Starting the Year Out Right

I like organization. If you took a look around my house at times, you wouldn't know it - but 2 kids under 5 can do that to the most organized person! But earning income from multiple sources, doing offers to earn money and other saving methods like couponing definitely require some kind of system.

There's no time like the first of the year to get things organized and/or put new systems in place. If you're planning to do anything I mentioned above, here are some suggestions for getting your ducks in a row for 2009:

• Take advantage of the current sales on calendars and pick up a decent day planner. Get a daily one that allows you ample space to write on each day - not just weekly or monthly.
• You might as well get a calendar too - to keep track of all the deadlines, etc. on all the great offers you'll be taking advantage of from Money Saving Methods this year.
• Keep a Word file or Excel spreadsheet for working at home, to keep track of where you've applied and when.
  
• Read my post about working at home and taxes so you understand how taxes will work if you're going to begin working at home this year.
• Visit Mommy Snacks and check out these great files that Andrea has shared to help you track your savings all year.
• Consider taking Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University if you haven't already. It's not just a program for getting out of debt but a great tool for making your money work for you.

These are some of the basics I've done to try and keep things in order. Organization really does save money! What kinds of things do you do to stay organized in relation to saving and making money?

Working at Home in this Economy

Our local newspaper had an interesting article this weekend about the Great Depression and how reflecting on that really puts the current financial crisis in perspective. Serge and I were talking the other evening about the state of affairs in our own household and our plans for the future. I realized how thankful I am to have the flexibility of a work-at-home job and understanding the ins and outs of this type of work.

I have been recommending work-at-home jobs to many who are looking to add to their income. It beats a second regular (out of the home) job any day! Many jobs are available to people looking to work just a few hours a week. With most average income earners' wallets being squeezed these days, more and more people are in need of a supplement to their regular income. If you have children, this can be very complicated. If you're interested and open minded about finding work from home, it's easier.

Here are some recent things I've posted on that are available to you now, if you're really looking for a way to make some money:

• Webby Awards - The second phase of this three phase judging process will begin in a couple of weeks. They're still in need of more judges. You're paid to review websites based on their criteria and you can earn up to $325 per session - all done on your own time. I discuss this a little more here.
• 1800flowers.com - This is a job I have specific experience with, as an at-home customer service agent. It appears they've changed the title to say "bi-lingual preferred," but they hire often, so if it's a position you're interested in, I encourage you to apply.
• Google Quality Rater - This is a particularly good one, because the pay is so high. This is a position with Google where you're rating the quality of the search results given when search queries are done. It pays $15 an hour and the application process (after your initial resume submition) is so lengthy, they pay you in Visa gift cards just for completing the test! Click here for a little more detail on this one.
• Miles of Marketing - This is a company that doesn't offer a "job" but pays you per project. You're paid $100 for putting a magnet on your car and doing your normal errands. I have not done a project for them in a while - it does depend on what they have available for your market - but this is an easy way to make money and the owner, Liza, is a great person to work with and she did a little guest post for me here.

These are just a few of the current opportunities out there right now. As I've mentioned before, I will never list a work-at-home job or project on my site that is not legitimate. I almost always have direct experience with these companies or know someone who does.

If you're struggling financially, this is a great way for you to make up some of the gap in your income without having to sacrifice precious time with your family to stay afloat!

Working at Home and Managing Your Time...or not

Remember that stack of magazines I had a while back? Yes, they're still in that stack. But yesterday while I was waiting to participate in a market research panel I tried to get caught up on a little bit of that. I came across this great article in O Magazine! It's all about deciding what's important in life and what's not - what you should be spending your time doing because it's important to you and not just because it's pressing. Often what we end up doing is the things that must be done now (you know, squeaky wheel and all of that) which allows the important-but-not-urgent things fall by the wayside.

It's based on Stephen Covey's principles which he discusses in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People which I would love to read if ever I could manage my own time to do so. It also considers Randy Pausch's lessons - the professor with the "Last Lecture" - whom I find incredibly inspiring. Watch it on YouTube here.

As moms we all have that mommy guilt. I sometimes feel like working at home still leaves me with quite a bit of that guilt. I'm always taking on something new and since there are only so many hours in the day, it has to come at the expense of something. Since we're on a tight budget around here, making money and saving money are urgent issues for me. Unfortunately, that urgency tends to let me push tasks like reading bedtime stories to my kids onto Serge (my husband). And I tend to spend my daughter's nap time doing transcription, rather than getting alone time with my 4-year-old.


