$$ One hundred ways to make a dollar (or more) $$

This is going to be a long post. Well it IS ONE HUNDRED ways to make a dollar. Most things you do will probably make you more than a dollar but sometimes its easier to change your train of thought because if you do make more than a dollar per task your going to be pretty happy with yourself! 

In most ideas I have tried to link in a US site and an Australian site so if you click on one and it's the wrong country, try the other. Nothing frustrates me more than to get a great idea but not be able to find a resource in my country! If you cannot find a link to an idea feel free to comment and I will try to find you a link.

Remember EVERY dollar counts towards your financial goals.

1. Clean someone car
2. Babysit Maybe watching a friends kids while she goes to the movies, shopping, get a haircut?
   
3. Walk a do. Advertise locally to save on travel costs. Do a good job, charge reasonable rates and word of mouth will probably be your main form of advertising.
4. Wash someone's clothes (how hard is this if you have a washing machine?)
5. Sell items for someone else and charge a commission or percentage of what you sell I do this and charge 25%
   
6. Find freebies and then sell them on ( I do this with furniture and baby items because for me they are popular in my area in Australia) But you can do books, clothes, collectables whatever you think is going to be profitable for you.
7. Write thank you cards/invitations for a wedding or birthday party for someone. Newlyweds rarely have time to follow up the celebration with thank you cards as often its back to reality and work.
8. Complete a few surveys online Pure profile, live tribe are ones I use.
   
9. Clean someone's house
10. Set yourself a no spend challenge for the groceries for one week ( every dollar saved can go in your savings kitty at the end of the week)
11. Sort through your old clothes/ spare room and find items to sell on. Be reasonable with pricing, if you wouldn't pay that amount second hand don't expect someone else too!
12. Shop for someone else while you are doing your own
13.  Make cupcakes for your significant other to take to work and charge $1 a cupcake ( it always helps to do this as a freebie to begin with so they know how yummy your betty crocker choc cupcakes are!)
14.  Enter some free competitions and sell the prize Enter things that have a high winner limit. Things like movie tickets, books, DVDs etc see my competition tips on how to win
    
