3 Ways To Work From Home In Your Spare Time

 It seems like the economy is on everyone's mind. The world wide struggle to make ends meet is constant.  Pandemic recovery and wars raging in foreign lands are breeding inflation, food shortages and fuel issues. The fear of being able to afford to make it through a long hard winter is real and can really get you down.

  There are ways to give your income a boost and help you get through. These 3 income makers can be added to your 9 to 5 job easily.

1.  Crafting. I have been doing a lot of this myself. Yes, money is tight, but making things from scrap wood has been getting me a few extra bucks to finish out the end of the month. Working with wood and paint has been a little like therapy for me and it allows me to release my creative side. It is something you can do in your spare time at your own pace where the only deadline is the one that you make. It doesn't have to be woodworking, it can be sewing, painting, drawing, etc. Create and keep it or open up an Etsy shop or Facebook sell it.

2. Cooking or Baking. This can also be therapeutic.  Some people enjoy a home cooked meal but simply don't have time. Hire out your helping hands, recipes and ingredients.  Ready made meals that are home-cooked beat store bought anytime. If you are making food for yourself, make an extra and offer it to someone who seems to be working nonstop and has no time to cook, for a small fee.

 

3. Find a small online or phone job that you can do in your off time. There are many small companies looking for people to handle their social media accounts or phone customer service. Do you like to talk? There are a lot of those jobs too!

Yeah, I know these don’t sound like much, but sometimes all you need is just a little extra for a little while. Give them a try, see if you like them. Who knows? You might be able to make a decent go of it. Or you may be able to get rid of some stress and help someone else out at the same time.

Breakfast In Bed

My son made me breakfast in bed! Peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He did a great job and even wrote "for mom" on the package so I would know it was mine.

 It is the little things like this that are actually the big things. I love parenting!! Kids have a beautiful innocents about them. It is so rewarding to see them grow up as fine young men and women. Every tough, sad, happy, emotional, challenging moment with them is worth it.

Breakfast In Bed

An Easy Snack Using Unconventional Ingredients

Being a single mom, sometimes the budget is so tight it squeaks, so I have to come up with new ways to use the foods that I have at home. Jumping into the car and heading to Walmart is not always possible, but I can shop in my own cupboards. Here is an affordable easy snack using an unconventional ingredient. Best of all, it requires no cooking and my son likes it!

Cheesy Herb Crackers

1 full package Oyster Crackers

5-6 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Seasoning Packet from PASTA RONI (Any Flavor)

Mrs Dash Table Blend seasoning to taste

In a bowl, add Olive Oil. Pour Oyster Crackers over Olive Oil and mix with hands or spoon till all the crackers are coated lightly with oil. Add Seasoning Packet and stir till the powder coats the crackers. Sprinkle in Mrs Dash to taste. Enjoy!!

For different flavors, I have used the seasoning packets from Hamburger Helper, Hidden Valley Ranch, Kraft Mac and Cheese, and Suddenly Salad as well.

A Quick Lunch For Those Hungry Kids

The kids are home for their summer vacation and you are running out of ideas for lunch! Relax, I got your back. Give this a try.

Tuna Melts

2 cans of Chunk Light Tuna in Water (drained)

5 tablespoons of Mayonnaise

3/4 cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1 teaspoon Dill Weed

Salt and Pepper to taste

6 slices of Bread (White or Wheat)

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. In a bowl, combine Tuna (drained), Mayonnaise, Cheese, Dill Weed, Salt, and Pepper. Make sure that it is all thoroughly mixed together. Lay out Bread slices on an un-greased baking sheet. Spread a generous amount of the mixture on each slice so that the slice is covered. Bake in oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

My son loves these!

DIY: How I Make My Own Laundry Soap

In my quest to save money, I have happened on a few good ideas for making my own products. One of my favorites is to make my own laundry soap. The fact is I haven't had to buy laundry soap for nearly a year now, it costs me just pennies a month to make my own. How do I do it? Let me show you!

