!
There are agencies that will have the laundry delivered to you, then collect it once you are done. This is a good option as the agency also covers things like advertising and insurance, so you don’t need to worry about the administrative side of things.
Sales
Selling products from your home has been a popular pastime for stay-at-home mums for some time.
This sector has become controversial due to pyramid schemes and companies charging huge amounts for stock taking advantage of women wanting to make money from home.
But there are still some good schemes through which you could earn good money and set your own hours around your family.
Avon still runs its rep scheme, although it doesn’t necessarily make money for everyone and building up your customer base can take a while.
Usborne Books also offers a rep scheme, which is nice if you attend a lot of baby and toddler groups who might let you have a stand to sell books to fellow parents.
Pet boarding service
Do you love pets? Take in cats, dogs, bunnies and hamsters who need a holiday home while their owners are abroad.
You will need space in your home to accommodate the furry creatures.
If you don’t fancy turning your home into a zoo, you could offer a pet feeding service. This doesn’t work for dogs, who do need someone with them while their owners are away.
But for cats and other small animals, you could earn up to £80 a week just for feeding a family cat. You will need a car to expand your reach and you’ll need to advertise your services locally and online to get business.
Teach online
Are you a teacher by trade? You could put these skills to great use by teaching online.
You could teach English or other subjects to university students around the world. You may also have other skills that would transfer well to online teaching.
The website Teachable enables you to create courses featuring written and video content teaching students anything from knitting to breastfeeding.
There’s lots more about being a virtual teacher in this handy guide.
Earn while you shop
If you do most of your shopping online, then you are missing out on extra money!
Cashback websites pay you to shop through them. The websites pay you with the commission they earn for referring you to particular sites.
The biggest site, Topcashback, has lots of high street favourites such as Debenhams, M&S, eBay, Wayfair, B&Q and Very.
All you need to do is create a free profile then get shopping.
Matched betting
I have never tried matched betting. It sounds like you need to put in a lot of time and effort in what is a largely boring activity.
But a chap who tried it out for Vice made more than £500 in 30 days as a beginner at matched betting. I’ve also heard many other financial bloggers talk about the positives of matched betting.
It’s worth taking a look, but do your research before you sign up to anything.
Have a huge clear out
Why not declutter and make a bit of money while you’re at it.
It can be very tempting just to clear things out and take them to the dump so that they are out of the way.
But your trash can definitely be someone else’s treasure! Try selling on eBay or Facebook marketplace groups. Most local areas will have a buy and sell group on Facebook, just type in your town into the search bar.
The good thing about selling on Facebook is that there are no fees for listing your product. I have a whole post here on selling old clothes for cash.
While your old stuff may only sell for a few quid per item, it can soon add up. Try selling things such as:
- Old buggies
- Clothes
- Baby clothes
- Baby sleeping bags
- Cots
- Car seats and car seat bases
- Toys
- Electrical items such as radios and televisions
- Furniture
Sell other people’s stuff
With life being so busy many people do not have the time to list their own stuff for sale on sites like Facebook Marketplace and Vinted.
This is where you can come in and sell those items for them, taking a slice of any money made.
It’s a fantastic flexible business and it’s something I have seen people ask for help with in various local forums.
Why work from home
You only have to look on the forums for Mumsnet and Netmums to see that hundreds of mothers are seeking and doing work from home.
The reason being that, one salary just isn’t cutting it anymore. The cost of food, bills, housing, clothes, holidays, cars and all manner of other financial pressures means that its not longer an option to have just one income while your kids are young.
Of course, remaining in employment, whether it be your existing job or flexible working, is still the number one choice (whether willingly or due to circumstances) for most women.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) how that nearly three-quarters of women with dependent children are now in work. In fact, the number of working mothers in the UK has surged by 1.2million in the last 20 years.
Times are changing, and on the whole this is a good thing. Mothers are no longer just the homemaker and child-rearers. Our careers matter just as much as our partners.
By working from home, mums can:
- Contribute to the cost of bills.
- Expand their skillset.
- Spend more time with their children.
- Save money on childcare.
A study by the Working Families organisation found that nearly half of parents said working hours regularly gets in the way of them spending time with children.
Only one in five families said they had the balance between spending time with their family and making a decent amount of money right.
It’s a struggle we are all trying desperately to balance!
Being a stay-at-home working mum can help you to strike the balance. Although of course you will still need to pour time and energy into making money, you can do it with your children by your side. Plus you’ll be saving money on childcare.
Final thoughts
I hope you’ve found some great money-making ideas in this article!
There are many reasons why becoming a mum may change your career path.
No matter how much we loved our job before starting a family, there are huge practical and emotional changes that happen after having a baby.
There’s the cost of childcare, which for many is the same as or even more than their take-home pay. Then there’s the emotional connection to your baby and the desire to spend as much of their early years, before they start school, at home with them as you can.
That’s not to say that full-time working mamas don’t struggle as much with this feeling. The truth is we’re all different and choose to juggle our work, money, family lives in very different ways.
For some mothers, their office job is a dream come true and they want to continue pursuing their passion. For others, spending more time at home and earning money around looking after the children is far more appealing.
Neither is right or wrong!
If you’re prepared to put some time and effort into organising your routine to fit work around your kids, then you can definitely manage to set up your own side hustle, or flourishing freelance business.
You may also like these ways to make £1,000 extra a month and these side hustles for mums.