Life has gotten a bit crazy and we have started some new endeavors this year. The kids have decided to pursue different activities, our oldest is looking for a car and contemplating college, and hubby and I have started a YouTube channel. So many changes but I really want to focus on writing more, so here I am laying out my newest endeavor for you.
I mentioned our oldest is looking at colleges. He would really love to attend a small private college in North Carolina. Only problem is, it will cost us $850 a month for 30 months. That is a lot of money for a single income family of 6. There really isn’t enough time in the day for me to logistically get a job so I am trying to figure out ways that I can make some money at home. Stay at home jobs aren’t really great, most don’t bring in enough. I have tried survey companies but you make about $160 a year with the few qualifications that you make a week. That doesn’t amount to anything these days. I sell consignment but that doesn’t bring in much either, maybe $50 a month.
We are hoping that at some point our YouTube channel will bring in some income but that is slow coming so I am not going to count on that for now. If it takes off and starts to bring in some money then we will be in a better place. We shall see.
One thing I enjoy is crafting. I am going to try to work though supplies in my craft room and revive my Etsy store and try selling there and on Ebay. Both are inexpensive to to sell through relatively. I am going to do all I can to get local friends to pay cash for things I make for them. I have made a folder with baseball card protector sheets numbered from 1 to 108 (9 slots per page). Once the book is full, it will contain $5,886. This is a way for me to tangibly see my goal come to be. I am a visually stimulated person so being able to see progress will further motivate me to do more.
To make this visual motivation, I tried to use supplies I had at home or could purchase for cheap. I had a paper binder in our school supplies and rub on numbers that were given to me. I purchased baseball card pages from Amazon and put together the book. Total cost for this project was $13 and I will use the baseball sheets for other purposes so essentially this project was cheaper. To encourage local people to purchase from me and use cash, I will give them a 10% off their next purchase coupon each time they order from me and pay cash. This will hopefully bring in enough for me to fill the binder and reach the total goal by the end of next year. If I am able to accomplish this goal, I will likely raise the goal and add another sheet to the binder next year. This will mean that year 2 of this project, I will save $6,903. Hopefully, I am able to increase it by a page a year. The cost of living goes up each year so I need to strive to raise the amount I save in accordance.
I would love to know if you have attempted this savings type program and how you accomplished it. Did you host garage sales, make and sell, get a part-time job, or another means of fulfilling your goal? I would love to hear what money making things have worked for you. Do you have a successful work from home job that makes a significant impact for your family, yet allows you to spend much needed time with your children? I would love to hear your referrals as well.