The Barking Lot

Trying to make money as a stay-at-home mom is not easy.  I have done a lot of research trying to find a way to make a little extra cash flow, while still having the ability to take care of my baby.

It is an extreme challenge to find anything legitimate.  It seems that every link, no matter how savvy you think your search terms are, lead to some money making scam, or another useless time consuming dead end.

After spending ages and ages researching on the internet, here are a few ideas on how to make some extra cash as a stay-at-home mom;

1. Ebay – Resale items and turn a profit.: scour garage sales, clean closets, some site ideas to check out for items  www.craigslist.org, www.bid4assets.com, www.govtrepos.com, http://www.ustreas.gov/auctions/
2. Photography – If you are talented with the camera, submit your photos to some of these sites; www.istockphotos.com, www.bigstockphoto.com, www.shutterstock.com, www.gettyimages.com

Do read the fine print of these sites.  While some of the sites are up front about how much you will be paid, and how much you have to earn in order to be cut a check, some have it a little less conspicuous.  From what I have seen, you may not get paid if you do not make a certain amount.

1. Find a part time position as an internet researcher, or an online forum moderator.  These positions are a challenge to find, but they are out there.
2. Writers – This is a good job if you have a zest for writing.  There are many sites that you can submit short stories or articles to for a bit of cash.  There are also sites that run writing contests for cash.  Also, you can check www.craigslist.org for small writing jobs advertised.
3. Telecommute odd jobs – Now for these I have searched high and low.  There are plenty of sites where you can bid on jobs and do them via telecommute.  Sites like www.odesk.com, or www.guru.com .  Possibly a good venue for income… Then again, the price for the workload does not quite seem worth it.  Seemingly someone who lives in a country, or state where the cost of living allows for someone to live off of the $60  you receive for a two week (if you worked full time) project.
4. Surveys, Panels, Focus Groups – PLEASE be careful signing up for these.  At the very least someone has data warehoused everything about you, your family, your neighbors, your dog, and your dog’s best friend.  Okay maybe I am exaggerating a bit… Anyway, I HIGHLY advise that if you sign up for such sites, you make an email address that you are willing to close and throw away once you have been spammed TO DEATH.  Aside from that, most sites with give you tons and tons of time wasting question in order to tell you that you have not been chosen to move on to the rest of the survey, which is where you would get some POINTS towards getting some prize, coupons, cash.  The goals are almost never attainable.  There are some sites out there that are legitimate, however they are far and few between, and it is hard to weed them out from the rest.  Also, you would only fit the criteria once in awhile.  If you know of any good sites, please feel free to post them in comments.

I will update this blog post with more information and ideas, as they come along.