I need to have economic value

[itsheresomewhere]

Besides housekeeping, a friend of mine cleans offices.  She starts about 7:30/8:00pm until 10. Her DH is home with the kids when she goes so no childcare costs.  It brings in a nice amount.  

 

I know one poster mentioned medical billing- check out your area before investing in it.  My area has very, very limited jobs for it.  Most offices in my area use a service or have the person on staff to do it.  

[Guest]

I was also going to say uber!

My dh thinks its just the best pt job ever. He can't do it right now, but super wants to.

 

Also let me say bartender. $$$$! Dh did that three or four times to help out a friend who owns a pub. I could not BELIEVE the money he made. It goes without saying, you'd have to be into that lol.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I was also going to say uber!

My dh thinks its just the best pt job ever. He can't do it right now, but super wants to.

 

Also let me say bartender. $$$$! Dh did that three or four times to help out a friend who owns a pub. I could not BELIEVE the money he made. It goes without saying, you'd have to be into that lol.

 

Oh yeah. And most CCs have a very quick and inexpensive bartender training class.  Like one or two sessions or something.  My sister did that for awhile she made crazy amounts of money.

 

As you said though, you have to be into that.  I think it would be fun.  And now that, at least around here, they don't allow smoking in bars it would be even better.

Edited March 24, 2016 by SparklyUnicorn

[happypamama]

Companion/helper/errand runner for an elderly person or two? Help them around the house, go to doctor appointments with them, run errands, light cooking, that sort of thing. Not the major home health care stuff. You could potentially work a day or two a week and have a little flexibility.

 

Library work? Maybe depends on the library whether they hire assistants or only librarians?

 

Our grocery stores seem like nice places to work. The cashiers are often mom types and seem to be relatively happy.

 

I have a few years still, but I'm still trying to figure out what my post kids career will be. I can't think of anything I'd really like to do, although I was intrigued by the idea of being a grader for AOPS. I don't have a career to return to; before kids, I was a nanny for a couple of years (and I could babysit again; I do like babies and would make a good package because I don't mind using cloth diapers, pumped milk, etc.), and I was a licensed assistant to a real estate agent for a couple of years (I don't really mind being an administrative assistant, I guess).

[plansrme]

I'm not sure what the plan would be for child care during summer and other breaks, and surely the now-2 yo will not be in full-day school at 3, will he??  So, it sounds like you need a job that lets you have summers and breaks off but isn't teaching.  How about using the next couple of years to go to school yourself to retrain in something you can and want to do when the kids are a little older.  Treat your education as your job for a while, and in a couple of years, you could be qualified to do a lot of things.

 

Alternatively, here's what some of my former SAHM friends are doing:  embroidery (monogramming, etc.); real estate; a couple of nursing shifts/week; dog sitting for families who are on vacation (she comes to your house twice/day and feeds and walks--she's EXPENSIVE, and she has the market cornered in one big neighborhood, so her clients are all near each other); working in a school lunch room (she does this for the tuition discount at her kids' private school); working in a retail swim shop as a team liaison (her daughter swims with mine, and the employee discount alone is worth a couple of thousand dollars a year); cake decorating (mom of a toddler; advertises only on Facebook; has all of the work she can handle); and printing player names on the back of baseball jerseys (she does this at night--team moms drop the jerseys in a bin on her front porch by 5, and they are back in the bin with an invoice by 8 AM).

 

I get wanting to contribute economically.  Good luck figuring out how to do so.

[OneStepAtATime]

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.

I hear you. I do understand. I didn't say it would be easy. But just getting out there and trying is a good start. It may take a lot of networking, asking around, thinking outside the box, even retraining, but the hardest part, to me, is just getting started in the first place.

 

FWIW, my grandmother didn't take up painting or square dancing until she was in her 60s. She started computer lessons when she was in her 70s. She did book keepinging for others when she was in her 70s and 80s. She and her sister started saving their tiny bit of income, buying really run down rental properties, doing the bulk of the repair work themselves, then renting them out or selling them and they didn't start that until they were in their 60s either.

 

My point is that pushing 40 or even 50 or 60 doesn't mean "on death's door" or "life is over" or "no one will hire me" or "I have nothing to offer". It does mean getting back into the workforce may be extremely challenging, I grant you, but not impossible. The more you seek options the greater the chance that options will occur, and sometimes something unexpected and really great will help you find areas of interest or amazing things about yourself you never knew existed. You just have to try (and be braced for a few failures before you find successes).

 

Best wishes, OP. I hope you find what you are seeking.

[Guest]

My very small contribution to this thread: I hear you. Loud and clear.

[creekland]

My very small contribution to this thread: I hear you. Loud and clear.

