Note from Crystal: A bunch of you have asked if I’m going to finish the Becoming a Work-At-Home Mom series. I know I kinda fell off the wagon with that for awhile — and I’m sorry! But for those of you who have been patiently waiting for the conclusion, you’ll be happy to know that it’s on the blog calendar to be finished over the next few Fridays. So come back this Friday and the following Fridays for the final installments of the series. In the mean time, enjoy Laura’s post on her experiences as a work-at-home mom.
Guest post by Laura from Heavenly Homemakers
First, let’s all acknowledge that working from home truly is work. It’s hard work. The work is always there. You don’t leave it at the end of the day.
But as a Work-at-Home-Mom, what else don’t I have to leave? My children. My home. And some days, my most comfy slippers.
My husband and I chose for me to work from home 13 years ago when our first son was born. We have always maintained a frugal lifestyle and we have always lived on a modest income. My husband has always been a hard working provider for our family. But a little extra income has never hurt. Anytime I have earned extra money for our family, it means we’ve been able to breathe a little easier. It means we can save up for a new (to us) vehicle a little more quickly. It means we can give more generously when we are made aware of the needs of others.
Through the years, I’ve participated in all kinds of “work from home” opportunities as the Lord provided. I’ve offered day-care for extra little ones. I’ve sold Stampin’ Up! products. I’ve done sewing and mending for people. (That job was very short lived as sewing and mending are not my strong suit!) I’ve baked and sold goodies at our local Farmer’s Market. (These homemade soft pretzels sold particularly well!) I’ve made craft items and sold them at craft shows.
Currently, I write a weekly column for our local newspaper as well as maintain the blog Heavenly Homemakers where I share on all varieties of subjects regarding simple living, healthy eating and good ol’ family silliness. (We have four sons. There is a lot of family silliness to write about!)
While I’m able to earn a little income through these endeavors, I am constantly overwhelmed with joy that this “job” not only provides some financial help to our family, but it has also become a wonderful hobby and a beloved ministry. How awesome is it that all three of these blessings could be wrapped up into one!?
Oh the joy of being able to stay at home while I work and to absolutely love what I do! I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to homeschool my children. I’ve been blessed with the ability to drop whatever I need to drop in order to help my husband or to be flexible around his work schedule. I’ve been blessed to leave what I’m doing to go help a friend in need. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to be right beside our four boys as they grow, learn, discover, struggle, overcome, cry, laugh and love. I do believe I have the best job in the world!
Use your gifts! Be creative! Discover what it is that you can do to bless your family from home.
Laura Coppinger and her husband have four sons ages 5-13. She loves to cook healthy, family-friendly food, create new recipes, watch her boys play soccer and spend time with her husband. She strives to balance it all while she writes and shares what she’s learned at Heavenly Homemakers.
Do you have a work-from-home success story to share? If so, drop me a line and tell me about it. I’d love to consider sharing it with the readers here!
Heather H says
Absolutely love that moms from all walks of life are on this site. SAHM, WAHM, and moms who work outside the home all inspire me. I am a full time teacher who tutors and provides additional schooling during much of the summer. I have two beautiful kids and am the wife of an amazing minister. I work as a ministry and to meet our goal of one day being debt free. We also live frugally so we can do mission work in the summer and one day “give like no one else.”
It is hard at times to keep my head above water. I find tips from this site encouraging, from all the different types of moms. I think God gives us all different things to do in different seasons of life, and I am blessed to ahve so many encouragers out there. One thing is for certain. Not one of us has it easy. Glad we are all in it together!
Aimee says
@Heather H, What a lovely comment, Heather! I agree that it’s great to learn from moms who have a variety of work situations and are in varying “seasons” as a mother.
Mary says
I’m not sure if it’s the hardest job on the planet, but it IS a challenge and very rewarding.
Aimee says
To echo what several posters have commented, there are a variety of situations that work based on your family’s needs. I worked in consulting for over ten years and last year made the move to do internal consulting work from home. It’s a full-time job so we still have childcare but I work Monday through Thursday so I have a three day weekend with our kids. Additionally, working from home allows me to keep laundry going during the day, get dinner started, etc. so when the kids are home, I’m really spending time with them as opposed to trying to get all of the chores done while attempting to have quality time. It’s also a less “demanding” job in that I don’t work with outside clients so I have greater flexibility with my hours, don’t spend time getting ready or commuting each day, and a host of other great advantages.
For us, this has really been the best of both worlds.