15.  Rent your spare room out This can be temporary or a long term thing.Lots of people need somewhere to stay in between rental leases or if they have relocated from another state. You could get some extra help around the house too if your rent is super cheap! just make sure they contribute their part to the bills
16. Teach someone to drive Make sure they have their own car and insurance to use.
17. Mow a neighbours lawn  use their equipment or add your costs in the charge
18. Charge for healthy veggie scraps leftover from your cooking.  Chooks are great but if someone can save on feed they are going to be pretty happy.
19. Sell excess fruit and veg out the front of your house I did this last week. Picked my mandarin tree and put them out the front for $1 a bag. To date have sold 20 bags  and only spent 60 cents on a packet of bags. Easy cash.
20. Feeds someone's pets while they are away If people are going to supply their own pet food, the pet can either come to you if a drive away, or if its a walk away they can stay in their own home and its no cost to you.
21. Mend/Alter clothes  It's not hard to learn to take up some pants. Taking things in and adding buttons/zips can get a bit trickier but why not just start with taking up long pants? I have done this for my dad several times, now i think of it i might change him a dollar next time!
22. Put a swear jar in your home Every time someone says a naughty word, in goes a dollar! You'd probably be surprised how fast this one fills up if you get a few blokes, beer  and the footy on the TV!
23. Research something for someone. Got a friend in the market for a car, new home, cheaper credit card? Do a web search on what they are looking for and email them the links.
24.  Take photos for a child's birthday party. I know from experience that when you are hosting a kids birthday party you are either behind the camera taking the photos or missing all the photo ops. Having someone else take the pictures and capture those "moments" ( cake smash, present opening, sitting on grandpas knee) is really special. Offer to do for a friend with their camera. Just point, snap, earn. 
25. Make stupid bets. If you hang around pubs/clubs chances are you are going to find some unsuspecting drunk who you can make a bet with. Source some easy but good fooling magic tricks.  Just don't lose!
26. Bury deceased pets in the owners yards for them.For lots of pet owners their animals are more than just pets and the thought of putting them  underground can be quite distressing. It's not a pretty but you would be helping someone at the same time as earning money.
27. Freelance writing. There are a tonne of websites you can write for. Most of them you get paid per click each time someone reads it. Promote the crap out of your piece. Put it on facebook, your blog, links on friends Facebooks so  their friends see they see it. Just don't be a jerk and post ALL the time. You might get a bit of "UN-friending" happening.
28. Help  someone shift furniture/move house. Most pensioners don't have a hope of being able to afford a removalist. Considering getting them to hire a truck instead and you can help them pack and unpack it. Alternatively they might just want a rearrange or an item put out for hard rubbish.
29. Fitness training Buddy. There are lots of people that just cannot get motivated to go for that walk in the morning but don't want to fork out for a personal trainer. You can be the cheap friend/trainer that keeps them motivated and get some fresh air for yourself
30. Put together flat pack furniture.  Most people love what's available at Ikea but they don't have the time or patience to set it all up. That's where you come in.
31. Drop junk mail catalogs/newspaper round. You get fit, paid and its regular income.
32. Emergency daycare for sick kids. Heaps of parents have to take the day off when their children are sick because they are not allowed to go to child care centres with so much as a runny nose. Having this kind of service could be full time or occasional and helps hardworking parents out big time! Ask them to pack their own lunches and toys so you don't have outlay. Just keep in mind you need to have a safe home for kids.
33. Remove head-lice on schoolkids. This is a horrid job and if you are a parent with multiple infected children, very time consuming. It's not as bad as it used to be with fantastic products on the market.  Hey, it will make you money so don't complain.
34. Collect cans and bottles. Put a flyer out in your local cafe or shopping centre or a letterbox drop requesting your neighbours leave their cans/bottles on the footpath for you once a week instead of putting in their recycle bin. You collect the cans and once you have a good stash, cash them in at the bottle depot. if you are getting between 5-10 cents a can that adds up. Especially if your neighbors are beer or coke drinkers.
35. Upload photos or transfer to DVDs for time poor people. You could create slideshows, upload to a specific folder, delete blurred/poor quality pictures or print on their home printer.
36. "Make house" while someone is away. Collect their mail from the letterbox, put out and bring in their bins, air the house, change lights that are on all to make it look like someone is home.
37. House-sit. It can be reassuring for many for someone to be in their house while they are away. You could also do it for free if it's long term, because you could potentially saving money on rent, food, utilities for a period of time which you could put into a savings account instead.
38. Dog washing. This is great for people who have big dogs. All you need is a backyard with a hose, shampoo, bucket and old towel. Get them to supply the goods or add it to your costs.
39. Painting. Even if you don't have any painting talent it doesn't matter if all you are doing is the undercoat. Getting good coverage is important but its not the final products so its not like choppy strokes are going to matter too much. I wouldn't call it a profession because there are professionals for that but it would be good to help out a friend/neighbor/pensioner.
40. Building site clean up. Lots of builders just want to get on with the job rather than worry about cleaning up at the end of their shift. Get them to organise the skip bin and you just load everything in it. You could do the same with general yard clean ups.
41. Wall washing. So much preparation is involved when renovating and painting homes for rent or resale. You could help with painting preparation by washing all the walls down. So easy with a bucket of sugar soap water and a bristle broom dunked in it makes short work of the walls.
42. Area Manager for catalog dropping. Companies need people to make sure that the people dropping the junk mail are doing their job.  As a supervisor You just need to go to the streets where the drop was and check it was done and notify headquarters that the walker can be paid. Easy.
43. Ironing. If you have a knack for it, you can make decent money for this and most people have an iron and ironing board in their home already. Organise for people to drop off and pick up their laundry so you don't have to commute. I considered this but after a few attempts at ironing my partner's shirt for a wedding we were attending, i decided i really wasn't talented in that department and got my mum to do it instead. Thanks Mum.
44. Create You Tube videos. So easy to do on either your webcam or on your smartphone and upload them. You can add music, graphics or slideshows but is pretty good for the non techie person (AKA me) You make money from the amount of people clicking on your site which brings in companies to display ads with your video and you get a commission from it, so get filming. It can be anything. Comedy, animals, children ( get parent permission!!!!)how to videos, funny dancing old people, the list is endless.
45. Dinner buddy. Lots of people travel for business and eat in restaurants/hotels by themselves. Especially for women be quite daunting, especially for single women as they don't want to be cracked on to when they just want to have a drink and wind down after working all day.Be the platonic company. meet interesting people ( maybe pick up some millionaire tips), enjoy a free meal and get paid. Sounds good to me.
46. Be a hair model. Lots of hairdresser are looking for people to practice on, use for hair shows or use for photo shoots. What you get paid depends on the job. If you don't get paid you are usually compensated a new cut/colour and hair products to care for it as a minimum payment. Well at least you wont need to buy shampoo so add those savings to your kitty.
47. Submit tips, photos, stories,reviews to magazines. Magazine love reader interaction. Look for the areas in the magazines of "send your story" or "ask our ghost whisperer" or photo submissions. You can usually get good money for a simple photo upload or emailed story.
48. Be a Gifter. Finding appropriate gifts for people who have no idea what to buy their nephew for his 18th or are too time poor to get a wedding present for their friends.
49. Xmas present wrapper. Stick a sign out the front of your house to have people come in and have their presents wrapped on the spot. You might want to rope a few friends in a split the money or donate a portion to a Christmas charity.
50. Mystery Shopper. In my experience you don't get much money from doing this but if you eat fast food take away like McDonalds anyway, a free meal is as good as it's going to get. Just make sure its within walking distance because not all companies will compensate you for petrol.
51. Donate blood, sperm or eggs ( America) it would be great for it to be in Australia, more people would probably do it.The idea of helping infertile couples realize their dream of having children is great too.
52. Boat hand. Boring hard yakka job but probably not hard to get. hang around a marina and speak to some of the fisherman coming in to see how you can help out.
    
