I need to have economic value

[SparklyUnicorn]

Right. I mean, although it is probably true that it would cost a family that much to hire out to professionals every single task an at-home parent does, the reality is that a lot of those things either just wouldn't get done or would get done by another family member if "Mom" weren't there to do them. 

 

Yes anyone who pulls that off and stays sane with a family that size, I am truly in awe of.

[SparklyUnicorn]

My hubby does all housework and chauffeuring. He would cook too if you don't mind instant noodles every day. He helps wash the pot, bowls and cutlery since we don't use a dishwasher.

 

My kids do more housework then me. I only cook and nag.

 

If I am not doing the housework, why would I care how long it takes since it just reduce their game time :)

 

So you stay home, cook, and nag?  Everyone does everything else?

 

Damn girl you have a good gig.

 

:lol:

[OneStepAtATime]

You have a 2 year old at home?  And next year, presumably at the age of 3, they will be in school all day long?  Or only part of the day? In other words, how many hours in an actual day will the kids all be in school?

 

You are going to need to network for jobs.  That can be scary and frustrating but can be very fruitful.  Check job ads, but usually networking works better.  Maybe you can work part time at the library or as a receptionist somewhere you are familiar with.  The hardest part is getting started.  Check with the local University or CC to find out if they have any part time positions available.  Call around, ask around, talk to friends.

 

Also, you might look at hiring out to help special needs adults.  I have a friend that works part time at a shoe store but also drives adults to the store and doctor's offices that don't have the ability to drive themselves.  He gets paid well.  He sometimes mows lawns, pays their bills, etc.  He has a degree but he loves the flexible hours and helping others.

Edited March 23, 2016 by OneStepAtATime

[Valley Girl]

I worked part-time before we homeschooled (I transitioned from career to work from home when the kids were small), and retail was the perfect fit. I found a place that let me work evenings and weekends when DH was home. That way I still had much of the flexibility we needed. Of course, the down side was that time as a family was difficult to come by. That said, not every retailer requires complete availability.

[MSNative]

Flexible job ideas:

Fitness instructor. I do this and love it. You can easily get trained and most gyms are always looking for water aerobics instructors. That is a great class to get your feet wet- pun intended- in teaching. Personal training is another great flexible job.

 

Teaching classes after school to kids - cooking, fitness, crafts, sewing, project based whatever. I made great money offering classes after school through the schools.

 

Direct sales- I do this and love my job. There are lots of red flags to watch for (unscrupulous companies that only make money off their reps, etc but if you find a reputable one you can make money on your own time)

 

Plant waterer/garden tender/ etc - especially in the summer months you can make good money garden sitting while people are on vacation. Or if you really like gardening some CSA farms will let you work in exchange for you veg box

 

Pet sitter/ dog walker

 

Mothers helper - a lot of SAHMs here will pickup other kids from school and watch them for a couple of hours after school or drive them to afternoon activities. This works really well if say your kid and the kid you are watching both do dance or sports together.

Edited March 23, 2016 by MSNative

[Guest]

Well come on. You are asking a bunch of people here who really do not enjoy having to defend the value of what we do to explain to you what your economic worth is (although I suspect I might not be understanding the question). I know there are all kinds of configurations here so no this does not pertain to everyone.

 

So there is that.

 

So the question you seem to be asking is what sorts of jobs should you look into? Why do we need to convince you of your economic worth? We already know what that is.

My question was/is "how do you figure out what to do with your life?".

[freesia]

Wth, guys?!? Lots of people want their spouses to work. That doesn't make them monsters.

I don't hear anyone saying your dh is a monster. They just want you and him to be realistic about the value of you being home. There will things your family will have to give up b/c you can't do it all. Some of us know women who add a job to everything else and the dh, who wanted them to work, doesn't step up. My brother and SIL both work. They split everything child related 1/2 and 1/2 (snow days, vacations, sick kids). They hire a house cleaner. They split buying gifts, sending xmas cards. Everything. They are still stressed out a lot of the time. That's the kind of counting the costs folks are making sure you are doing. It sounds like you think it's no big deal on one hand, but on the other hand you make it sound like you wouldn't be dropping anything, just adding a job. When your dh says he wants you to work a full time regular job, does he realize what he will give up or does he think things will continue as always for him--but with more money. Your posts are unclear about that and are giving mixed messages, which is what folks are responding to.

