What to Do? - Anniston,AL

Well, I'm a single mom who has raised two kids by myself.
The thing is, when you need a job, you have to start with what's available, not necessarily with what would be perfect for you.

If you have any temp agencies in your area, that might be a good way to get your foot in the door and gain some experience. Good temps can stay pretty busy and also can be the first in the running for any permanent jobs that become available. Just an idea.

Think outside of the box. Get a listing for the businesses involved in your local Chamber of Commerce. Contact the businesses and ask if they have any openings. Ask if they know of anyone who is hiring.
That's how I found my present job.

When you HAVE to make money as opposed to simply "wanting" to, you have to put yourself out there a bit. Jobs aren't easy to come by.
That's why I say you have to start with what's available as opposed to spending time thinking about what you'd be good at or like.
There has been something about every single job I've had that I didn't like. But, I do like the paychecks. I do like paying my bills. There is always that trade-off.

Best wishes. You can do it!!

I am ex-marketing in a large snack food industry. We hired our permanent employees from the temp pool from the temp agency. We had our favorite temps who "fit" with the company and when a position became available, the temps got the first offers. It worked out well for everyone because we (and the temp) already knew there was a good fit.

How old are your children? Work in their daycare center, moms day out, teacher assistant at a local school, etc. Work retail, Starbucks, grocery, etc.

There are lots of opportunities, you have to sometimes think outside the box.

We run our company from home and I do all the financials, bookkeeping, travel planning, etc. When I need help, I have a stay at home mom who runs her bookkeeping business from home help me.

Network with everyone you know and let them know you are interested.

As for the work at home dreams.... it is just that, a dream... UNLESS you are a long time employee who has been with a company and the company knows that you will do your work at home.

Any telecommute or legit work at home company will also need your children to be in daycare and pets put in an area where they will no be a bother to any incoming or outgoing phone calls, conference calls, etc. Working from home requires self motivation, self discipline and work ethic.

No one is going to pay you to stay home and watch your children.. You know if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. You'll also get hit up on this post with people recruiting for their MLM/direct sales/pyramid schemes. A few MLM's are legit BUT if you make money, you have to do it full time, recruit people to be under you and be a hard core sales person. In my area, we run from the MLM'rs who approach us for the dream job. I already have my dream job, make good money and answer to no one because I am my boss.

Just weigh everything out carefully and you'll figure out what is right for you. Congratulations!

From what you have posted here, it sounds like you are not in a position to obtain your "dream house" even if it IS coming available. If you have to go get a job, and you have no idea what job you can find/get, then it doesn't sound like you have very stable prospects. This is a difficult time to be looking for a job. And if being able to make your house payment will be make or break on your job, then you need to seriously reconsider this.

Consider what the ramifications would be if you suddenly were let go (from whatever job you find) and had to find another... Would you go for 2 weeks without the paycheck? 3? A month? 2 months? Would you be able to make your house payment? Would it be late?

If the answer is no, then you cannot afford the house. If it would cause you to pay your payment late, then you cannot afford the house. Being late on a payment can start a vicious cycle, where you have a late FEE added to the original sum. Which may put you behind/late on the NEXT month's payment, which adds another late fee... and then you are further behind again on the next one, etc... And soon, the late fees are eating you alive, because you only "budgeted" for the actual payment, not an additional $70-$100/month for the late fee each time. And then your credit is tarnished, and other things start costing more b/c of your degraded credit rating.

Then something breaks and needs repair.
Before you know it, you could be in foreclosure on your dream house.

I don't want to quash your dreams or sound negative, but you really need to take a stark look at what your reality is. You said right up front that in order to do this you need to find a job, that you haven't worked in 4 years, and the only job you've ever had was in a daycare.

Of course you CAN find a job and make it work... but before you start buying new furniture to go in your dream house, you need to actually obtain a job that pays well enough that you can have something going to savings, and build up an emergency fund for unforeseen things. Like being laid off. Like having something major break in the home and need repair. Like getting pregnant (even if you decide to wait, it could still happen, right?).

Don't put the cart before the horse is all I am trying to say, I guess.

A particular house will not make you happy. But you can make ANY house a home filled with love.

Best to you!

ETA: (after your SWH)... I'm confused... you said after you pay this place off, your husband makes "enough to pay all the bills". Followed by saying that your income would just be "for the basics and savings". What basics? I would include "the basics" in with "all the bills".
?

I know you are excited BUT you really have to think about this thoroughly. Is the amount of money you will be making at a daycare position really enough to work & pay for your 2 kids daycare? Can you say with 100% certainty that you can count on the person you have "lined" up? If not, what will happen if you had to move your kids & the cost is higher?

Also consider how much it costs to own a home. Good luck, hope everything works out.

I think if it was me, in this economy and with children you are now able to be home with, I would think hard about whether I really need this house now or not. You will be locked in if you are buying a house that depends on your income and so just keep that in mind. A house isn't a home. Just be sure.

Since you have worked in child care you know that your kids can attend the same place usually at a great discount. Sometimes they will even let you bring them for free. I did that for one of my staff that had 4 children. The older ones were in school all day and only came for a short time after school. They often went to their dads during breaks from school so it wasn't any big deal for them to be free. The little one brightened each of our days with her huge smile and easy going personality. Not everyone gets so lucky....