 

My last contribution for the night as I gotta go to bed in order to get up and be economically valuable tomorrow.  ;)

 

Then we're off for Easter... and youngest returns from college so I won't be working next week.  I absolutely love the flexibility of being part time.  I still get a paycheck and a life I love, and I still get time off when I want it for the other life I love.

[Ausmumof3]

I realise after reading the thread that I misunderstood. I do think your dh is wrong in thinking that full time is even workable with your no of kids and ages but you may need to work out something that splits shifts.

 

I'm looking into doing bookkeeping myself. I did this as a job before but need to get certified. it takes a year of part time study and about $4000. So I'd need to do about 100 to 150 hours to pay it off.

 

The one think that's putting me off is I already don't have it together on the home front and have no plans of putting the kids in school. So I'm not sure that the extra $$ would be worth the stress although we really really Cld do with them right now. My dh definitely can't handle any more housework or Childcare either. Our house needs a load of work done and although we diy we still need money for the materials.

 

The difficulty is with work at home stuff is you still have kids in the background and you are not getting the change in environment of an out and about job.

Edited March 24, 2016 by Ausmumof3

[Pippen]

I was also going to say uber!

My dh thinks its just the best pt job ever. He can't do it right now, but super wants to.

 

Also let me say bartender. $$$$! Dh did that three or four times to help out a friend who owns a pub. I could not BELIEVE the money he made. It goes without saying, you'd have to be into that lol.

 

For anyone considering Uber, be sure and check into your auto insurance to see if you have rideshare coverage. Many companies won't cover accidents that occur when the driving is working. Our policy wouldn't even cover teens delivering pizza.

[mamiof5]

Ok, now I read the entire thread. I won't get into the economic value and all that, what works for our family doesn't work for others. You have gotten many good suggestions here! The best of luck finding the job that suits your family. A few that I can think of and were not mentioned...the library, the church (I'd LOVE to work there), and maybe a small business like Pampered Chef or something? Totally not my thing, but I know a friend who started doing that recently and it is working very well for her :)

[Guest]

Probably my last post for the night.

 

To those I offended, I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention. But, I stand by the point that there is much less economic value in a SAHM once all the kids are in school.

 

And my signature badly needs updated. Youngest will be in school half days next year and then they are all gone, all day. So, I have a year to get something started.

 

Thanks for all the ideas. Yes, the hardest part is getting started.

[Just Kate]

There was a news story on FoxNewsChannel within the past week, about a man who calculated the economic value of the work his wife does for their family at USD $72,500 per year. You do have economic value!

Maybe for some families, but this certainly isn't the case for any of the families that I know. I've always worked outside the home. Right now, I work a part-time job that takes up way more than the hours that I am supposed to work. So I work, yet I also grocery shop, clean the house, cook dinner, chauffeur my kids to their activities, and help with homework. Dh works out of town most of the time, so I am typically doing all of these things myself - and we don't hire one bit of it out.

 

Now, I would be a SAHM in an instant if I could and I think there is a lot of value to being home. However, I think it is crazy to assume that working parents hire all of these jobs out. Most working moms I know are just running crazy, trying to keep things going and get things done.

[2squared]

I don't post much anymore, but this thread mirrors my life in so many ways.  We have five kids of similar ages.  I work full-time, and dh nearly works full-time.  We homeschooled until three years ago at which time I started working FT and dh worked PT.  This year when our youngest was old enough for 4yo preschool, dh increased his working hours.  Our only daycare expense is one school day per week - no afterschool, before school, holidays, or summers.  We cover the other times with a combo of older kids babysitting, working from home when possible, and taking strategic vacation time.  We may need to hire a teen to fill in the gaps around my older kids' camps this summer, but I don't expect that to be a big deal.  Cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry, chauffeuring, etc are all done by us - just like any other dual working family.  It's just a different balancing act than homeschooling was.

 

I see a lot of part-time, flexible opportunities in our small community.  You just have to be patient while keeping your eyes open and your contacts current.

 

I totally get why your husband would like you to get a job.  I felt the exact same way with my husband.  Once our youngest started preschool 4 days/week, I couldn't justify him not bringing in income, especially when we have some large financial goals (home improvements, college savings, etc).  Having a SAHP is certainly a nice luxury, but all the household tasks can easily fit around a PT job.  Also, we increased our income 50% this year with my husband's increased hours, and the extra jingle has been very nice for everyone. 

 

 

[Jenny in Florida]

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.

 

I was agreeing with Moxie's assurance that her husband isn't a monster because he would prefer that she work. Moxie has made it clear that she is looking for something flexible enough to do while her kids are in school.

[meena]

If you're only looking to make some money, and don't really care how fulfilling the job is, how about at-home taking calls? There are quite a few companies who outsource their reservations to employees at home. JetBlue does, but you have to live in the SLC area. Hilton does, and used to only be available to the Tampa Bay area but I think they are recruiting nationwide now. You would probably have to work some nights and weekends, but you might be able to work your way into a school-hours slot.