DIY Homemade Laundry Soap

1/2 cup Borax

1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda

3/4 cup ULTRA Dawn

2 cups hot water

In an empty laundry soap bottle, approximately 32 load bottle, with a funnel add Borax and Washing Soda. Be sure to break up any chunks. Add Ultra Dawn. Be sure it is Ultra Dawn for maximum cleaning power. To this, pour in hot water and gently shake to dissolve mixture. When ingredients are dissolved, fill the rest of the bottle to the top with cold water. Be sure to shake every time it is used. Use a cap full per load. Always test for color safety.

Once you buy the ingredients, it takes a long time to go through them depending on how often you do laundry, of course. Give it a shot and see how much you can save.

DIY How To Make Your Own Laundry Soap

Is It Really Worth It To Clip All Those Coupons?

A question that nearly every person that coupons has heard time and again, "Is it really worth it to clip all of those coupons?"

 For me, the answer is simple. Of course it is worth it!

 Do you like getting things for free or for pennies? Do you like shopping? Do you like knowing that you are saving money to provide for your family? These are the questions that I would ask. It takes time collect them and clip them but time spent equals money saved and money saved is money earned.

If you stick to the products you need and buy them when they are on sale, you can save an enormous amount of money and build a stockpile in your home. When the need for a product arises, search the stockpile so that you can avoid paying full price. Just because a coupon exists does not mean it has to be used or used right away. Wait for those great sales which usually come in six to eight week cycles.

 Do you use products like these?

Then yes, clipping coupons is worth it!

Where In The World Do You Get All of Those Coupons?

    Times can be pretty tough and money can be short. Coupons, however, are abundant. It is important to know where to look for them. Even I had to be taught to look for them in many places, not just the Sunday paper. Surely we have all seen those shows where someone takes a list of things to the store along with their coupons, racks up a bill of $300 and then whips out her stack of coupons which bring the total down to $.25. If I had the storage space, I would extreme coupon like crazy, but non-extreme couponing helps out too and it can be fun. Have you ever wondered where they get all of those coupons?

There are many sources for coupons. We all know about the Sunday paper coupons. In the area I live in they have a county paper that comes out about once a week too. There are a few coupons in there but not many. Often, on the flyer that comes out from your local store, there will be store coupons attached that you can cut out. I have been surprised to see that a few of the magazines that I am subscribed to have booklets of coupons, once in a while, attached to them or in the plastic wrapping that surrounds them. If you look inside the magazines that you buy, you can find coupons on pages or in the form of cards. Don't want to clip coupons yourself. Look online for coupon printing companies, they will do the work for you for a small fee.

 Lately, there has been a trend towards printing off coupons. Not every store allows these yet, but more and more they are becoming the way to go. You can go to the coupon companies themselves such as Redplum, P&G, SmartSource, etc, ... where they offer you the printable version, tell you where to find them locally, or signup for their newsletters. Some will even send them directly to your home if they are not offered in the local papers.

Some stores offer you their own coupons. Target, for instance, has a large selection of in-store printable coupons. These can be used along side a manufacturer's coupon. Having a store coupon, manufacturer's coupon, and a great sale and you have the makings for some incredible deals. Many times a store's  coupons can be found in the isles as you shop. Catalinas are found in the little machines where you can pluck them and they spit out another. Also, vendors will post manufacturer coupons in the isles that you can peal from a pad. Yet another way to get them is to buy something with a coupon on it that you can use at the time of purchase. There are coupons, sometimes, on the insides of packaging as well.

One of my favorite ways to get coupons is to go directly to the manufacturer. Companies want to sell their items and often will send out samples or coupons if you sign up to their pages or newsletters. For instance, if you like a certain cleaning product, write the company that makes it explaining how much you love their product. In their appreciation, they will often send coupons and/or samples. P&G Everyday offers samples that can be tailored to your preferences. 

Like to shop online with coupons? Click here to check out how to do it on Amazon!

Finally, we come to apps. Many stores have their own apps where you can find mobile coupons, search ads, or even shop. Digital coupons are growing fast in popularity. Not having to search or clip through them makes life a little easier. They send out regular texts to let you know when a new batch of digital coupons are available. 

Check it out, see how many coupons you can find in these places and then start saving money. Who knows, you may even have fun!