As anyone with a school-aged child already knows, this time I have at home with my little ones will go very quickly. My son will be a kindergartner next year and then before you know it, he'll be graduating from high school! Every day I tell myself that and every day I go to bed feeling like I wish I had spent more time with him doing this or that. This time doesn't come back. So I really feel like reading that article was a little tap on the shoulder from God, telling me to figure out how to do what I'm doing and still get what I want out of life - and separate what I have to do from what I want to do. The needs don't always have to make the top of the list.

You may have noticed that my blog posts aren't always happening every single day like before. I really enjoy blogging and while it's not an income earner for me, it's something I really enjoy doing to give information I have to others who will find it helpful. I've decided to set time aside each week for blogging, but I have cut out a lot of the deals information. I'm still doing some -especially when I find a really great one - because deal seeking and couponing are all part of my "saving money" mission. For the best deal info, check out Mommy Snacks, which is my favorite deal spot.

And maybe I'll be blogging more about how I've managed my time - working at home and being a more attentive mom.

Maybe you CAN afford to quit your job

One of the most obvious reasons people hesitate to start working at home or they're unable to be stay-at-home moms is income. When you compare salaries alone, there's no contest. If you leave a full-time salaried position making $40,000 a year for a job where you're only sure you can make about $6,000 the answer is obvious.

But you have to consider what it's really costing you to work full-time. There are so many expenses we don't realize we have when both parents are working full-time. DH and I have always been all about saving money and even we really did some of the things that might be considered extras. If you stop working outside your home, here are some things you can save on:

• Gas or the cost of commuting- Any errand running you do as a SAHM would add up to much less than your daily commute.
• Car - This could be a stretch, but if it's feasible for you, you could sell one car and save on insurance and a car payment if you have one - or you could net some savings money from the sale.
• Wardrobe - No matter how frugally you purchase clothing, you still have to wear something nice to work. Your work-at-home/stay-at-home wardrobe doesn't have to be as pristine (and it won't be).
• Childcare - The cost of childcare, especially for more than one child, can be more than half of one parent's salary. At that point, you're just working to pay for the cost of working in many cases.
• Food - Even if you're diligent about brown bagging it, the occasional business lunch or emergency-I-forgot-or-didn't-have-time-to-make-one happens on occasion - not to mention the also, ahem, occasional, coffee stops. And with two working parents, pizza night or dinners out are bound to happen a few times a month.

You may have other items to add to this list, but these are the most basic things to consider. MSN offers a helpful article with some more info. If you're working full-time now, stop and think about how much you probably spend monthly in these areas.

I've been able to pretty much eliminate all these job-related expenses and still earn an income. What's more, lots of the things I pay for working at home (such as internet or home office equipment) can be a tax writeoff. When money has gotten tight, we've talked about the possibility of my going back to work. Then we stop and consider the cost of what I've listed above - especially the childcare - and I realize that anything I would earn after those are all paid is equal to what I make now and NOW I'm able to stay at home with my kids. So what I'm doing now is automatically better in my eyes.

I'm Guest Posting Today!

Lorrie from Mommy Stays Home invited me to do a guest post on finding ways to work at home. The main reason I created my blog was to help moms like me find jobs working from home. When I first started there just wasn't a lot out there. And even now, it's rare to get specific info on where to look and what to do. That's what I'm trying to provide for you here.

Be sure to check out the post I did for her here!

Applying for Work-at-Home Jobs

There's more to finding a work-at-home job than filling out an online form and hitting submit. Work-at-home jobs are highly in demand, so you need to do something to separate yourself from the crowd. A well written cover letter and resume can really help you get ahead.

E-mail: The first step you should take before applying for anything is to set up a separate e-mail account for work-at-home stuff only. I recommend gmail because it has a larger file capacity than most other free services, which can be helpful if companies want to send you training materials or tests - but any Yahoo, Hotmail, etc. will work just fine.

Cover Letter: Next, you want to create a cover letter. It does not need to be (in fact should not be) a long novel or restate all your qualifications. Keep it short and simple. The best thing to do is create a cover letter template and then tailor it for each job you're applying to.