 

You might also look into the YMCA if you have one close by. In my area they have fairly flexible hours and may allow you to bring your younger children if the Kid Zone is open. The downfall is they don't pay well, so if your Y is far away it wouldn't be worth it financially.

 

It might be smarter to think longer term. Do you want/need to reenter the workforce when your children are older? If so, now would be a great time to start exploring what you want to do at that point. If it requires further education or training, I would look into starting that when your youngest is in school, and before that point I'd look into related entry-level jobs or volunteer work to add to your resume and network in that field.

 

I can relate to this idea of economic worth. My DH took a huge paycut a couple years ago and our house needs a bunch of repairs that we could have afforded on his previous salary but not the current one. Sometimes I feel like I'm not pulling my weight because we could use the extra income, but I know that with my lack of currency the only part-time jobs I'm qualified for pay so low that they're not worth the time and gas to get to them. Lately I've been thinking and praying about what my financial role in my family needs to eventually be and how I need to be preparing for that today.

[Katy]

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.

 

You don't have to take an ad at face value.

Call your local temp agencies and ask them what sort of programming languages they look to hire most, then google how to learn the languages.  Back at my last job the tech version of Accountemps (can't recall what it is, but they were out of the same office) would let people come into their office and learn, or give you a free login to teach yourself a ton of skills using their website. If that doesn't work order books on how to teach yourself the languages they want you to know.  Then go in for a skills test and interview and bam- decent paying tech experience that might lead to full time work.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Maybe for some families, but this certainly isn't the case for any of the families that I know. I've always worked outside the home. Right now, I work a part-time job that takes up way more than the hours that I am supposed to work. So I work, yet I also grocery shop, clean the house, cook dinner, chauffeur my kids to their activities, and help with homework. Dh works out of town most of the time, so I am typically doing all of these things myself - and we don't hire one bit of it out.

 

Now, I would be a SAHM in an instant if I could and I think there is a lot of value to being home. However, I think it is crazy to assume that working parents hire all of these jobs out. Most working moms I know are just running crazy, trying to keep things going and get things done.

 

I wouldn't assume that exactly, but there are certain things that I think would be unavoidable.  Like child care.  Even if you have hours that work around/within school hours, what do you do during school vacations, summers, and sick days? 

[SparklyUnicorn]

You don't have to take an ad at face value.

Call your local temp agencies and ask them what sort of programming languages they look to hire most, then google how to learn the languages.  Back at my last job the tech version of Accountemps (can't recall what it is, but they were out of the same office) would let people come into their office and learn, or give you a free login to teach yourself a ton of skills using their website. If that doesn't work order books on how to teach yourself the languages they want you to know.  Then go in for a skills test and interview and bam- decent paying tech experience that might lead to full time work.

 

One I see a lot and am particularly interested in is Data Science.  Not quite programming, but I can't fathom what sort of job this would get me.  The topic is very interesting to me, but I wonder how respected some of these self study things are.

[Arcadia]

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.

The ones at CC or adult learning center are great for getting certification at a decent price. My district will waive the fee for Java certification or computer technician certification class at the adult learning center for their high school students.

 

The thing will programming jobs is that if you are great you get headhunted but if you are "normal" the pay ceiling is there. When customers pay for customised software from a big company, the management tend to get the fattest cut out of the profit margin. Many friends who started as programmers lateral move to internet security or data mining after a few years if working for corporations for better job security and higher ceiling. Small business owners might pay better though as less layers of management to pay.

 

My hubby dislike finance work and finds blueprints hard so he rather do housework which I find hard. Sadly finance work did net me a higher annual pay than my hubby when we both work as engineers.

 

ETA:

Some programming jobs do require a lot of talking over business lunches to get clients' requirements and also to train the clients. For an introvert, those kind of programming jobs may not be as good a fit.

Edited March 24, 2016 by Arcadia

[HSmomof2]

I understand your dilemma. Part-time flexible jobs do exist but can be very hard to find. I found one working as an assistant in our local library. This job required a degree (my 20-yr-old psych degree came in handy), pays well, is interesting and most importantly allows me to work part-time without needing childcare and still have time to homeschool. It took me about 2 years of seriously looking to find this job. I'd check with your library, schools, colleges, city/county govt. for part-time jobs. I never had any luck finding legitimate work at home jobs, though I know many people do them, so they do exist. Retail or the Y can be really flexible but don't pay much, so you'll have to decide if the hassle of working would be worth the pay. Since you have about a year, looking into a training program may also be a good idea. Just make sure there are flexible jobs available in your area in your chosen field. Good luck.....I know it's hard to figure things out. And as an 80's latch-key kid, I would have been thrilled to have my mom home after school--even in high school. Even if a SAHM's economic value may decrease as kids get older, having a parent home when the kids are home has a lot of intangible value.