53. Virtual Assistant. Try to go off word of mouth or a facebook page where people have made legitimate comments. All these "sign up pay this and get work" are probably a scam. Do your research before taking this one on. Also have examples of your work if possible.
54. Build a website. So easy to do if you know where to look. There are a lot of free website building programs that are so easy even I can do them. The only draw back with some is that you have to host with the company you built the site with and some have limits on  how many domain or email accounts you have so do a bit of research first.
55. Write a blog. Lots of people do this. ( I'm doing it right now!) You can use AdSense or Amazon to display ads relevant to your blog and each time someone clicks and purchases you get a commission. You can also use a blog to promote and sell your own products/services and/or website.
56. Create budgets. Lots of people find the task of doing a simple budget brain draining. If they can give you all their receipts, costs and bank statements you could put one together for them 
57. Set up internet banking. Lots of  people are "old school" and rush to the post office to pay their bills on time. This is pretty inconvenient because in Australia it means getting it done in business hours. Who has time for that? Helping someone set up internet banking for things like mortgage repayments, regular bill installments or car payments can take a lot of stress off them paying their bills on time.
58. Run basic computer skill courses. You could do this for individuals or as a group. Talk to your local library and see if you can book out all the computers for a block of time each week. Show people how to send emails, use facebook, skype and surf the internet and create word documents so they can keep up with loved ones and not be left behind because of technology. Depend on your skill level you could run even more advanced courses.
59. Help students with homework. They can be anything from littlies reading their readers to you or an older student or college student, it depends what you are comfortable with.
60. Be a designated driver. Use the drinker's car to pick them up and drop them off so they are not waiting around in a long taxi rank or stumbling home in the dark. 
61. Girls Night Out/ Boys Night Out photographer. Just take your iphone or camera and tag along  with the group capturing all the best moments of the night. Get them to pay your club entry fees and a few non alcoholic beverages ( so you can still take decent photos) to keep your energy up for a long night.
62. Enter talent competitions. Eating hot dogs the fastest, guessing how many jelly beans in the jar. If there's a prize you don't want, sell it. 
63. Make sculptures/art out of recycled junk. Find things from your shed or what you would normally throw out, remodel and sell on craft sites like etsy
64. Personal Stylist. If you have a knack for making good fashion choices give advice on what suits someone and where to buy it. you could set this up as an online thing too where people send in pictures of themselves.
65. Proposal Planner. Gone are the days of people getting down on one knee in a restaurant. Help people create ( and pull off!) a one of a kind proposal experience.
66. Set up electronics for people. Lots of people go home from the electronic shops with the big screen TV, complete with DVD player, Foxtel and surround sound, only to have no idea how to connect it all up and tune.
67. Write an e-book. You can list it on Amazon for free and then they take a percentage when you sell it. Write a how to, a fictional story, collection of short stories its really up to you.
68. Cook for time poor people. They pay for the groceries and containers. You cook up the meals and freeze them ready for them to defrost and cook when they come home. Things like curries, lasagne, stir frys, desserts and baked goods. You could charge extra and do the shopping yourself.
69. Supply weekly menu plans and shopping lists by email. You could even classify them by budget, vegetarian/meat or singles, families etc.
70. Promotions girl or guy. Usually a case of dressing in the brand or costume. Hand out leaflets, drinks etc
71. Baby set up consultant. Help expectant mums avoid the shop staff that convince them to buy a whole heap of stuff they don't need. Coach them through the necessities and luxuries and where they can get the most bang for their buck.
72. Life coach/motivational speaker. If you are good at inspiring people and public speaking. You could also do one on one mentoring. 
73. Census collector. For Australians this is great. You can just be picking up and dropping off the forms or you can actually travel to remote areas to sit down with indigenous groups to assist them in filling out the forms. Casual rates with the opportunity of ongoing work of data entry to collate the information collected.
    
74. Door to door fundraiser. This can be really good money if you put in the time. Payment is usually per hour.
75. Delivery Driver.
    