[freesia]

My question was/is "how do you figure out what to do with your life?".

My plan is to look in the pennysaver and begin to see what pt jobs are out there and imagine myself in them. You never know when something perfect will jump out at you.

[SparklyUnicorn]

My question was/is "how do you figure out what to do with your life?".

 

Well you titled your thread "I need to have economic value".  And you are basically saying that the stuff you do (which I do too) has no economic value.  To which I say pish posh.

[chiguirre]

It's not like there are a lot of PT jobs which will only be able to schedule you for after the kids are in school and before the kids need to be home from school. PT employers increasingly expect mostly open availability or at least some nights and weekends.

The house cleaning idea is the one that actually pays pretty well (more than minimum wage if you freelance), has a flexible schedule and can be done consistently during school hours. I'd seriously check out your local market conditions if you don't mind cleaning or the occasional snooty comment.

[bethben]

What about home health?  I've lived in two different states now where there is a shortage of workers.  It seems like the hours are flexible enough to where they can pick times they work.  In Colorado for example, you need to get a Certified Nursing Assistance license which takes about a month.  Granted, you may need to deal with the yucko stuff of nursing, but it pays better than a Target job usually.  

[KungFuPanda]

Have you tried a temp agency? You could bounce around answering phones with short term gigs until something clicks and you can stay on there.

[KungFuPanda]

A small part of me would want to work while the kids were home and DH would have to manage them :-)

[Anne in CA]

Some thoughts if you like people and are interested in the hospitality industry that you could do with no experience at all.

 

Hostess at a nice restaurant Mon-Fri lunch (probably you would need to do the occasional weekend too). With the tip out it would be more than minimum wage and probably only four hours a day.

 

Train for Front Desk hotel work. You would have to start nights, but it wouldn't be forever and it would leave you free in the day for various errands.

 

Starbucks/ Dutch Bro's have middle of the day shifts for moms. One former home school mom I know worked at Starbucks when her kids went back to school in the middle of the day and LOVED it. No tips, but it was back up health insurance and her husband was a private contractor so that helped them out A LOT.

 

Banquet Serving evenings and weekends at a local convention center. Pay won't be great but the time WILL be flexible, most banquet serving jobs allow you to pick and choose shifts. Also, if you can get to a place with a union you will get decent back up health insurance from them too.

 

Catering help. Wedding season is coming up. If you sign with the right caterer you can work all the evenings and weekends when your dh is home so he will have to pick up your slack. (this was always my trick. I was Cinderella for my mother, I was never willing to work and do all the housework/ food prep/ child care/ homework) The great thing about this option is you would be available for your kids during the week and be able to drive them here and there, fix dinner, and generally keep things flowing during the week for them without too much change. Your dh would be the one to make the change. That is fair IMO.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[OneStepAtATime]

My question was/is "how do you figure out what to do with your life?".

You get out there and experience it.  Maybe you find a lot of things you hate, but you keep seeking something meaningful.  Maybe you find the perfect job or maybe you don't.  While you are seeking, though, you may find other things that are meaningful to you that you hadn't even realized you would enjoy/care about.

 

It seems that maybe your definition of your self-worth (and apparently maybe your husband's view too) was so tied up with the perception that what you were doing was saving your family money that your continued self-worth only exists if you are making money or saving the family significant money.  I disagree, but I understand where you might get that impression.  Our society very much values an income earner over someone without direct income and the value of what they do that does not bring in immediate income is sadly not valued at all in many cases.

 

What if you went back to school to try and get certified in something or switch degrees?

 

And you say that your children will all be in school next year but I still wonder about the 2 year old.  They will be in school all day at the age of 3?

[SKL]

Sparkly, I think Moxie knows she is valuable, but wants some jingly stuff so she can afford to do some things she wants to do.

 

I think her husband is just saying a flexible job is hard to come by.

 

There are lots of good ideas in this thread.  I am always impressed by how moms make it work.

 

I have a friend (with 4 young kids) who is a dental hygienist, which is a flexible job for her.  I don't know how long it takes to get trained for that job though.

[OneStepAtATime]

My question was/is "how do you figure out what to do with your life?".