[Ausmumof3]

I don't post much anymore, but this thread mirrors my life in so many ways. We have five kids of similar ages. I work full-time, and dh nearly works full-time. We homeschooled until three years ago at which time I started working FT and dh worked PT. This year when our youngest was old enough for 4yo preschool, dh increased his working hours. Our only daycare expense is one school day per week - no afterschool, before school, holidays, or summers. We cover the other times with a combo of older kids babysitting, working from home when possible, and taking strategic vacation time. We may need to hire a teen to fill in the gaps around my older kids' camps this summer, but I don't expect that to be a big deal. Cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry, chauffeuring, etc are all done by us - just like any other dual working family. It's just a different balancing act than homeschooling was.

 

I see a lot of part-time, flexible opportunities in our small community. You just have to be patient while keeping your eyes open and your contacts current.

 

I totally get why your husband would like you to get a job. I felt the exact same way with my husband. Once our youngest started preschool 4 days/week, I couldn't justify him not bringing in income, especially when we have some large financial goals (home improvements, college savings, etc). Having a SAHP is certainly a nice luxury, but all the household tasks can easily fit around a PT job. Also, we increased our income 50% this year with my husband's increased hours, and the extra jingle has been very nice for everyone.

What I always think when I see stuff like this is - ihave three kids and don't work and life feels stressful crazy and like we are always running. How on earth do you add in close to work and stay sane? Ok granted I homeschool but that actually doesn't take as much time as a full time job. I probably do more cleaning because the kids are making more mess. But how does it actually look? When do you clean or cook? When do you help with homework? When do you sleep?

 

I'd love to know how it all works...

[HSmomof2]

What I always think when I see stuff like this is - ihave three kids and don't work and life feels stressful crazy and like we are always running. How on earth do you add in close to work and stay sane? Ok granted I homeschool but that actually doesn't take as much time as a full time job. I probably do more cleaning because the kids are making more mess. But how does it actually look? When do you clean or cook? When do you help with homework? When do you sleep?

 

I'd love to know how it all works...

From families I know like this, it works because one or both parents have flexibility in their work schedules and usually an option to work from home at least part of the time. Dh and I tried both of us working full-time with school-age kids when we weren't homeschooling. Dh has a great job that pays well, but not much flexibility in his schedule and no option of working from home. My work schedule was similar. We needed afterschool care, which took a huge portion of my paycheck. When we calculated the expenses of me working full-time, private school tuition, transportation expenses, and afterschool care, we realized I was bringing home about $15/month.

[Ausmumof3]

From families I know like this, it works because one or both parents have flexibility in their work schedules and usually an option to work from home at least part of the time. Dh and I tried both of us working full-time with school-age kids when we weren't homeschooling. Dh has a great job that pays well, but not much flexibility in his schedule and no option of working from home. My work schedule was similar. We needed afterschool care, which took a huge portion of my paycheck. When we calculated the expenses of me working full-time, private school tuition, transportation expenses, and afterschool care, we realized I was bringing home about $15/month.

Yep I think that's how it would be for is. Actually I think it would probably cost. Which is why I'm looking for work from home stuff but I think the extra stress might be too much. In fact even when I worked before kids the amount I brought home barely justified the cost of work clothing and transport, let alone Childcare as well.

 

Definitely will be encouraging my kids to look for careers that allow flexibility!

[MomatHWTK]

Didn't read the other replies, but I totally understand, I was so programmed to see $ as value that even after all this time I have trouble separating myself from that notion.

 

Do you write well? (Grammatically correct, blog-style)

Edited March 24, 2016 by MomatHWTK

[Liz CA]

I want to find a way to contribute money. He thinks what I'm looking for doesn't exist and he enthusiastically supports me looking for a regular part-time job.

 

Let's be honest. If I go to work, I'm still going to cook and clean. It isn't like we'll hire Alice to move in. That's what I mean by no economic value.

 

Any skills or interests that could translate into a home business or part-time business?

 

[Zinnia]

I have a few friends that work while kids are in school.  One of them works for a university as some sort of public relations deal in a specific department.  She handle all their communication, that sort of thing.  She works 9-3, but she does take work home in the busy seasons.  That's close enough to full time, though, to get benefits.  She was a journalist and public relations person before kids, has only one child, and she "only" took off 5 years from the workplace.