76. Hire your ute out. People need rubbish removal, picking up furniture and don't have the means to do it. A tradie may even need one for the day while their car is at the mechanics getting serviced.
    
77. Rent out your car. If you work away or have a car but only user on the weekends you could rent your car out for people to use during the week. Just make sure you had adequate insurance, written contract and do your research of who you rent to.
    
78. Rent out storage space in your shed. Lots of city folk have boats, jet skis etc that they don't have space to fit in to their apartment/ town house. Rather than upgrade to a bigger house they put their stuff in storage. Others want to store a car they are restoring as a hobby or an unregistered vehicle.Why not be the storage? It can short term or long term, you negotiate the contract.
    
79. Rent out your car space. If you live/ work in the city renting out car space is a great idea. If you go away on holidays and you have a work car space you could rent it out to someone else who would otherwise have to keep shifting their car all day to avoid fines or catch public transport. Also if your home is located near showgrounds, markets, football stadiums, theatres  or otherwise and you have some room on your property charge slightly cheaper than the public carparks and you'll no doubt have a full yard for the day potentially pocketing a few hundred for doing almost nothing!
80. Wrap advertising on your car. I am yet to find an opportunity for this in South Australia but it is available in other states. Usually requirements are that your car is in good knick, you have a reasonable driving record and are comprehensively insured. The wraps don't damage your car and you can accept or decline what the company wants to put on the car. You will usually have to register first and state where, when and how often you drive. eg school pick up and drop off, local shops, extended trips etc so that the company can establish if they will get the right exposure putting their brand on your car.
    
81. Sell your old mobile phone. I recently came across this when i typed into Google "how to make money from your mobile phone" You can sell your old phones ( Australia) and you know what you will be paid beforehand. Just search your phone model and they will tell you what they will pay. It can be anywhere between $1-$150. it can even be broken or faulty! Register your sale, they send you the pack and you post it and get paid when they receive it. Great if you recently upgraded and want to offload the old one.
82. Display signs on your property or front fence Companies love cheap/free advertising. If you are not fussed about the cash you could potentially negotiate to swap advertising for labour for a job you have been needing to have done.
83. House wrapping. ( Not in Australia) but in America there is a company called Adzookie that come in and paint your whole house to advertise their brand. Once the promotion is over, they paint your house back to how you want it. Oh yeah and while they are advertising on your house they are paying the mortgage! I WISH this  was in Australia, I'd paint it hot pink if it meant my mortgage paid!
84. Rent out your skin for advertising space A couple of students in the UK sold their faces to use as advertising platforms. The boys had various advertisers pain on their faces their brands/ promotions and the guys got paid for it. There are other companies online that offer a similar service read an article with more detail here.
    
85. Advertise on your phones home screen.
86. Modelling. This will usually require you joining an agency. There are a lot of dodgy ones out there so do your research. When you find one that sounds good, type the name into Google with the word "reviews" so you can find out other people's experience.
    
87. Human Guinea Pig. You can get paid for participating in clinical trials. Whether they be research on sleeping or getting jabbed with all sorts of different vaccines. Look up clinical trials in your area.
88. Get paid to play video games.
    
89.  Rent your livestock out as lawnmowers. If you have a few goats or sheep or even a small pony you could rent them out to help keep the grass down between mowing in people's backyards. Make sure the yards are safe so your animals come back as you rented them out and have ground rules.
    
90.  Lease your horses for riders. Have a horse that doesn't get worked often enough? Lots of people love to ride but can't afford or have the space for a horse.
    
91. Lease your land. Vacant land can have all sorts of great uses depending on council approval. Car race track/bush bashing, caravan and camping sites, keep stock on them, motor-cross track, parties or festivals are just a few ideas.
92. Rent your house for films. If you have a nice house and garden you can usually register with a company that hires out places to film crews. it could be for a day a week. It all depends what you can negotiate with.
    
93.  Movie Extra. You don't always need a whole lot of talent to be an extra in a movie. I've done it and all I did was walk back and forth holding a baby in a country fair scene. Keep in mind one scene can take a whole day and can be repetitive but it's not hard money to make.
94. Chop wood. If you live in a country area there is probably opportunity during winter to  cut down trees chainsaw/ chop up blocks of wood for families.
95. Animal trainer. If you have a dog with above average intelligence or a great sociable personality, Google a great training website (Ceasar Milan's number 1 fan here), and teach them something cool. If you have a golden lab or retriever you are halfway there already! Youtube it, enter competitions or if people see promise in your training you could do freelance backyard training for their pets.
    