Your OP was "I need to have economic value" which is different from the above.  You seem unhappy that people are saying you already have economic value so perhaps if you changed your OP to reflect your actual question you would get responses that are more helpful for what you are really seeking?

[SparklyUnicorn]

Sparkly, I think Moxie knows she is valuable, but wants some jingly stuff so she can afford to do some things she wants to do.

 

I think her husband is just saying a flexible job is hard to come by.

 

There are lots of good ideas in this thread.  I am always impressed by how moms make it work.

 

I have a friend (with 4 young kids) who is a dental hygienist, which is a flexible job for her.  I don't know how long it takes to get trained for that job though.

 

She said she needs to have economic value.  Why would someone say they need something if they already have it?

[Jenny in Florida]

Wth, guys?!? Lots of people want their spouses to work. That doesn't make them monsters.

 

I have to be very careful about how I respond to this, since I don't want anyone to take anything personally. Please know that I am talking about my specific personality, my family situation, etc.

 

I honestly can't imagine not working or in some way contributing not just to my own family but to my community once I no longer had my hands full with raising and educating my own kids. And I know for sure that my husband would be more than a little resentful if I chose to continue to be puttering around at home while he works. I don't think it's at all unreasonable for one partner in a relationship to expect the other will pull his or her weight in whatever way is appropriate for that family's situation.

 

I, personally, felt I was making that contribution by staying home as long as I was actively involved in raising and educating our kids. My husband agreed and was 100% supportive. Once that "job" wound down, he expected that I would transition to other responsibilities, and I don't think that's at all wrong.

[Guest]

Sparkly, I think Moxie knows she is valuable, but wants some jingly stuff so she can afford to do some things she wants to do.

 

I think her husband is just saying a flexible job is hard to come by.

 

There are lots of good ideas in this thread. I am always impressed by how moms make it work.

 

I have a friend (with 4 young kids) who is a dental hygienist, which is a flexible job for her. I don't know how long it takes to get trained for that job though.

Seriously!!

 

I know my value. I also know money buys things and I need things. Volunteering is great but does not bring in money. I need to swap my volunteer time for money making time.

[Guest]

Your OP was "I need to have economic value" which is different from the above. You seem unhappy that people are saying you already have economic value so perhaps if you changed your OP to reflect your actual question you would get responses that are more helpful for what you are really seeking?

We define economic value differently.

[zoobie]

You'll need summers off too, so it's more than just flexible hours. Unless you want to work weekends. Check public school system and private school job postings.

 

I thought I'd found a flexible job and got pregnant again. Ha.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I think you could easily replace the volunteer gig with some part time something or other paid job. 

 

I guess the question is what do you want to be doing.  Do you want to do something that is rewarding (for other reasons than money) or is it just about the money?  If about the money, there are various part time possibilities.  If it is the other, you probably will have to consider some sort of training program or educational program. 

 

My thing is I have no problem going out and working and doing literally anything if I needed the money.  I'll shovel shit and dig graves if I have to.  But if it weren't about that, I'd probably figure something out that will lead to something more rewarding than that.  Something where I didn't end up feeling resentful of the job.  For example, the thought of cleaning houses for other people would probably leave me feeling angry because my own house would be messier cuz I'd be more tired.  But that is just me. 

[Katy]

There are tons of places online to learn to code.  Udacity has a great reputation for helping people change fields. Skillcrush has tons of youtube videos on helping women coders work from home.  If you're more of an in-person learner, you can take classes at a local college or go to a programming boot camp.

[LucyStoner]

Since you intend to get a job but apparently have zero costs for childcare, you are truly limited to a select number of jobs and those jobs have to be flexible because if not, unless your husband shares the sick kid and similar "one of us has to take the day off" duties, you will almost assuredly be fired for too many absences because a lot can come up with 5 kids. Flexibility is going to be key.

 

If the goal is to just make some money and you don't mind making a low wage, look into jobs right away. Just remember that it takes a lot of low wage hours to pay, say, the drywall guy. Depending on how much you want to make, that might not be possible if you maintain available working hours which are limited to just your present volunteer time.

 

If you want something that either pays more or is something you find very interesting and stimulating, you need to start looking into training programs for fields where there is a demand for PT workers or where you can set your own hours. Speech pathology, dental hygienist, accounting are three which come to mind but there are many others.