 

Another friend is a professor, fully tenured.  She does work full time, but it's very, very flexible.  Her dh is also a professor, but very, very part time (1 or 2 classes a semester), and with the joint flexibility, they make it work.  She does almost all of the drop offs and pick ups, because she likes that.  Only one child, though.  Another friend with 4 kids works at the church, 20 hours a week.  Before this, she taught English to adults in a combined family literacy program.  Hours were 9-1, three or four days a week.  She had to give that up in favor of the church, though, because of the $$.  Family literacy does not mean high paying.  :)  I have one friend that works part time as an editor at the newspaper.

 

These were all friends that took only a little time out of the workplace, though, and had significant experience.  Another friend that is looking for family friendly, but no real experience (had babies right out of college, hasn't worked in 9 years, single mom of 3 kids, so all the sick/vacation/summer falls to her) is having a lot more trouble finding something that will work for her family life.  She has settled on personal assistant right now, which sounds fancier than it is.  She runs errands for a few elderly people, makes meals for a couple of people with significant allergies/intolerances, so they want homemade, but they don't want to make it, that sort of thing. 

 

When my kids are back in school one day, I wonder what I'll end up with.  I also would like to bring in some money.  Me being home has probably added $15-20,000 a year to my dh's salary because it allows him to be flexible.  We knew that going in with these decisions.  But I'd love to have some money on top of adding value to his career.

[Just Kate]

I wouldn't assume that exactly, but there are certain things that I think would be unavoidable.  Like child care.  Even if you have hours that work around/within school hours, what do you do during school vacations, summers, and sick days? 

 

That's a good point. I wasn't thinking about childcare. I happen to be very fortunate in that I work from home most of the time, so now that my kids are older, they just stay home with me when they are on school breaks and snow days. When I have to go out of town, I have family locally who pitch in. Prior to having the kids in school, I did pay for childcare. That being said, I have never paid for other services (like house cleaning or someone to drive my kids around). I have many working-mom friends, and they don't pay for these types of things either. So for me, I had to make sure that I was making enough to  make paying for childcare worthwhile. But I always continued to do all of the other "mom duties" while being a working mom.

[SKL]

About childcare costs, that depends on a lot of things.  Moxie said her signature was very out of date, meaning her two oldest kids can probably babysit the younger ones when they are home.  (Maybe one or two can even drive.)  Other childcare options are also not so expensive once kids are school-aged.  It may depend on location.  Where I live, there are a fair number of options for before- and after-school care and summer day camp for school-aged kids.  Some options are at school or provide transportation to/from school.  True, flexibility is affected - you can't drive your kid to a 4:30 gymnastics class if you work until 5pm.  But still there are many opportunities that do work.

 

I have hired a college student to drive my kids around in the past.  It was not an every-day thing.  Mostly I plan to avoid or reduce the need to transport them during business hours.

 

I still much prefer the flexibility of working either part-time or at home / remotely.  But I do have working mom friends who make it work without those conveniences.

 

If you find that you need to hire someone to do some service due to the kids' ages, you might view it as an investment into a long-term solution for the family.  If paying for after-school care gets Mom a well-paying job she really wants, and into a good career, the short-term cost shouldn't be the deciding factor.  Just like people pay for training up front to qualify for a good job.

Edited March 24, 2016 by SKL

[need2read]

Have you considered the income tax consequences of adding more income to the household? We had our taxes done yesterday and have concluded that it makes no economic sense for me to work in the family business; I'm basically working for free. Just something to think about.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jenny in Florida]

If you find that you need to hire someone to do some service due to the kids' ages, you might view it as an investment into a long-term solution for the family.  If paying for after-school care gets Mom a well-paying job she really wants, and into a good career, the short-term cost shouldn't be the deciding factor.  Just like people pay for training up front to qualify for a good job.

 

This is something I've been pondering quite a bit as I make my return to the world of paid work.

 

Recently, I had to give some information about salary history, which prompted me to research what my last full-time salary would be equivalent to in today's dollars. I then made the misate of adding up how much I would have made if I had not taken off those years to be home with the kids. It was, honestly, a bit staggering. And now that I'm working again, I'm making about half of what I made (not even accounting for inflation) in my last full-time position. If I'm very lucky and work hard, I just might, by the time I retire, climb back to the same salary I was making 20 years ago, which is worth significantly less in current dollars than it was at the time.

 

As I look back now, I realize that if I had kept my hand in even part-time in something related to my field for all or most of those years I was home, even if my actual income during those years had not made much difference to our monthly budget, I would likely have been able to return to work at a much higher salary than I can get now. So, the net gain over the long term would have been pretty significant.

 

I don't regret "giving up" that money. It was absolutely "worth it" to me and to our family to have me home. However, I think people do get caught up in looking at the short-term, bottom line of this month's or this year's take-home and miss the long-term financial impact of having one earner out of the workplace for those years.