96. Karaoke competition.  Don't laugh, karaoke can be a big winner as far as prize money and travel goes and it's not always the best vocalist that is the winner. Karaoke is judged on the whole picture of convincing start quality. Dress the part, get some moves and rock your heart out.
97.  Enter game shows. Sometimes you may need to hand around a studio all day to shoot the weeks worth of shows but if you manage to be one of the contestants and win big its probably worth it.
98.  Source freebies for second hand furniture dealers. Spend your time googling sites like Craiglist or Gumtree and alert stores to free items needing pick up that they can resell.
99. Appointment setter. There are lots of work from home jobs as these. Depending on the company you can be paid per hour or paid in commission on jobs booked.
100.  Small business such as Avon, Nutrimetics Some of these don't have huge profit margin but it might be enough to have some extra pocket money. Do your research on out-going expenses and if you think you have the right personality to run it.
     

SAVING MONEY-Clever uses for simple things

"Poor: When you have too much month at the end of your money."

Simple everyday items can have multiple uses. It is just a case of thinking "outside the box"
I save HEAPS of money holding on to things that most people would throw out.
Waste not want not. 

 Cardboard boxes

• Temporary roof tile (wrap a plastic bag around it and slide under other tiles)
• Protect fingers while hammering
• Garage floor drip pan
• Carry boxes for items sold in yard sale
• Load shopping into. (Way easier to unpack and great for cans)
• A no spill tray for breakfast in bed
• Product deliveries.Show products to customer without unpacking them and show you're environmentally friendly
• Storage of bathroom items in cupboards so you can fit more in. And pull them out like drawers.

 
Baby Formula tins

• Cash tins
• Seedling plant pots ( you can decorate)
• Door stop (just fill with sand )
• Desk caddy for pens pencils
• Store dead batteries for proper disposal
• Shed storage for nails, screws etc
• Drop sheet holder (fill with sand and place on corners of painting drop sheets)
• Craft
• Drums for children

 Plastic Bottles

• Wasp trap
• Drip irrigator for plants
• Freeze water inside and use as esky cooler
• Watering can for small or delicate plants ( poke holes in lid and fill with water) 
• Scoop/Dustpan. Cut bottom off at an angle and leave lid on. 

 Baby clothes

• Swap them at swap shop for bigger sizes
• Sell them for cash
• Keep to give to a friend having a baby (you won't need to buy a present)

Brown Paper Bags

• Camping fire starter
• Keep bread fresh
• Car sickness ( add a couple of drops of peppermint oil inside and get sick person to inhale)
• School lunches

 Old  Nail polish

• Tighten loose screws
• Get rid of a wart
• Mend small holes in window flyscreens
• Stop a ladder getting worse in stockings
• Car scratches

Stockings/Pantihose

• Clean a fish tank
• Strain paint
• TV duster cloth
• Clean pool
• Stop a rolling pin from sticking

 
 Old Towels

• Cleaning rags
• Wash cloths (cut into smaller pieces)
• Mop cover
• Oven mitt
• Chair pad cover
• Dog toy (tie fat knots in it)
• Dry washed floors
• Draw string beach bag
• Washable dog blankets 

Samples

• Cosmetics/personal hygiene are perfect for short trips
•  Baby goods ( can never have enough for yourself or pop with gifts for a baby shower)
• Foodstuff eg coffee/snacks good for travel, in your handbag while at work
• Pet supplies because pets cost enough as it is

 Aluminium foil trays

• Grease splatter protection. Poke a few holes in it and put over frypan
• Colander. Again a few holes and voila
• School projects/craft
• Re heating meals
•  Bird scarers. Just attach some string and hang in fruit trees
• Pet food bowl
• Drip catcher under paint can 
• Moat for pet food. Place petbowl in tray and fill tray halfway with water to prevent insects/ant getting into the food

 Mouse pads

• Knee pads for gardening
• Table protector mats for hot pots/serving crockery
•  Floor protector. Pads to go under furniture to protect floors
• Drink coasters
• 
  

What clever uses do you get out of  simple items? I'd love to hear your ideas! 
 

11 Ideas to entertain young children on the cheap

With an society advancing in technology it's becoming second nature for many parents to pass their children the ipad to keep them entertained for a few hours. Reality though, is that sometimes it's good just to get back to basics (and inexpensive entertainment) 

It's also an opportunity to bond with your child and help them develop problem solving skills. I thought I'd share some ideas simple and inexpensive ways to keep the kids occupied.

1. Jigsaw Puzzle. Its a bit different when you physically have to fit pieces in together rather than move them around on a touch screen.
2. Bubbles. Get a few drops of to a bucket of water and a coathanger. Dip and blow.
3. Arts and craft. Glue, boxes, paper, milk cartons. Basically whatever you would have normally recycled. For ongoing projects I love paper mache but it CAN get messy!
4. Memory Game Have a tray of items eg kitchen tools. Bring them out on a tray and get the child to look over them for a minute or two. Take the items away and get the child to try to remember the items that were on the tray.
5. Hangman an oldie but a goodie.
   