Edited March 23, 2016 by LucyStoner

[Jenny in Florida]

Well come on. You are asking a bunch of people here who really do not enjoy having to defend the value of what we do to explain to you what your economic worth is (although I suspect I might not be understanding the question).  

 

See, I didn't interpret it that way at all. I didn't see her asking anyone to get defensive or to reassure her.

 

I interpreted it as Moxie saying that she, personally, needs to provide a certain kind of economic worth to her family and asking for help brainstorming ideas to make that happen for her.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Seriously!!

 

I know my value. I also know money buys things and I need things. Volunteering is great but does not bring in money. I need to swap my volunteer time for money making time.

 

Now this I totally understand.  I've done various volunteer jobs in my life.  As you said, nice/great, but I also worked alongside people who were getting paid and for that reason I didn't stick with them.  Frankly, I wanted to make money.

[SparklyUnicorn]

There are tons of places online to learn to code.  Udacity has a great reputation for helping people change fields. Skillcrush has tons of youtube videos on helping women coders work from home.  If you're more of an in-person learner, you can take classes at a local college or go to a programming boot camp.

 

I'm always curious if these programs ACTUALLY lead to anything.  I see ads all the time and I've been tempted, but I can't tell if these things are legit or not.

[SparklyUnicorn]

See, I didn't interpret it that way at all. I didn't see her asking anyone to get defensive or to reassure her.

 

I interpreted it as Moxie saying that she, personally, needs to provide a certain kind of economic worth to her family and asking for help brainstorming ideas to make that happen for her.

 

Ok..sounds reasonable. 

[OneStepAtATime]

Moxie, what if you got training on how to do the repairs/upgrades you need and then also did those things as a part time contractor for others? Labor costs for that stuff are high so it would save your family quite a bit of money and you would have valuable skills to continue to use and pass on to your kids. You could start with training at Lowe's or Home Depot with their wrekend project training and expand from there...

[lovinmyboys]

I hope you find something. I'm not too far away from being in the same position you are (if I put the kids in school). I would feel weird not working if I had no kids at home.

 

However, when I have looked into it, my working is just not worth it for our family (unless a great opportunity came along). Flexible, part time jobs don't pay enough to make much of a dent in our budget. My Dh is so much further in his career that it would be silly for him to take off for sick kids and other things. Plus, he has five weeks of vacation. I am not going to get anything like that unless I get a job at a school.

 

Unless I want to re train for something, it looks like I may end up being a SAHM even if the kids go to school. It is hard to be a two career family with lots of kids (especially if one of the jobs is not very flexible).

 

I do think letting people know you are looking is the best way to find those "mom friendly" jobs.

 

Good luck to you!

[brehon]

Moxie, I read the entire thread :) then went back and reread your OP. Addressing your question of "what should I with do with my life, but reframing it slightly to "what can I do right now that has flexible hours and brings in some money so Dh and I can pay for things that need to be bought/done", my first question is what is the overall job market like where you live? If it's very tight, there very well may not be the type of job available that fits your parameters.

 

Others have given you a list of potential jobs that may work for you. Hopefully, you'll find something in the list that is at least tolerable. However, in my area most flexible jobs don't stretch enough to encompass summer vacation. Summer camps, Y day camp, etc are expensive where I live even with sibling discounts. If my family (6 kids) needed to use this option, it would cost us more than the money brought in by the spouse with the PT job. How will your family handle that? Will your oldest kid(s) watch your youngers during the day? That could work providing they're dependable.

 

The reason I reframed your question is that I think you need to separate what you need in the short term with what you want in the medium and long term. One can be a stepping stone to the other, of course; however, you simply may not be able to to find a decent paying, fulfilling PT job that meets your hours requirements.

 

You'll probably have the best chance of success by talking with people in your circle IRL. I wish you the best of luck.

[Ausmumof3]

Just spewing here.

 

When the kids were babies, I felt good because I was saving us money on formula and daycare.

 

When I was homeschooling, I felt good because I was saving us money on private school.

 

Now, most of my kids go to school. Next year, my youngest goes to school. I'll have no kids home during the day.

