Shams - What Do You Do for $ If Anything at All?

Well, it's our money...so I need a set amount. We have one account, and everything in it, is equally ours. Nothing, is divided. We believe that mentality, is unhealthy. (Just our personal beliefs, I'm not bashing on anyone else, or their beliefs.) If I want to spend money, I spend it. I know how much is in there, I have common sense. Anything over a $50 purchase, we speak with each other first.

5 moms found this helpful

I don't do anything for extra money, although I did learn how to sew last year and would love to get a business started on Etsy or something of that nature. My husband and I have a joint account and I am "allowed" to spend as I see fit. We are both very fiscally responsible and have no debt, so it isn't an issue for us. We always consult each other on big purchases, but if I want to take the kids out during the week or buy them clothes, birthday party presents for their friends, etc. we don't discuss it, it's just a part of living for us. We have a household budget and we stay within that, but I don't have a separate account, we have OUR money, not mine and his. It has always been that way and works for us, although I know others are different. Good luck! I hope you find what you're looking for.

4 moms found this helpful

I teach ballet in my home. I have 4 classes with 4-10 students in each class. I also sell things on eBay, and clean my husband's office at work once a week. Also, I've been getting checks from Melaleuca every single month since I signed up as a customer in April 2007 because I referred people to their company. I do all this with a baby and I homeschool my 4 older children. =D I sold Avon for two years but I don't do that anymore. ;)

My hubby and I have joint accounts. We budget together and both have freedom to his money. My money is just a little extra for the both of us.

3 moms found this helpful

i'm like you, i hate to spend money on myself when i'm not the one earning money. i would say to check out www.liveops.com or www.westathome.com. they are both incoming calls that you take for different companies. i don't work for either, but i did work for west at home. it was a great company. the hours just didn't work out. i'm trying for liveops right now. my SIL works for them. they sound pretty good. you don't need an investment or anything. you just need seperate line, computer, and high speed internet. and a headset. good luck

3 moms found this helpful

Sometimes I make "my own" money by doing sewing projects for a friend, selling stuff on craigslist or at a resale shop, etc. But my husband and I never talk about whose money it is. We have joint accounts and credit cards. We usually plan major purchases together ahead of time, but I have no limits on my day-to-day purchases other than my own common sense. Any time I want, I could go to an ATM and take out cash. It's easier to ask my husband if he has extra cash since there's an ATM at his work. He encouraged me to get my own credit card because it had a great promotion, but I have only used it twice.

2 moms found this helpful

Everything in our home and in our bank accounts are equally both of ours. It never has occured to me that it is "his" because he is the one who works outside of the home to earn it. While I don't get a paycheck for what I do, it is equally important to the functioning of our family. We have a budget, and we stay within it. I don't foolishly spend it on things that we don't need if we can't afford it. He approaches the money the same way.
Having said that, I do own my own company that I run from home. It isn't a huge company, but it is profitable and brings in extra money for us. It isn't "my" money any more than what he earns is "his." We do use it for the extras though, like vacations, gifts that are not in the household budget, etc. It's all a bonus, in effect. But, my primary job is taking care of my husband, my children, my home. And I homeschool. So, whatever I have left is invested in the company.

2 moms found this helpful

All of our money is shared, so we don't have separate accounts at all. However, I put myself on a budget of $20/week for totally fun spending (lunch with a friend, manicure, etc - all frivolous and unnecessary stuff). If I have any cash left at the end of the week, I set it aside for when I feel like splurging or doing more activities one week.

Also, I do have a couple of small business that make me some extra cash each month, so I contribute that as well and then don't feel guilty if I want to spend a little extra sometimes. I run a free website for local moms and can sell advertising on the site to make some money.

My other business is Discovery Toys, an at-home toy company of fun, educational products for babies and kids of all ages. I love it - I get to get out of the house and have a professional life, but I meet other moms and kids and have fun selling the toys. If you're interested in learning more, please let me know or visit my site at http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/karenchao

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I blog, I sell on etsy, I also do balloons at restaurants for tips and children's birthday parties as a clown/princess.

As for funds, I control where the money goes. I distribute husband's check into savings, his account and my account (they are technically all joined accounts). Mine is always larger, it's where bills/groceries are paid out of. My husband doesn't get much, enough for gas and lunch and the occasional xbox game... poor guy! But I replenish his account when needed. The money is equally ours, but since we have separate cards, this is what works for us to keep the records straight. We don't have much extra to play with and we share anything left over. We also don't own any credit cards.

2 moms found this helpful

I don't make any extra money regularily excect if I sell stuff on ebay or Craig's list and that goes into the general pot. We have joint accounts and I pay all the bills and manage the money. If anything, he checks with me first on purchases b/c I'm more frugal then he is.

And I use coupons to save money - in store and online.

POST SWH: Don't begrudge yourself a pedicure or highlight! I sometimes feel guilty b/c I used to make a lot of money and much more than my husband, and now...nada. But I'm trying to get over that at least a little bit, and we still should try to look good, lol!

PS Do you have any elderly parents? Are they looking to get rid of stuff or are willing to give it to you? If you really don't want it, then you can sell it online and make some money that way. Having dealt with an estate, it's much easier to do it over a long period of time, not all at once in a fire sale.