If you enjoyed child care that you could easily slip back into that role and have a job pretty soon. I would start tomorrow calling around seeing if anyone is taking applications. I think that you should start there. This can only benefit you in getting something to put on a resume if nothing else.

There are classes required to work in child care. Since you have been out of the field for a while you will most likely have to take them again. Either an employer will pay for them or they could be free. Ours in Oklahoma are free. There is a 20 hour introduction class that covers the first year requirement. As long as you take them within a certain amount of time you should be okay to take them as you work.

Getting your CPR/First Aid up to date should be done asap to make you more marketable. If you have the opportunity to find the classes start taking them, if it's free it's not a waste of time even if you decide to not pursue child care work.

Once you get a CDA certification you might even be able to work in the preschool program at your local school as a preschool teachers aid or even a teacher at a local Head Start Program. They don't have to have Bachelors degrees in anything.

Here is a link to getting your CDA, these are the classes that are free in Oklahoma. It appears that your will cost you to take them so you might check with a local Jr. College that has a 2 year child development program. It might be cheaper and it is a more desirable/marketable degree

http://dhr.alabama.gov/services/Child_Care_Services/Sched...

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On the other hand if you want to stay at home you might consider starting a home child care business. You get many benefits on your yearly taxes including portions of your utilities, phones, wear and tear on your furniture and home, groceries, etc...you must keep your business checking account totally separate from your personal one, that way you only have one account that has to be looked at during tax season. If you go to Walmart and get stuff they you realize you have the bread for lunch tomorrow with your own groceries you must right a check for the bread individually. This also makes it easier to work out your budget to see how much you are making each month.

Having a home child care business could be profitable but your children will count against how many other kids you can have in your home at one time. For instance, if you have you kids start a preschool program in the Fall and they are gone from 8-2 you can have a full 6 kids there while they are gone. But once they come in the door you would need to make sure you only had 4 left to complete the 6 you can watch at home with just one staff.

You can also be pregnant and give birth while having a home child care business. The person you hire to come into your home to watch the kids needs to be someone that has gone through the process of getting their certifications for 1st aid and CPR. They could be your regular sub for days you need to take off to go to the doc or something.

There should also be programs, either through the state or a federal program that will reimburse you for part of your food bill. If you follow their guidelines and use the foods they recommend they reimburse you for those items. I got a huge check each month, it did take time to do all the paper work but I used that money to buy more groceries and my food bill was minimal.

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Here is the link to your states child care regulations book:

http://dhr.alabama.gov/documents/MinimumStandards_DayCare...

You can have a licensed home or non licensed. I would never do one that wasn't licensed because I would never allow my kids to attend one that did not have a license.

http://www.ccr-bhm.org/parents/documents/ALRCCCandNTC.pdf

Quick points of interest:

Pg. 9 #8
You can watch up to 6 children by yourself

Pg. 9 #13.
If you want to do a large group home you can watch 7 to 12 children and have one employee.

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Here are a couple of links that are for Oklahoman's only but they may help you determine if this is something you might be interested in.

Here is the pay scale that the state pays for children who get child care assistance. It is required in Oklahoma to have a license to watch any unrelated children in your home without a license. Once a license is obtained a provider can decide if they want to apply to have a contract with the state to accept state paid children. I liked having that guaranteed money deposited each week. It was what made my business doable. I could count on that money each Monday, well, if it was a legal holiday on a Monday where the banks were closed then the deposit came on Tuesday. I did my staff payroll out of that deposit so I always made payroll.

If you didn't want to take state payments this might at least give you an idea if it would make you enough money. I would at least ask about the fees they pay.

I was in a county that was considered to be Enhanced, same as urban or a City area. They pay more because the cost of living is usually higher in those areas.

I had 1+ STARS the day I got my license and went up to a 2 STAR the first year. So if I had an infant that was state paid I got $21.25 per day for that infant on the 1+ STAR once I got my 2 STAR it went up to $30 per day.

http://www.okdhs.org/NR/rdonlyres/2E81F###-###-####-487B-...
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Here is a link that has a lot of good information about starting a home child care business, it is addressed to Oklahoman's but it does contain a lot of good common sense ideas.

http://www.okdhs.org/nr/rdonlyres/e7de27a5-31a6-45ce-950f...
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If you have any interest in child care even if it's for just a few years having your own business is a great way to show a future employer that you were able to manage a business and show profits.

I would reconsider the "dream house". It sounds like it is at the very top of your price range. Being house poor might add unnecessary stress to your life. Personally, I would stay put or purchase something you are comfortable paying with on your husband's income.

honestly, in this job market, usually people have to take what is available and not necessarily what they choose or want.

Check with local companies on their websites and start there. Almost every company puts their job listings online now. Then you'll know what's available and what you'd like to apply for.

As far as work from home, some call centers allow people to work from home. You could also sell items on ebay or craigslist, but it's hard to really build up enough income unless you really put 100% into finding items to sell. You could also have an online retail shop, but again it takes time to get on the search engines.