 

My family needs a flexible adult. My husband is not that. So, it appears my job now is to cook, clean, drive kids around and volunteer at schools. That is what my family needs. There is no economic value in that. I would have never guessed that that would bother me but it really does.

 

We don't live paycheck to paycheck but there are big home improvements we're not doing because of cost.

 

DH is no help. He wants me to get a "regular job" and we'll make do like every other family in the world. He says that there is no such thing as a flexible job that pays enough to be worthwhile because that is what everyone wants. Honestly, he's tired of me talking about it.

 

 

I have no skills. I have a useless degree that is 20 years old.

 

I'm not interested in substitute teaching or anything else involving children.

 

How in the world do you figure out what to do with your life?

I suspect when you get a job and your dh has to do half shares of what you currently do he will quickly realise what the economic value was of what you are doing

[eternalsummer]

I don't know that you have a ton of economic worth by staying at home (except inasmuch as you keep yourself out of the labor pool, increasing the bargaining power of people who do work :) ); I would argue that the value of staying at home is measured in something other than $.  

 

Now, if you don't feel that value anymore, or you and your DH don't feel that value, and you think $ would be worth more to you, that is valid too.  In that case, I would look at the things you do find interesting or skills you have (however non-valuable they may seem) and see if there is a way to earn egg money using them.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I think I mentioned this in another thread of yours, but I bill insurance for mental health professionals. It's specifically mental health, because there are only a few codes and diagnoses that we really need to know. Medical billing would have many, many more. It's the flexible job you're looking for, and you can do it entirely from home. The phone work (time spent calling insurance companies) needs to happen during business hours, but you can do all the data entry, emailing, and even some client contact during evenings and weekends. It's perfect for a SAHM with the ability to unravel knots and the patience to keep at the little problems that crop up. 

 

The downside is that you have to pay for the software (and it's best to have a PC that you use for only your work, so there's little to no chance of a hacker getting access to all the data on your computer), and you have to either train yourself or take a course on how to do it (they exist, just choose carefully). I'm lucky in that my mom trained me (I work for her)--I don't know that I could have figured it all out myself. But if you're motivated enough, you can power through figuring it all out. 

 

Once you're past the startup hurdle, it really is the flexible job you're looking for. My mom undercharges, and even given that, if I were to do this job full time, I'd probably be making $50-$60K. Right now, at about 20-22 hours of work per week, I'm bringing in $3,000 per month.

 

I think the flexible jobs you're looking for exist. I think they are few and far between, though, and I think most people happen upon them. Before this, my mom mom worked for a local church, and she pretty much made her own hours, but she got the job because it's the church my grandmother attends. She started this current business because her own therapist would complain about how difficult it was to manage billing in addition to running her practice, so my mom convinced her to let my mom try to straighten the billing end out for her. She did, and her therapist was so amazed and relieved that she referred my mom to a million other doctors. She has more business than she can handle. There's a real market out there in doing this for single providers or those running their own practices. 

 

Anyway, all that is to say I think you may have to get out there and make your own opportunities in this area. They exist, but they're the proverbial needles in the haystack. 

Edited March 23, 2016 by ILiveInFlipFlops

[Sukale]

I work in a call center. I set my hours I week in advance. I can work anywhere between 15-40 hours a week. They are opened 6am-to midnight 7 days a week. I have been there for 8 years. It is hard or them to keep good workers that work there hours. So when they ind someone that always works the hours they pick, they pretty much let me work what I want. They pay is OK or my area, $11 an hour.

[LucyStoner]

Maybe the issue here is that some define economic value as being limited to cash money and others see it in the larger sense of a measure of the benefits afforded to an economic unit (which can be a business or a family among other things) by a service or the creation of material goods. By the latter definition family caregiving in all forms is of economic value even if it is not renumerated with cash. The benefits of such work apply both to the family unit and in many cases to the larger community. For example, when I refinish a piece of furniture, it brings economic value to my family unit but if we keep it for our own use that value is not translated into cash. If I sell it, it does bring in cash which we can use for whatever. Strictly speaking however both uses (for us or for sale) have economic value.

 

I definitely don't think that anyone at all is a monster for wanting their spouse to work. And as a mom who does take in work to stay sane (and who severely limits volunteer endeavors) I also get working just to work even if it doesn't create a lot of extra income I sure the flip don't decry parents wanting to work.