Laura says
One last note–sorry, I didn’t realize I had so much to say on the subject! I agree with Laura’s comment (the heavenlyhomemaker) on work at home truly being work. My biggest struggle with working from home is making the time and finding that home/work balance.
I am thankful for my job because it has helped our family weather some tough times after my husband’s job was cut. The challenge is that I was pretty busy as a homemaker. There weren’t 10 or 20 hours a week I was just sitting around twiddling my thumbs. To accommodate a job I’ve had to give up some things. If you are considering a work-at-home job, I’d ask what you are willing to give up. What are you and your husband NOT willing to give up? Knowing what my priorities are and knowing I’ve accomplished those few things helps ease the stress of a busy lifestyle.
Laura says
One other thing, I have to say I LOVE the heavenlyhomemaker’s website. She is laugh-out-loud hilarious sometimes. She is also very real. I check in on her site when I am having a bad day and the blog just lifts my spirits.
She also has some great recipes. We make the “Spinach, I don’t see any spinach” green smoothies on a regular basis. This morning we made the Breakfast Cookies. Check out her site; you’ll love it!
Laura@HeavenlyHomemakers says
@Laura, Aw, well aren’t you nice!! 🙂
Jessy says
@Laura@HeavenlyHomemakers, I agree…and I must add that my nephew and I were drooling over just the thought of those homemade pretzels!!! I MUST make them ASAP!!
Jessica says
My heart goes out to army wives! Not sure how they manage to do all of this every day for months on end!
Laura says
I’ve thought the same thing. My husband used to travel for business a lot when our children were small and that was really tough. It was a blessing to know he was in the country and back in a week or two. It made me realize what a sacrifice a military deployment is for the entire family. There are many families out there with mom or dad gone for long periods of time to keep our country safe. I appreciate the sacrifice the moms and children are making on all our behalves.
We need to pray and support the many women in our country who are carrying great burdens (military moms, single moms, families taking care of elderly parents or special needs children, families facing job losses, the list goes on). We especially need to avoid being judgmental and just love each other in Christ.
Melissa says
@Laura, I agree with this as well…my husband traveled during the week until recently, and although I stayed home with my two children, that almost made it worse for me personally b/c I was so lonely and burned out by constantly being the only one with my children (we have no family anywhere close and moved here not that long ago). I can’t imagine being a military wife, and I pray for them often!! No matter what our situation as wives and mothers, we all do what we can for the best of our family and we need to pray for each other, encourage each other, and lift each other up….no matter what our circumstances. 🙂
Erica says
@Laura, AMEN!! Well said 🙂
Jessy says
@Jessica, Not just army wives, but all military wives. When my husband and I first got married, he was in the Navy. For the years following, he went out to sea for three months at a time twice a year, which basically equals half the year not to mention the lovely rotating “duty” days where he’d have to work over 30 hours spending the night on the sub. Our daughter was born a “Navy Brat” and I was fortunate to be able to stay at home with her then. But it wasn’t easy. Not only do military spouses have to maintain the house and take care of the kids (who always get very sick or badly hurt during a deployment), but they need to become mom AND dad, handle holidays by themselves, do yardwork and fix things around the house, handle finances and all legal aspects, as well as lots of things involved with the military as well. I guess the bottom line to what all of us are trying to say is that no matter what else we do whether it be work outside the home, inside the home, homeschool, single parent, military spouse, whatever, being a mom is one of the hardest jobs on the planet but thank the Lord it’s the most rewarding!
Jessica says
I currently work a full time job as well as handle all of the responsibilites of the household and caring for my daughter. My husband is working out of town right now (4 hours away) so we only see him every 2 weeks. It definitely is a challenge to get our daughter to daycare, go to work, pick her up, prepare dinner, bathtime, QUALITY time, bedtime stories, cleaning and any other household chores on my own. I usually stay up until midnight if I want to do any couponing. And if I need to go to the store for deals, my daughter comes along and it is also quite the challenge!
Erica says
@Jessica, Women in your situation, single parents and Army parents are my heros!!! You do it all, and it is very difficult. As Laura put it (a couple comments above), my hat goes off to you!