6. Naughts and crosses. I suck at this game but it's good fun
7. Bowls. If you don't have a bowling set,  a orange and some plastic cups should do the trick.
8. Percussion/Singing songs. Don't have musical instruments? Don't worry and few pots and pans will do the trick. We also played ring-a-rosie as kids again, again and again...
9. Chasey. I loved this one as a kid running all over the yard "tagging" people. 
10. Local playground. They can run, scream and climb their little hearts out and you haven't spent a thing! Plus they might get to broaden their social circle.
11. Backyard Cricket. An old Aussie tradition that hasn't always required a cricket bat. A plank of wood, big stick or even an old racquet for the littlies and a tennis ball does the trick.

The joys of working from home- with a toddler

"No one looks back on their life and remembers the nights they had plenty of sleep"

I have always loved the idea of working from home. 

The last company I worked for offered for me to do this if i stayed in the state and kept my position. I was flattered to say the least but knowing what I know now, it would have been impossible! I was a Case Manager and that meant tonnes of paperwork.The reality would be I wouldn't  have needed a confidential file shredder, my son would have taken care of all that and more with his paper obsession!

Some days getting the laundry and dishes done deserves a " Homemaker Of The Year" award when you have a little one. Especially if like mine at the moment, they have teeth cutting left right and centre and cannot be put down for more than a few minutes. 

Your days are spent having company each time you go to the loo ( sorry for the over-share) cold coffees and a drool covered collar. Sounds like a blast right?

If you read my previous posts you would know I am an incredibly busy person. Writing this blog is one of many things that I do.  Here is my "Work From Home" resume and how having a child affects it.
  
Homemaker/Mum
Initially I took to this job with full enthusiasm. I kept a sparkling house, learned new recipes, baking up a storm and began cooking in bulk. When my son was finally born we had about three months worth of meals in the freezer (I am not kidding, I was nesting BIG time.)

I did find though, that there were big gaps of "nothingness" while my son slept during the day and I would be HANGING for my partner to get home so I had someone to talk to. I'm pretty sure he got over the "Bold and the Beautiful" highlights.Oh yeah and all that baking to fill the time, was making us fat and me miserable. 

It made me realise that while I didn't want to go back into a 9-5 job and leave my son, I still really craved challenge, earning my own money and being ridiculously busy. I can't help it, it's like a switch I can't turn off. This is particularly annoying at night time when I should be sleeping but all I can do is make notes on the iphone in the dark because my brain is going a million miles an hour. Funny, my old boss said he knew I would go stir crazy if I wasn't working. My personal drive  when I was passionate about something was exactly the reason why he wanted me to stay.

 Homecare Catalogue Delivery
This was my first venture into my own business.The profits were good when you made sales but if you didn't, you sure wasted a lot of time trawling the neighborhood and picking up stupidly heavy piles of books. The products weren't things you could get repeated sales on either so your customers were pretty much a once off. 

Taking a infant,became too hard. Running my stroller all the way up to a strangers door was more than a little impractical, particularly if there was a car blocking the driveway.   Who wants to park their kid on the street while they race to drop a book at someone's front door?(company requirement) 

Steep hilly area,average footpaths,cars backing out driveways, you get the picture, it's not really child friendly. Combine that with needing a super-sized stroller to carry the A4 sized books in, i decided to throw in the towel and move on to Avon.

 AVON
GREAT for stay at home mums. I must admit the profit levels aren't fabulous once you pay for your own books, count your time and buy your own products from the colourful brochure (such a sucker initially but have become much more restrained now!) You do get to meet the people in your neighborhood though and there are weeks you hit the jackpot if you market yourself right. Taking your child along helps build a more personal relationship and great rapport so it's kind of a bonus rather than hindrance.

Because the books are small, you can just pop them in the letterbox. If someone didn't leave their book out for collection I would write them a note saying I had missed them and to please phone if they had an order. This meant I spent less time going back for a book for no extra money. 

Deliveries are pretty quick. I have two territories and can usually get my deliveries done and dusted within an hour and a half. The most time consuming part of the job is probably bagging your books and packing orders but as far as a home business goes it's not a hard job and definitely kid friendly. Well the packing part is interesting because the little man is fascinated by all the new "toys" so i generally do this once he has gone to bed.

Online Work
Trying to get a blog or anything else online done is a bit of a mission and requires late nights and early mornings. When my partner is at work it is unlikely ill go to bed before midnight, furiously typing away or googling information for my latest brainwave. Oh yeah and then packing the dishwasher so little monkey hands can't unpack it at the same speed, or folding the sky high pile of laundry.