[Daria]

I haven't read the thread, just the OP, but as a single parent working more than full time, I can't tell you how much driving, homework help, cooking, cleaning etc . . . I have either paid for or done without or with less of because I couldn't find or afford someone to do it.  

 

 

And I have 1 kid.  If I had as many kids as yours, then I imagine that my entire salary could go to those things.  

[Arcadia]

Admin work for smaller insurance offices are rather flexible work here too. My neighbor did that after her kids left for college but she doesn't need to work office hours. She is counted as a part timer though so benefits are less.

 

My dentist and one of my optician are only open during school hours. Their customers are mainly adults though. It is easy for their staff as they close at 3pm. The optician has two admin staff and the dentist has an admin staff.

 

So you stay home, cook, and nag? Everyone does everything else?

I had a paid job nagging engineers that paid very well :lol: There is still a need for project managers, especially with outsourced suppliers. I am extroverted and love to fly often so we would be attracted to different jobs I guess.

 

I do think it's the social circle though. I was with a group of SAHMs afterschoolers relaxing as my kids were at class for 2hrs. Two of them bike with their kids to soccer class after my kids class ends. So no driving duty for them too.

 

I just find it weird for people in general to assume SAHM does the bulk of housework in every family when the OP wasn't complaining about unfair distribution of housework.

[LucyStoner]

You are misunderstanding. DH already does quite a bit around the house. And I wouldn't hire a taxi to drive my kids around??? I wouldn't hire anyone to do anything if I went to work, I would need to stop volunteering at school and church.

I don't think Wendy meant you'd hire a taxi. But if your job requires you to work after school lets out and your kids do any afterschool things, you would need to pay someone else to drive them around (like a babysitter) unless you can count on help from friends and family. Getting a job where your schedule is only when all of your kids in school is somewhat unlikely. Finding self employment those hours is more likely but even then, trust me that there may need to be days that you can't be the afterschool mom-taxi because of something going on at work.

 

Also, let me just say as someone who has experience working (FT, PT and very PT) while parenting, you really don't know what you would end up wanting to hire out until you are a mom with an outside job. It may seem like you can do it all. But most likely, you will need to spend money you are not foreseeing unless you work only when your husband is available to be with the kids.

Edited March 24, 2016 by LucyStoner

[katilac]

 

I honestly can't imagine not working or in some way contributing not just to my own family but to my community once I no longer had my hands full with raising and educating my own kids.  

 

Sure, but the OP has two very young kids. While some posters are speaking to the thread title of economic value, others are just pointing out that school breaks, sick days and summer vacation can make it very hard for a part-time job to pay off (particularly barring special skills). And that you do have to consider who is going to be driving 5 kids to activities and so on.

[Dmmetler]

We had an Uber driver once who had homeschooled until her kids decided to go back to school at middle/high school. She said she does a lot of school/activity drop off/pick up for kids, once people discovered that she was a middle aged mom with a minivan :). She said that when she was homeschooling she'd mostly been a taxi driver anyway, so why not get paid for it?

Edited March 23, 2016 by dmmetler

[katilac]

I don't think Wendy meant you'd hire a taxi. 

 

Although that's actually not unusual - a taxi for older kids, a transportation service for younger kids. 

 

My neighbors operate a transportation service, and I've seen at least 2 others locally. They bring kids from early morning daycare to school, or school to late afternoon daycare, they bring them back and forth to activities, and so on. 

 

In the city proper, a lot of kids will use the bus and streetcar, but that's not an option in the suburbs. 

[LucyStoner]

Although that's actually not unusual - a taxi for older kids, a transportation service for younger kids.

 

My neighbors operate a transportation service, and I've seen at least 2 others locally. They bring kids from early morning daycare to school, or school to late afternoon daycare, they bring them back and forth to activities, and so on.

 

In the city proper, a lot of kids will use the bus and streetcar, but that's not an option in the suburbs.

At least here, one has to be making some serious money (near executive level I would say) to be able to afford that kind of service daily. Some cities have cheaper options. What is more common here is paying a college student or SAHM or a retired neighbor to schlep the kids after school and perhaps watch younger kids until mom or dad is home. And in two parent families I would say the most common thing is that one parent goes to work very early and gets off in time for the afternoon schlepping and the other parent goes in after they do breakfast and morning drop off with the kids, coming home commensurately later in the evening. Edited March 24, 2016 by LucyStoner

[Carol in Cal.]