Courtney says
As a longtime work-at-home mom, I agree that the benefits are tremendous. However, my advice is to make sure you are not taking on too much by deciding to work at home. Taking care of little ones is a more-than-fulltime job in itself, and it’s easy to get stretched too thin when you add work to the mix. I only work 8-10 hours a week, mostly when my kids are sleeping or in school – and now that they are a bit older, it works out great. But when they were little, I felt frazzled and stressed trying to keep up with it all. If I could do those years over, I would find a way to stop working altogether for a few years and really just enjoy those baby and toddler years, because they fly by so fast 🙂
Andrea Q says
I have a very small at-home business (making tote bags) that I had planned to expand as my children grew. Unfortunately, recent changes to tax laws, including new requirements on the 1099-Misc forms in 2012, are making me rethink that plan. With more complicated tax laws, I would need the help of a CPA, but the volume of work created by the new reporting requirements would make hiring one cost prohibitive. It is very discouraging, so my new plan is to keep our belt tight and eventually get a part-time job when the kids are older so we can loosen it up a bit.
Courtney says
@Andrea Q, I hear ya! We own two businesses and the new 1099 requirements are going to be a major burden for us as well. It stinks!
Laura says
As I’ve made the transition from stay-at-home mom to work-at-home mom, I’ve come to a whole new level of respect for the work-outside-the-home moms. They have to be truly organized and motivated to be successful at home and work. My hat goes off to them! I know they do what they do for the betterment of their families.
Emily says
@Laura,
Thank you so much for that comment Laura. I am a work-outside-of-the-home mom, and I really appreciated the way you put that. It is really hard (way harder than I EVER imagined) working outside the home, juggling everything, and finding the right balance between home and work (something I still struggle with every day).
Alaine says
I would love to be able to work from home, but it is definitely not in the cards for us. Do you think you might feature a guest post sometime about a mom that doesn’t work from home, but still manages to juggle the responsibilities of home, work, kids, and being frugal? There has to be someone out there, but all I ever come across on money saving blogs is SAHM and moms working from home, and it’s a little discouraging for me.
Andrea Q says
@Alaine, In my experience, when both parents work outside the home, things run more efficiently when both take a fair share of the at-home responsibilities. If you’re trying to do all the housework, cooking and chauffeuring, there’s not going to be much time left for couponing, researching deals and planning shopping trips. Organization is really important, but it probably won’t make up for being on the same page with your partner.
Andrea Q says
p.s. When I used “you” and “you’re”, I was writing to the generic “you”. 🙂
Melissa says
@Alaine, Alaine, (((hug))), I’m sorry, I can imagine that must be so hard. I think both staying at home and working outside of the home present different challenges and struggles and I have to agree with Andrea- I would think it would be so difficult for you to try to do it all. Don’t be discouraged! You are only one person. (((hug))) I found it hard to be frugal WITHOUT kids and both of us working- I can’t imagine how hard it would be with kids as well. You get home, you’re exhausted with limited time, and you have to try to cook quickly, etc. Hang in there…. take little tips here and there and do what you can. 🙂
Alaine says
@Melissa, No, I certainly didn’t mean that I plan to do it all myself! I’m not wonderwoman, lol! 🙂 I’d just love to hear a story or blog post from a mom who doesn’t get to stay at home, and how they create a balance between work-home-family. We’re planning to start a family soon, so it would be really inspiring to hear a story from someone who manages to juggle all of that!
Mary says
I have been working from home for 10 years now–first on a self-employed basis and on a somewhat limited basis when my children were younger and now as a remote employee. I agree that being a parent, whether you work outside the home or not or have paid work or not, is a challenging job by itself. My work has helped contribute to my family’s income, given me the opportunity to function outside of my family, and helped us weather some pretty difficult financial circumstances over the years. I sometimes feel as though I’m being pulled in many different directions (I suppose everyone does), but I save resources and time by not commuting to an outside office, and I’ve never stressed about what to do with a sick child. Although I’ve never been a full-time stay-at-home mom except when my children were very young, my working has also made it a bit more possible for my husband to have a some additional time with our children and not feel the pressure of being our only source of income. Different arrangements work for different families, but this has worked pretty well for us.
Melissa says
So from those of you who work at home….thoughts/ideas/tips for getting started or finding jobs/work from home? Starting blogs, businesses, finding reputable companies, etc. Tips? 🙂 Or is that a post coming soon from Crystal? 😉
Crystal says
Check out this page for some starter ideas:
https://moneysavingmom.com/becoming-a-work-at-home-mom-series
I’ll be posting more in my series, as well as a page of ideas. And if anyone else wants to chime in with suggestions or ideas, feel free to do so!