When I am not blogging I'm usually on Gumtree looking for Freebies that we can pick up and resell for extra cash. It's something I have only starting recently but already realising how lucrative it can be. Hiring a trailer costs us $50 but we pick up several items from various local homes for free during the 4 hour hire and then sell them on to cover costs and make a nice little profit. 

Lastly I am always looking for more ideas on how to make money from home or messing around with website building programs.

Buying/Selling

It's definitely a challenge loading up a trailer when you have a child that wants to do anything but sit still. Most of the time I'll try to time it when he's due for a nap, so hes asleep in the car seat with all the windows halfway down and the car locked while we move furniture, one staying at the trailer to play furniture tetras and listen out, while the other negotiates heavy items across the yard with the helpful seller/give -away-er. 

These trips mean that we will also be feeding  and changing him in the car (so much fun when its packed to the hilt with sofa cushions) and on the way home it's a quick trip to a park to have time out on the swing set so we can justify the time spent in the car!

Top it off when people come to look at/buy the stuff you are selling, just as you  have popped bub down for a nap only to have the dogs bark furiously and waking him up. Sigh.


In between all of these things I am on Mummy Duty

• Changing nappies 
• Making bottles 
• Wearing baby food
• Running a bath/ supervising a bath
• Dressing/Grooming
• Being a human kindergym/ rocker/child chaser
• Building lego and playing musical toys that i wish had dead batteries
• Cuddling and soothing
• Medicating teeth  and more....

 and Housewife Duty

• Preparing meals
• Cleaning the house
• Feeding the 3 dogs
• Walking the dogs
• Washing sorting clothes
•  Mowing
• Picking up dog poo (over-share again sorry but it's part of the day!)
• Paying bills
• Grocery Shopping and more.......

So before you go thinking it's "easy" just remember, these little things

• When you are home, that makes you are available to have your attention demanded regardless of whether you have a deadline or not
• Don't expect to have  coffee break. Well, not a hot coffee break at least
• Multi tasking, list making, adaptive to change and eyes in the back of your head are pre requisites
•  Late nights, early mornings. It's how you roll
• Endless patience is essential
• You must be self motivated, passionate and willing to push through the exhaustion. 
• If you don't take your job seriously, no one else will.
• Remember why you chose to work from home. If you are strung out with the up and down of it all, re-evaluate if it's really for you.
• Learn to clock off and set aside quality family time.

 
What advice do you have to keep sane in a working from home parenting environment?

How to avoid paying full price for the things you need

I rarely pay full price for anything. I am a catalogue reader, online bargain hunter, freebie fantatic.. you get where I am going. 

For example when i have someone's birthday coming up I'll get a card. A card that costs me 75 cents because I bought it from Cheap As Chips. No one would know I didn't pay the $5+ that is charged in the newsagent or supermarket. It's still funny or thoughtful. You can also save even more buy buying packets of blank cards for one or two dollars and then being able to use for any occassion. It also looks a lot more personal when you hand write a sentimental message in it , even if you found it on Google.

When it comes to furniture I know what's a bargain and what isn't. If it's not made out of solid wood or steel, forget it. I'm not a miracle worker, I can't make something THAT cheap look awesome. My only exception is if it's without marks or cracks.

I recently scored a few wardrobes that while chipboard LOOKED like solid timber and they were FREE. So I classified them as a bargain. I had someone come to the house to buy our old TV and one of the wardrobes were still sitting on our patio. She admired them asking if they were brand new and were we selling it because if we were she wanted it. There's confirmation I made the right decision grabbing them.

Keep in mind though, that something is not a bargain because it is cheap. If you can't use it, flip it or restore it extremely cheaply,  don't waste your time.

Now I LOVE two dollar shops. In those places I could wander for quite a while. Scouring shelves of georgeous ornaments, kids toys, furniture and more. The good thing about these shops too is that a lot of the non perishable foods get sent there when they are close to being out of date or just over the expiry date. Of course there is nothing wrong with the food, it's just not allowed to be in the supermarket anymore so they offload it to the cheap shops to grab the last bit of money they can without completely wasting the product. A lot of the time too you can get cosmetics, personal hygiene products, baby things all heavily discounted and often brand name stuff. I always buy toothpaste and my partners deodorant and nappy bags from these shops because even when they are marked on special, the supermarkets cannot beat the price for exactly the same product.

Online is your next best friend. If you are after a particular product, type in the name of the product and "price comparison" and you can a whole heap of prices for that product and where you can buy it. Also consider getting things second hand. Look on Facebook  at pages such as Buy Swap and Sell or Garage Sales, Graigs List or Gumtree, Ebay or Amazon.