Edited March 24, 2016 by Jenny in Florida

[catz]

I have a degree in comp sci and worked as a software engineer for many years.  I've also hired and worked with many programmers.  I've also taught programming. 

 

I don't think learning programming will just solve all your problems.  If you're tech saavy, and you're interested it might be worth a try.  I've taught tech and programming to enough people now that I think some people are just wired in that direction and some people are not and absolutely end up hating it. 

 

If you had/got some web development skills (which would be different than just learning straight programming), you could do website work from home.  I guess I wouldn't just jump into a course without some goals and direction.  Something like this ...

https://www.udemy.com/complete-web-developer-course/

[Faithful_Steward]

Try looking for positions as a peak-time teller in a bank.

 

Dental office

 

Office or non-instructional position at a local public school

 

Have you asked around at your kids' school?

[StephanieZ]

My totally random thought . . . 

If you'd prefer to stay at home, then consider what is "in it for dh" . . . I wonder if you made a focused effort to do things with your "extra" time that pleased dh, made his life easier and more fun . . . that maybe he'd be more supportive of you staying home.

 

When my mom died last summer, and I was then relieved of my major time commitment of caring for her, one of the first things I did after the dust settled . . . was to ask my dh "what can I do with my spare hours each week to make your life happier and easier?"  

 

 

[aaplank]

Tentiltwo.com is a temp to permanent job placement company that places you in part time positions ideally from 10-2 when your kids are in school. You might want to check and see if they are in your area.

 

There is also ten2two.com

Edited March 25, 2016 by aaplank

[heartlikealion]

I'm not sure what the plan would be for child care during summer and other breaks, and surely the now-2 yo will not be in full-day school at 3, will he??  So, it sounds like you need a job that lets you have summers and breaks off but isn't teaching.  How about using the next couple of years to go to school yourself to retrain in something you can and want to do when the kids are a little older.  Treat your education as your job for a while, and in a couple of years, you could be qualified to do a lot of things.

 

Alternatively, here's what some of my former SAHM friends are doing:  embroidery (monogramming, etc.); real estate; a couple of nursing shifts/week; dog sitting for families who are on vacation (she comes to your house twice/day and feeds and walks--she's EXPENSIVE, and she has the market cornered in one big neighborhood, so her clients are all near each other); working in a school lunch room (she does this for the tuition discount at her kids' private school); working in a retail swim shop as a team liaison (her daughter swims with mine, and the employee discount alone is worth a couple of thousand dollars a year); cake decorating (mom of a toddler; advertises only on Facebook; has all of the work she can handle); and printing player names on the back of baseball jerseys (she does this at night--team moms drop the jerseys in a bin on her front porch by 5, and they are back in the bin with an invoice by 8 AM).

 

I get wanting to contribute economically.  Good luck figuring out how to do so.

 

I'm confused about this as well. Would your 2 yr old (if your sig is up to date) be entering pre-school soon? How many hours a week?

 

Would you need to be home before the kids got out of school or done with your job early to pick up the youngest?

 

Unless your youngest was in full-time school (that sounds like super long days for a 2 or 3 yr old), you'd need to be done with your job early afternoon? Or work nights/weekends when your dh is home with the kids?

 

How do you feel about retail? They probably would hire for nights/weekends. Of course this would put your dh in charge of driving kids to/from activities the days you worked.

 

I do think that you can justify the economic value of staying at home since you still need someone to drive the kids or watch the younger ones after school. Maybe the oldest can stay home alone (?) but I don't know that you'd want them in charge of everyone.

 

If you just want a little income I'd consider filling out a job application with limited days and seeing what happens. Maybe offering to work only weekends would be enough to appease them. This would, however, conflict with family time or sporting events perhaps. But it shouldn't conflict with summer breaks the kids have.

[heartlikealion]

Probably my last post for the night.

 

To those I offended, I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention. But, I stand by the point that there is much less economic value in a SAHM once all the kids are in school.

 

And my signature badly needs updated. Youngest will be in school half days next year and then they are all gone, all day. So, I have a year to get something started.

 

Thanks for all the ideas. Yes, the hardest part is getting started.

 

I just saw this part.

 

"get something started" sounds like you want a career type job maybe? If that's the case I'd probably look into starting classes now, be it in person or online, during the day when everyone is at school.

 

I might look into shops with limited hours of operation so I knew I wouldn't be expected to work too many hours or would guarantee I have __ day off because they are closed that day. I agree that for day jobs, anyway, I don't know of many where after school care wouldn't be a concern. I can't imagine a part time job warranting the cost of child care, but maybe a full time job.

 

[SereneHome]

Didn't read the whole thread yet, sorry if this has been mentioned.

 

Depending on how much $$ your husband makes, it might make no economic sense for you to work.  Your $10K/yr will be taxed at his rate, if not higher.