Mom with kids in school jobs:

1.  Bookkeeping--can be done from home.   I have a friend who does this, and she loves it.  She started off just doing the books for her husband's contracting firm, and picked up a few more small businesses, and now she has more work than she can handle.  She charges $60/hour for her time.  I think she does free consultations.

2.  Admin for a kids' nonprofit that only operates during the school year.  They don't pay high hourly rates, but tend to be congenial and very flexible.  Net work to your local children's choruses, kids' symphonys, bands, soccer clubs, etc.

3.  Direct sales--pick a good company and just do it.  What do you actually like, and what do your friends like?  Personally I like Pampered Chef, Silpada, and CAbI.  Not a big fan of Amway although they do have good cleaning products, or Mary Kay (allergic) or Arbonne (overpriced, way overpriced), but YMMV and there are good people in all of those. 

4.  If you are well connected, doing wedding and other invitations and custom stationary can be a good business that is very flexible.  You don't have to have a storefront.  Your DH could keep his ear to the ground for business colleagues that have weddings or major anniversary or graduation parties coming up. 

 

5.  "I Need A Wife" service.  You wait at homes for deliveries, do grocery shopping, 'be there' when contractors or handy men do small jobs, run to the post office for supplies, oversee fine gardening or non-routine cleaning like windows, arrange decorations for major seasons or holidays, drop off and pick up and deliver dry cleaning, etc. all for an hourly rate with a 2-3 hour minimum.  Again, you set your own hours and availability.

 

Edited March 24, 2016 by Carol in Cal.

[katilac]

At least here, one has to be making some serious money (near executive level I would say) to be able to afford that kind of service daily. Some cities have cheaper options. What is more common here is paying a college student or SAHM or a retired neighbor to schlep the kids after school and perhaps watch younger kids until mom or dad is home.

 

It's definitely not an executive level service here - we see them dropping off kids at the local Title I elementary school. 

[LucyStoner]

It's definitely not an executive level service here - we see them dropping off kids at the local Title I elementary school.

In that case, it may well be that the school district is paying. There's a line of taxis outside several public schools here and it's all kids who are legally entitled to transfer out of their old failing school OR homeless kids who were displaced from the area of their school and the federal government guarantees them the right to stay in their old placement while in a shelter or transitional housing. It's cheaper for the district to use taxis than send a whole school bus for 2 kids from this shelter or three kids who used to go to school much closer to their home. The district has to cover transportation in those instances even if the student is far off that schools bus routes.

Edited March 24, 2016 by LucyStoner

[SparklyUnicorn]

I don't think Wendy meant you'd hire a taxi. But if your job requires you to work after school lets out and your kids do any afterschool things, you would need to pay someone else to drive them around (like a babysitter) unless you can count on help from friends and family. Getting a job where your schedule is only when all of your kids in school is somewhat unlikely. Finding self employment those hours is more likely but even then, trust me that there may need to be days that you can't be the afterschool mom-taxi because of something going on at work.

 

Also, let me just say as someone who has experience working (FT, PT and very PT) while parenting, you really don't know what you would end up wanting to hire out until you are a mom with an outside job. It may seem like you can do it all. But most likely, you will need to spend money you are not foreseeing unless you work only when your husband is available to be with the kids.

 

Yeah I think I completely misunderstood this thread.  Sorry M.

[Entropymama]

You get out there and experience it.  Maybe you find a lot of things you hate, but you keep seeking something meaningful.  Maybe you find the perfect job or maybe you don't.  While you are seeking, though, you may find other things that are meaningful to you that you hadn't even realized you would enjoy/care about.

 

 

This sounds great, except when you're pushing 40 there's not that much time to get out there and try things. I completely hear you Moxie, I'm at a point where in a few years I might have all my kids in school. I hate the thought of sitting around at home all day. (Ok, that's a lie, but I do feel like if I have that much time I ought to be making some money). The problem is that I want to have a good-paying, enjoyable job and those can be hard to find. 

[Entropymama]

dp 

 

Edited March 24, 2016 by Entropymama