2 moms found this helpful

I think you need to realize that you are earning the money that comes into the house too - just in a different way. It's hard to do sometimes, but you are supporting him in his career, and making it easier for him to do job related things, and taking care of the homefront stuff so he doesn't have to worry about it. Aside from that, my husband and I both get "pocket money" for extra stuff - haircuts, a Coke out, lunch with a friend, that kind of thing. We're tighten our belts right now, so only I get $10 a week. Of course, I normally end up pulling that out to spend on groceries, but the idea is there! We take it out in cash so it's easy to keep separate.

1 mom found this helpful

My husband and I only have joint accounts. I purchase what ever I want using a credit card and we pay off the bill each month. My husband is the sole bread winner in our family.

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I do not currently make any money.
I take the debit card and tell him I'm going shopping.

But I'm boring, so that shopping is usually just the grocery store or Target, lol.

1 mom found this helpful

I run a Pampered Chef business and I use most of that $ for the little extras for me and my daughter that seem to add up quickly - outings, summer fun stuff, etc. I have made as much as $1,000-$1,800 per month doing this, but lately not as much - more like less than $300 per month. I sell on Ebay (time consuming, but I've made maybe $250 over the last month or so). I do market research for a local firm I'm registered with. It isn't steady work, but I'm on a study this month where I track my food using an IPOD they gave me and I'll get a Visa gift card for $300 in a few weeks after sitting in on a 2-hour focus group. I earned a $200 gift card for a focus group a couple of months ago. I won $500 by calling into a radio station back in March - woohoo! If I need cash, I take it out of our joint checking account. I use a debit card to do most of our grocery/back to school shopping. I try not to spend too much $. My husband never makes me feel like I don't contribute to our family.

1 mom found this helpful

I babysat a couple kids for years. After that I worked in school with my own kids. Now I do nothin', sigh, but I'd LIKE too, I'll get around to it eventually!

:)

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I'm not one of those crazy coupon people but I do keep my eye open for deals. Once I added all the "frugal" pages on Facebook I found AWESOME stuff.

www.slickdeals.net is also a great site to look over once a week.

FREE magazines make me VERY happy. Yesterday his first two "Men's Journal" showed up and "Martha Stewart's Living."

I also pay attention to the freebie pictures Walgreens does. Nothing like getting more pictures of my son done for FREE!

I don't MAKE money but I save money. Same thing...right? :)

1 mom found this helpful

We have several bank accounts but it helps us keep organized! We have a joint bank account that almost his whole paycheck goes into. He has his own bank account that a fraction of his paycheck goes into--- enough to pay for his lunches at work plus gym membership and if he saves up, something extra that he doesn't have to ask me about. I have my own account with very little money --- from investments before we were married. We also have a car/preschool account that always has the right amount for our car payments and our son's preschool... And we have three savings accounts: one for the kids, one for long term, and one for short term. We don't touch the long term unless it's dire (surgery or something).. The short term is for unbudgeted expenses like car problems or a weekend away....If we don't have money in our joint account then we don't get to do fun stuff (go out to eat, babysitter, etc). We put money into each savings each paycheck. We used to have everything in one bank account but were having trouble making payments and having trouble saving any money.... Since we started doing it this way we've been saving so much more. I think getting organized about money is fun!
I don't have any ideas about making extra money but I love all the suggestions from the other moms. Wouldn't it be great if all the SAHMs could find a way to help each other bring in some cash? Like a big SAHM business!

1 mom found this helpful

I do transcribing from home. It doesn't add up to much $, but every little bit helps. Most of the time we need what I make to go into the joint account, but sometimes we're doing OK & I can keep it for fun things (which usually go toward my kid).

I used to have a separate account, which was a necessity because I did at one time attempt to rep a jewelry line that sold via home parties. That's another way to go, if you're the type who is comfortable selling. I wish I was, because every party I did at least make a little bit, but I wasn't enough of a go-getter for that. You might want to consider doing something like that to earn money. The parties can be at night, when DH is home with kids.

I love the idea of all the accounts for separate purposes, but wow, doesn't that add up to a lot in fees? I closed my personal account because the bank stopped offering free checking.

Anyway, great question; it was helpful to read all the replies.

All the best,

I work from home working my home based business.

If you are looking for a part time business opportunity from home you can send me a message. Good luck.

Well first off, everything's in my name including the bank account, but i do stuff on the side for money.

Iv'e sold organic muffins, i paint sometimes (murals, pieces and art restoration) its really just word of mouth. Soon i'll be selling hot sauce.

If you are willing to invest some time, I know of a great way to make money as a SAHM. I have my own business and I started it by investing a little money and about 2 hours a day. If you are interested in knowing more, feel free to email me or send me a private message. (My email address is ____@____.com). I would need to know that you are a reliable person I can trust to help me expand my business. The amount of money you can make depends entirely on the amount of time and effort you are willing to put in. Best of luck to you and your family, no matter what! :)

I think it is also important to remember that you already work! True we don't get paid for the work we do but our hubbies wouldn't be able to go out and work if we weren't there. So I think it is just normal that we have access to the cash too.

As a side business I sell essential oils from doterra. The company leaves it to you how you promote the product (party, flyers, blog etc).I like that it is a product that has a real value plus once you have your clientel established you keep making money because it is a product people keep ordering on a regular basis.
let me know if you'd like further information.

I work part-time from home. That's mainly my fun money and I use it to do special things with the kids.