 

I am not even talking about accidentals such as gas and extra car mileage, etc.

 

Run your taxes with your pretend income and see where you end up.

[LucyStoner]

My totally random thought . . .

If you'd prefer to stay at home, then consider what is "in it for dh" . . . I wonder if you made a focused effort to do things with your "extra" time that pleased dh, made his life easier and more fun . . . that maybe he'd be more supportive of you staying home.

 

When my mom died last summer, and I was then relieved of my major time commitment of caring for her, one of the first things I did after the dust settled . . . was to ask my dh "what can I do with my spare hours each week to make your life happier and easier?"

I'm not getting the impression that Moxie wants to not work. She wants to transition to work and also have money for some home upgrades and repairs. I think it's just difficult to puzzle out what that looks like with a 20 year old degree and from the sound of it nearly 15 years out of the workforce. Edited March 25, 2016 by LucyStoner

[bettyandbob]

I would take the cost of hiring out anything except childcare. For most 2 income families the couple works together with kids to get it ( cooking, cleaning etc) all done or just doesn't do it. My siblings and I were taught to have the house clean, laundry done and dinner on the table by the time mom and dad walked in the door. I can remember doing this when I was in 2d and my siblings were in 5th and 6th grades. That was early 70s--todau kids would be older before they did that alone,but it's an example of no housekeeper family still functioning.

 

If I'd had a crystal ball, I would have found a way to stay current in a career when I was full time focused on kids-- you can still have a part time focus. This can be done through volunteering, part time work, control work, continuing training. However I did step out for a while and now can't catch up ever.

 

For anyone reentering the workplace, they need to recognize that short time costs like childcare are often outpaced by pay increases over time. It's not always correct to say you loose money by working. You need to think of it as an investment and balance it. Long-term what is the investment going to look like. How does that compare to paying for a few hours of childcare.

 

So I did reenter the work force a few years ago. I started out just teaching swimming during school hours and Saturdays. At the time the job had the benefit of YMCA membership and some class discounts. So that job benefitted my family beyond my hourly pay--we used discounts on swim team and tae kwon do.

 

My family has since needed more income. I continued to teach swimming, but I added teaching at a private school. I'm now employed in three jobs more than full time, but not qualifying for the big insurance and paid leave benefits. All my hours are in chunks to avoid childcare which I will always have due to my ds disabilities. I think I'm starting to see an end though. All this time I've been updating myself with certifications. Having three jobs has expanded my network and I use that to keep looking for the next move.

 

Another thing I didn't see in this thread is having a spouse work can be helpful to the primary earner in that the income takes a little pressure off the primary earner. Maybe the income is used for vacations. Maybe it is used for children's college. Maybe it allows primary earner to step back to lower paying/ less responsibility work while retraining for a career jump. Maybe it allows primary earner to not feel trapped in a particular job. Maybe it allows considering risky, but high pay career moves. A little income stream can be a huge pressure relief.

[bettyandbob]

As for home repairs, if you are home can you learn to do them yourself. My hardware store has free weekend classes on home to stuff around the house. Another thing you can do is what my friend did years ago. She got together with a small group of friends and formed a "honey do" club. Every month they tackle a project at someone's house. They rotate houses and plan around kid schedules. They've finished attics into bedrooms, remodeled bathrooms and built decks.they've been doing this for years so each lady now has redone much of her house. All that came out of a group of ladies in a preschool playgroup deciding to attack projects their husbands just weren't getting to.

[Laura Corin]

What I always think when I see stuff like this is - ihave three kids and don't work and life feels stressful crazy and like we are always running. How on earth do you add in close to work and stay sane? Ok granted I homeschool but that actually doesn't take as much time as a full time job. I probably do more cleaning because the kids are making more mess. But how does it actually look? When do you clean or cook? When do you help with homework? When do you sleep?

 

I'd love to know how it all works...

 

The key for us has been getting a cleaner in.  The house is cleaned once a week and I just tidy the kitchen between cleans.  One morning of my salary pays for the cleaner.

 

Last night after work: met my elderly mother at the doctor's office, then bought petrol on the way home; made supper from scratch, put a loaf of bread on to bake in the breadmaker and made pea soup over the course of a fairly leisurely hour; ate with my family then put a load of washing on; bought my groceries online between 9pm and 10pm for delivery the next day.  Normally I would have been supervising homework whilst cooking, but there wasn't any homework yesterday.  Slept from 11 to 7.

 

Today during my lunch hour: drop into the doctor's office to sort out a prescription for my mother; post some letters; pick up dog food and garden fertiliser; eat in five minutes at my desk.

 

My last child at home is older though, so I don't have childcare issues during school holidays.  I re-entered the workforce six years ago and have moved slowly to full-time work. 

