Saving Money Isn’t the Answer – Earning More Is (and some ways to do it)

There are times in your life when you really have to save, save, save every penny in every way you can.

It’s a temporary thing, right? Your husband lost his job and is looking for a new one, the car broke down, the dentist found more cavities, one of your kids broke his arm on the soccer field and you learned too late that ambulance rides aren’t covered by insurance (oops).

Those are all good reasons to save money. And when you’re dead broke, you don’t have a choice – you save money in every single hard core way you can.

But here’s the thing – washing out and reusing zip-top baggies, and other penny pinching schemes can help keep you from drowning right now, but it’s not going to solve your underlying problem.

You need to earn more money.

That’s your answer.

about four years ago, I was fighting depression every day, because it felt that living on next to nothing, struggling to pay the bills, and always, always telling myself “no” to anything fun that cost more than a dollar was going to be my life from then to eternity.

We weren’t making any money, and hadn’t been making money on any consistent level for years. It was a problem that wasn’t going to fix itself, and the future seemed pretty bleak because of it.

So if you’re in a place where you’re staring down the road where saving for a new car, let alone a comfortable retirement seems next to impossible, let me encourage you to find a side hustle.

What do you love to do? What are you good at?

1. If nothing comes to mind, start asking family and fiends what they think you’re good at, and what (from their perspective), lights your fire.
2. Brainstorm ways you might be able to turn those passions into a business.
3. Find a place where your passion intersects with market demand

Then hustle.

We’re busy moms, I get it. We don’t have a lot of time for side hustles between laundry and sticky floors, not to mention breaking up fights between our crazy kids.

But a few months, or even years, of hustling – giving up a little “me time” to get to ball rolling on your income generation is worth. it.

Four years ago when we were struggling, I put ever minute that I had into starting a soap making business on Etsy. First, I earned money selling anything we didn’t need on eBay, and earning Amazon gift cards using Swagbucks for supplies. Then I opened my shop.

I was thrilled that I got to make SO much goat milk soap, and try SO many new essential oil blends for my recipes (there was the passion), and was surprised to find a huge market for all natural soaps on Etsy and farmer’s markets.

What are some things you can do to make money?

Sell on Etsy, or in consignment shops

• Soap
• Salves
• Bath and Body products
• Crochet work (My sister runs an Etsy shop where she sells crocheted bookmarks, how’s that for unique!)
• Sewing
• Handmade jewelry
• t-shirts
• Party favors
• Candy
• Unique Coffee Mugs
• Signs
• Home decor

Sell at Farmer’s Markets

• Many of the above
• salad greens (you can grow a ridiculous amount of salad even in a tiny garden!)
• Fruits and vegetables
• Start a dairy herd shares group (your customer would own part of the cow or goat, and pay you for upkeep in exchange for a certain amount of milk)
• Eggs

Sell on Amazon

• Electronics
• Books
• Trinkets
• Anything you find an amazing deal on (for instance, post holiday clearance sales)
• Products sourced from overseas manufacturers
• Go here to learn more about becoming an Amazon seller (these people make their entire living doing it!)

Start a blog

• Recipes
• Parentings
• DIY/Home decor
• Fitness
• Fashion
• Sports
• Almost anything you can think of – just pick a niche, and stick to it!

Become a virtual assistant

• Schedule social media
• Write articles
• Proof read and edit articles
• Edit photos
• Promote articles and products
• Test recipes
• Create graphics (this is the number one VA task I hire out, because graphics design is not my thing!)
• Site design
• SEO
• So many other things!

Get my friend Gins Horkey’s Free Become a Virtual Assistant course to learn more.

Get into Direct sales

• Thrive Life <— my favorite (hey, it’s food. Don’t judge)
• Young Living <— my second favorite because of its amazingness in supporting a healthy lifestyle
• Jamberry
• Pampered Chef
• Usborne Books

These days, there’s a direct sales company for almost every interest!

Become an Air BnB Host

Have an extra bedroom? Talk about making money with your home!

By now you’re probably realizing that the possibilities are endless – and they are! Your side hustle can be completely unique to you!

Was it hard, timing soap making, photographing, and listing sessions with baby’s nap time? Sure was. I remember trying to hold him on my knee while stirring soap a few times when he woke up unexpectedly, and that was a drag.

But was it worth it? Absolutely! When the money started finally rolling in, and then gathering a little steam, and then piling up a little bit, one day I realized, the future looked a whole lot brighter, and that nagging depressed feeling wasn’t there anymore. So yeah. Totally worth every long night, harried nap time, and less than perfectly clean house.

It got easier too as the kids got older, and now that I work full-time from home, I can afford to get help where I need it.

So see, it doesn’t last forever.

P.S. In case you’re wondering, I eventually shut the soap business down, and now blog full-time instead, though I still make soap for us, and to give away. 🙂