Melissa says
@Crystal, Thank you! That’s a great place to start….I think the blogging sounds intriguing, simply because I love to write and I currently have a family blog and would love to expand on that. The problem is, I have no idea about Ad-sense or more of the technical aspects of blogging that I know can take a LONG time to truly feel as though I understand enough to make a profit and do a blog well. I’m not exactly sure where to go to learn that info or how to learn it though…I’m anxious to hear the conclusion of your series. 🙂
Crystal says
I have just the blog for you! http://www.BloggingWithAmy.com tells you everything you ever needed to know about getting started blogging and earning an income from doing so.
Also, I did a series three years ago on Blogging for Profit and am planning to re-write it and re-run it next month. So stay tuned for that.
Hope that helps!
Melissa says
@Melissa, Thank you so much, I’ll check it out and keep posted on your blog as well! I think it’s wonderful you guys are so willing to invest in others and help other moms who are interested in doing the same- I hope you are truly blessed for it. 🙂
jacqui says
I am SO encouraged by these series! they speak right to my heart!! I am currently doing the same thing with wedding photography so I can be at home with my precious son…thanks again!!!
Erica says
I’d like to kindly and respectfully point out that I believe every mother’s work (weather out of the home or in the home) is hard work! I don’t think either one is any easier.
I am very encouraged by these work-at-home stories, as I hope to be able to do that one day soon 🙂
Becky @ Our Peaceful Home says
Thanks for the tips! I don’t think there is anything better than being a work at home mom! I always need a few more tips to increase our family income but at the same time being able to focus on the family! Thank you!
Gina says
Working from home is something I never thought possible. But with a little hard work, determination and a great company, it has really allowed us to make it work!
Jacki says
As a mom of 5 (ages 28-16) I can say that you will have more blessings to come. One huge blessing is seeing the fruit of your labor as your children grow into mature, well adjusted happy adults. I am so thankful that 28 years ago, my husband and I made the decision to have me become a stay at home mom. The financial sacrifices we made over the years are now paying off abundantly, as we have the joy of watching our “investments” blossom. Did we always have money to do what we wanted to do? No, but we always had what we needed. Was it always easy? No, but always made it work. I am so glad that we made the choice to invest in the lives of our 5 children, rather than “things”. We truly beleive that our children would not be the people they are today, had we not made that choice 28 years ago.
Jessy says
I work from home as well and it truly is a blessing. I live in an area where pay is low, so I wouldn’t even have enough in my paycheck after daycare for my two girls to buy a tank of gas, which renders a full time job outside the home pointless. After MONTHS of praying, I finally got hired at a company that allows me to work from home part time as an actual employee, not an independent contractor. While doing this, I am able to stay home with my girls, take care of my home, and also am helping a lot of friends and family with their childcare needs, especially during the summer months with school being out all while bringing in extra money. Since I work for a company in a different state, the pay is WAY higher than if I were to get a job in my area. I even have a 401K with my job, so I am helping to save for our future as well. We are able to put money aside each week towards Christmas and our girls’ birthdays, vacations, and in savings. God definitely placed me in the right job and I thank Him every day for this perfect opportunity!
DelaRae Walker says
@Jessy, If you don’t mind, what is the name of the company you work for? I am looking for some work at home opportunities so I can stay home with my babies! Thanks for your help!
Jessica says
@Jessy, Can you please share the name of a replicable company. Everything I have found is get rich quick schemes. TY 🙂
Jessy says
@Jessica, Check out homeworkersnet.com. Sign up to receive their newsletter via email and you will get legit job listings sent to you. It took me an entire year of searching and applying to everything to find this job and another 4 months to get hired after I applied. The right job is out there for you, just don’t give up! It’s worth it in the end!
Tawra @ Living On A Dime says
Hubby quit his job to come work for our website 3 years ago. Since then we have been able to up double our income.
He does still work 2 other part time jobs but the extra has helped to put huge chunks into paying off our house, pay over $10,000 in medical bills and a lot of “extras” just last year alone.
Being frugal combined with raising your income can help you get ahead VERY quickly!
The great part is when I was on bedrest with my pregnancy he was able to take off to help with the kids and he can take off when we need him for other stuff.
Right now we are trying to sell our house so he can help me clean when we show it, which is WONDERFUL since I have fibromyalgia and am about dead after doing a major “showing” cleaning.
The con for us is the pressure is still on me to keep “working” on articles and recipes. We don’t earn enough yet that I’m really paid for my time on the website and I don’t like have the “pressure” of having to make sure something is always on the site.
I have to say though being financially stable and able to get stuff when we need it, like when the fridge breaks, is wonderful!!