 

Edited March 25, 2016 by Laura Corin

[Guest]

I'm not getting the impression that Moxie wants to not work. She wants to transition to work and also have money for some home upgrades and repairs. I think it's just difficult to puzzle out what that looks like with a 20 year old degree and from the sound of it nearly 15 years out of the workforce.

This is probably what I should have written in my op.

 

I have no idea where to start. I've mentioned to a few key people at the school that I'd love to work there in some capacity. That would be ideal for now but that is a long shot.

 

I honestly don't know what I'd want to do if I had to pick a career to go toward. How does one do that?

[LucyStoner]

This is probably what I should have written in my op.

 

I have no idea where to start. I've mentioned to a few key people at the school that I'd love to work there in some capacity. That would be ideal for now but that is a long shot.

 

I honestly don't know what I'd want to do if I had to pick a career to go toward. How does one do that?

What did you do for work after college, before kids?

 

I saw a career coach when I was pondering my next move educationally. She was a therapist focused on helping people set goals and mull what they wanted most. If you truly have no idea what you want, that might be something to try.

[Guest]

What did you do for work after college, before kids?

 

I saw a career coach when I was pondering my next move educationally. She was a therapist focused on helping people set goals and mull what they wanted most. If you truly have no idea what you want, that might be something to try.

I would love to talk to a career coach. I might try to find one online (no such thing in this town).

 

I was a bank teller through college and then in HR and accounts payable/receivable. If I could snap my fingers and create a job, I'd love to balance checkbooks and pay bills all day. Not that I like math, but I love making order out of chaos and seeing the numbers all balance.

[LucyStoner]

I would love to talk to a career coach. I might try to find one online (no such thing in this town).

 

I was a bank teller through college and then in HR and accounts payable/receivable. If I could snap my fingers and create a job, I'd love to balance checkbooks and pay bills all day. Not that I like math, but I love making order out of chaos and seeing the numbers all balance.

In this case, I actually do recommend exploring bookkeeping or accounting. Most community colleges have short programs so you can learn the newest bookkeeping software if that's a barrier to entry. There are PT bookkeeping jobs and opportunities to either be self employed or even work from home. I could get quite a bit more of this work than I presently can accept. The rate of pay in my area and niche is good. Self employed bookkeepers here bill anywhere from $30-75 an hour depending on the level of services they provide and experience. Sometimes I work in the clients office, other times I pick up their files, take them home, do the work and then take the files back to them with the completed work. I have done everything from bookkeeping, tax returns, financial reporting, budgets and a little HR related stuff (like setting a small employer up with an employee handbook or helping them find health insurance and retirement plan providers). I work exclusively for non-profit organizations. Edited March 25, 2016 by LucyStoner

[heartlikealion]

This is probably what I should have written in my op.

 

I have no idea where to start. I've mentioned to a few key people at the school that I'd love to work there in some capacity. That would be ideal for now but that is a long shot.

 

I honestly don't know what I'd want to do if I had to pick a career to go toward. How does one do that?

 

Do you frequent the school websites and read their job openings? the people you spoke to may or may not be aware of the job postings. I would look at each school's individual website. That is how I used to apply to school jobs. I did get an interview once and almost had an interview another time which was canceled at the last min. on their end due to no longer needing someone, within a few months' time. You said you didn't want to work with children or substitute so I kind of thought you didn't want to work at a school lol. I know there are jobs that have less direct contact with the students, though so definitely keep looking.

 

[Carol in Cal.]

Around here the community colleges have free career aptitude and inclination type testing, as well as some career counselling.

If I were doing this I would start with the free resources and exhaust them, and then I would probably pay for some individual time with an ontological coach to hone my goals.  If I wanted my own business, I know someone who helps people figure out what franchise would suit them the best, and he's really good, so I'd probably go talk to him also.  (His service is free; he gets paid by the franchises themselves, but he's very ethical so I would trust him despite the possible conflicts of interest.)

[Guest]

Do you frequent the school websites and read their job openings? the people you spoke to may or may not be aware of the job postings. I would look at each school's individual website. That is how I used to apply to school jobs. I did get an interview once and almost had an interview another time which was canceled at the last min. on their end due to no longer needing someone, within a few months' time. You said you didn't want to work with children or substitute so I kind of thought you didn't want to work at a school lol. I know there are jobs that have less direct contact with the students, though so definitely keep looking.

 

By that I meant that I have no desire to substitute, tutor or run an in-home daycare. I'm good with working in the school office. Edited March 25, 2016 by Moxie

[heartlikealion]

By that I meant that I have no desire to substitute, tutor or run an in-home daycare. I'm good with working in the school office.

 

Yes, that is what I figured. The one I interviewed for was a receptionist job, though I primarily had applied for teacher aid roles when I was filling out applications.