Strawberries and Paychecks

As most people know, having children is EXPENSIVE. First, it's the gear: carseat, crib, stroller, carrier, diapers. Just FYI - I never had enough diapers or wipes, but I will never run out of tiny newborn blankets, despite the fact that I haven't had a newborn in over a year. So if you ever go to a baby shower two words of advice: 1) buy off the registry unless it's something special - like a homemade blanket they'll always have or 2) buy diapers in various sizes.

Later, those babies grow into toddlers who apparently need all. the. toys. And have to eat. We go through pounds of fruit in a week. I am not exaggerating. Between both my toddlers we can go through a quart of strawberries in about fifteen minutes. We buy bananas every week, sometimes more.

And now, we have preschool. And camps. And fun activities that cost money. Usually not extremely expensive activities, but it adds up. For a SAHM, it tends to leave you feeling guilty. You want to balance the activities with fun time at home (including t.v. time - shout out to Elmo!) but you also know you're not really contributing financially to the household. Unless you count Target runs with the Cartwheel app to save money.

So, I embarked on a job search. I don't want to put my kids in daycare. Soon enough my oldest will be in kindergarten every day. My youngest will be in preschool. So I will be able to swing a part-time gig soon. But soon doesn't help pay for swimming classes or strawberries. So I wanted to find something I could do during nap times and in the evening. Something online, from home. I considered writing, but for that I'd need time to build up a portfolio (well, I've started one, it'll just take longer). I am also working on a couple of novels (because someday I hope to be as wealthy as J.K. Rowling based on doing something awesome like getting published. I'm a dreamer). So I've applied for all sorts of things - data entry. Surveys. Online essay reading. So far, I have yet to hear back from any of these, but I'm really hoping it will come through very soon.

But it's so difficult to tell what is legitimate (and will actually pay you something that will really help out) and what is a scam. There are so many of those - pay a fee and you'll earn $30,000 a month with our proven program. Readers, you've seen these I'm sure. I have high hopes - I'm reliable, I can type extremely fast, I want to help out at home financially. Being a SAHM is rewarding in many ways, but no one pays you to raise the next generation! So wish me luck and hope something comes through. And if you are interested, I have some links that might help you out on your own search.