If you love to travel or wine and dine, try and find websites where your average Joe's rent out their investment properties for vacation homes rather than stay in hotels. If you want more service than a B &B or self contained accommodation look on group discount buying sites such as Groupon or Scoopon.

Lastly, when you spend time with your friends and family, see what makes them tick. What they like, and make a mental ( or iphone) note. For example if Aunti Penny mentions she loves the lastest Elizabeth Arden Purfume, make a note so that when it is on special you can get it and save for her upcoming birthday, christmas etc. It will also prevent you from buying something she's not actually going to want at some exorbitant price because it was a last minute dash to the shops.

I have  also heard a lot about people also requesting upgrades, freebies and incentives when they are dining out or traveling. If you have had experience of getting an upgrade I'd love to hear how you did it!

14 Amazing Uses for Bi Carb Soda

All of us are struggling one way or another. Trying to make each dollar go further and further.  Having Bi Carb Soda in your supplies will help you do just that. Considering it is $2.35 or less depending on the brand you choose it will end up being one of the cheapest most versatile products you could ever use. The other great thing about it is that it makes a great alternative to most expensive household chemicals and is safe to use around children and pets


1. Reduce acidity in food
For those that have an intolerance to acids in their foods eg pasta tomato sauce, adding a bit of BOS will help reduce some of that acid

2. Fluff up your omelettes  
Add ½ teaspoon of BOS to every three eggs

3. Reduce  gas 
When eating baked beans will by add a little bit over the top and mix in.

4. Clear a blocked drain 
Use equal parts vinegar and BOS and heating. Pour down the drain.
 
5. Keep household smells at bay  
Wash the bin with a damp sponge with a sprinkling of bi carb on it and also adding a sprinkle to the bottom of the bin before you put the new liner in. For a smelly fridge pop a open container inside the fridge and leave for a few hours to absorb the smell.

6.Clean the loo 
Drop half a box of Bi carb into bowl and leave overnight and then flush a few times in the morning. Your toilet bowl will be clean , odourless and chemical free.

7.Deodorise fake lawn   
Use a icing sugar duster to sprinkle the area of grass. Then hose it in using a shower setting on the hose. It will do an even better job if you use a high pressure hose. We used this technique in a boarding kennel I used to work in and customers always commented on how despite the amount of dogs we had there was no doggy smell.

8. Make water colour paints
Mix three tablespoons each of Bi carb, cornflour and vinegar with 1 ½ teaspoons of light corn syrup. Divide the mixture into small cups or drink bottle lids and add a about 8 drops of food colouring to it and voila! You can use them instantly or wait for them to harden and use with a wet brush. 

9. Remove chucky baby stains. 
 Wipe off the vomit of the item of clothing and then dabbing a little on a damp sponge removes the stain and odour instantly.

10. Relieve Nappy rash 
Mix a few tablespoons into their bath water to soothe the inflamed skin

11. Cool sunburn by mixing 4 tablespoons of BOS to one cup and soak some cotton pads and apply to skin.

12. Stop itchiness 
Use a hairdryer to blow some into a plaster cast for a broken limb, to relieve the itchiness

13. Use as a deodorant. 
Yes we are all creatures of habit to some degree but there are those days when you run out of your favourite deodorant you can sprinkle a little under your arms

14. Add half a cup to your washing machine 
Along with your usual detergent. It will make your clothes whiter and brighter.

Save some money and get yourself some bi carb!

4 important steps to cut and eliminate credit card debt

KISS THEM GOOD BYE

• Cut up the cards to stop the temptation to use them
• If possible consolidate into one card. See www.creditcardfinder.com.au to find something with a low/ 0% interest balance transfer period and low annual fees. 
• Do not add to your debt.
• Do not keep the card in your wallet to tempt yourself

PAY SMART

•  If you have multiple credit cards, all with similar amounts pay off the one with the highest interest rate first. 
•  If you have multiple cards with different amounts pay off the card with the smallest balance first and close it. This will help motivate you to get on top of the debt
• Make extra repayments where you can to reduce the interest charges
• Pay all credit card bills on time to avoid late fees being added on

DON’T GET COMPLACENT

• Keep a close eye on when specials such as low interest rates run out. If there is a remaining balance you can balance transfer again until the balance is paid off. 
•  Be aware of being sucked in by rewards attached to purchases on your card.You will more than likely buy things you don't need increasing your debt, these cards often attract higher annual fees and interest rate

COMMUNICATION

• If you share debt with someone. Talk to them about it and make sure you are both committed to eliminating and preventing debt.
• If you are keeping a card consider having it in two names so there is one statement and you can track all purchases simply.