Guest post from Alexa of Single Moms Income
As a single mother, I have learned what it’s like to barely be able to fund a bare bones budget. At times, I have to scrimp and save every last dollar to keep the bills paid. I have found that when there is nothing left to cut out of your budget your only option is to increase your income.
I have gotten pretty good at finding different income sources to supplement the income from my day job. If you are in a situation like mine, you need to find a way to bring in a little extra money to pay for the necessities, too.
Here are some of the things I do:
1. Freelance Writing
Freelance writing has come to be one of the best sources of extra income for me. When I first started writing for money, I used content mills such as Text Broker or Interact Media. The pay offered by these is very low, usually in the ball park of $1-$5 per article when starting out. I became unsatisfied with the pay from these sites and ventured out on my own.
I decided to try to get writing jobs from freelance job boards. I also hunt down my own clients who I think may be interested in my services.
While I do spend a lot of time looking for clients the pay from these jobs is much, much better. In fact, I now make $25 – $40 per article. If there are months that I can’t find clients and need a few extra bucks, the content mills will always be there to fall back on.
2. Blogging
Blogging is a huge time commitment but I really enjoy it. It took me three months before making the first dime off my blog.
My blog is still relatively young and the income I make from it varies. So far, on a good month I’ll make $300, while on a bad month I may not make anything. With time and consistent hard work, I know I will see the income from this increase.
Note from Crystal: If you want to learn more about how to make money blogging, check out my series here.
3. Swagbucks & Inbox Dollars
I have accepted the fact that I simply do not have money to stash away for Christmas this year. However, I am also grateful for this. I will be forced to spend less and concentrate more on the true meaning of Christmas.
So, this year the majority of our Christmas presents will be funded by gift cards and cash earned through Swagbucks and Inbox Dollars.
The money earned through these outlets is not huge, but by working on them all year long, it can really add up. I use Swagbucks as my search engine to earn points and I read emails from Inbox Dollars and complete any special offers that interest me.
Neither one of these takes any real effort and can be done mindlessly. By the time Christmas rolls around, I should have at least a couple hundred dollars by doing each of these daily.
4. Stay Positive & Think Outside the Box
There are tons of people in the same position as I am. If you can barely pay your bills and have cut every imaginable expense out of your budget, your only option is to increase your income.
Think of things that you enjoy doing and find a way to make money from them. You could walk dogs, tutor children, give music lessons, clean houses, or offer landscaping services.
The options are limitless. If you can think outside of the box and focus on the positive rather than the negative you will enjoy earning the money. You never know, if you keep at it you may be able to turn your side income into a full time income, all while enjoying what you do and solving your budgeting problems.
Alexa is a single mother to two little girl’s ages three and four. She is on a mission to create a happy, fulfilled life for herself and her family. She chronicles her journey as a single mother trying to make it big at Single Moms Income.
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