A cover letter should do the following things:

• Address the company by name. Tell them what position you're applying for with "XX Company." To add a little more, you could even tell them how you found out about the job.
• Mention any specific skills that were listed in the job posting that you posess. If they were looking for someone who "has experience working with tight deadlines," then you need to tell them specifically that you "have experience working with tight deadlines."
• Say a few words about your skills that are not necessarily job specific, but are necessary for working at home. I'll say more about this below.
• Let them know that you actually want the job. This may sound obvious, but people are always mass-applying to lots of different positions, just hoping to get a hit on one. Let the employer know you're truly interested.
• If possible, mention something you know about the company or its reputation. "XX Company has an excellent reputation and I'm excited to have the opportunity to join your team."
• Save the cover letter as a plain text file. You can do this by choosing "Save As" in Microsoft Word and choosing "Plain Text" from the drop down box next to "Save As Type" at the bottom of the box. This allows you to easily cut and paste the letter into the online form boxes and it will look neat and uniform.

Resume: Your resume is the most important element of applying for a job. Often you won't need the cover letter, but you'll almost always need the resume. If you're just starting out and you have no work-at-home experience or at least none in the field you're applying for, then you want to play up your skills and abilities and play down your work history.

There are lots of resume writing services out there who will create a resume for a fee. If you truly feel lost creating one or you have just been looking for months and months with no luck, then this service might be useful for you. But I urge you to go it alone at first because you often don't need someone to create something for you, particularly when you're paying for it!

Here's what you want to put in a resume:

• Make sure your contact information is included, particularly your e-mail address. You'll find that most work-at-home employers will contact you through e-mail.
• Make a bulleted list of your skills. Highlight things that are important for work-at-home positions: ability to work well independently, efficient, self-motivated, coping with deadlines, prioritizing, adapting to new procedures, organized, etc. Also highlight skills that are specific to the job you're looking for. If you want to do transcription, for example, include your words per minute. You can take a free typing test here to determine this.
• Make a bulleted list of your techinical skills. You're working at home, which usually means you're on your computer. Let the employer know what your abilities are: MS Office, applications like Pagemaker or Photoshop, certain databases, etc.
• Next, include your employment history. Just do the two or three most recent or most relevant to the position for which you're applying. List the company, the dates, location and your primary duties. Again, try and tailor them to skills and duties relevant to the job for which you're applying.
• Finally, add a piece on your education. Do the highest level only, whether it's college or high school. Add a couple of points about what you studied or what you learned.
• Save this as a plain text file.

I recommend that when you're emailing your application, you copy and paste both your resume and cover letter right in the body of the e-mail. Include a line in your cover letter saying something like "I invite you to view my resume below." Often employers will not open e-mail attachments and it's to your advantage to give them the resume right there in their inbox. This is why saving them as plain text is key - especially your resume. All those bullets will really get jumbled up when copied and pasted into online forms or e-mails otherwise.

Make a list however you like to do it - writing on a piece of paper, Excel spreadsheet, etc. that details which companies you've applied to for which position and when. Also make a note of what they've said, "You'll hear from us within 2 weeks," "No e-mails, please," etc. so you know which course of action to take. That will also help you keep track of where you've already applied because you may be doing a lot of this!

I've said this many times already, but I truly believe the number one way to find a job working from home is by hanging out (virtually, of course) with those who are already working at home. That is why I always recommend checking out WAHM.com and starting in the Telecommuting Moms folder. Work Place Like Home is also a great forum. There are always new jobs being discussed on there. These are not simply job postings (although those are on there). These are other moms saying, "Hey, this company I work for is hiring," or "What do you know about this company?" and then those who know are chiming in with information.

As I've said before, I spent every night for a couple of months on those boards, just researching, getting ideas and learning from those who were doing what I wanted to do. It's way better than going it alone and doing Google searches for working at home.

If you're working at home now, please let us know what steps you took to get your job. I'm always interested to hear how other moms made things work for them!

Work at Home Possibilities - Court Researcher

This is not so much an actual work-at-home job, but it does offer the flexibility and independence that many people seek in a work-at-home job.

A court researcher works as an independent contractor for companies who do data collection at local courthouses. The companies will provide all the training and information on what you're collecting. Typically you will be hired on to handle the counties in your area that you choose. The more counties you take on, the more work available to you.

It is not work-at-home. However, you can easily do this type of work around your schedule, especially if you happen to have school-aged children. It mostly involves going to the county courthouse during regular business hours (Monday to Friday, 8-5). The company you work for and the county you work with will determine the frequency with which you'll make these visits. It varies from a few times a year to weekly visits.

The pay is based on how many records you collect and often works out to be somewhere between $7 to $15 an hour. This is one of those positions in which your income will increase with your efficiency level. It helps to have a laptop, as you're collecting a lot of information which could require a lot of writing. Some companies require it, but many don't.

JB Marketing Services, one of the companies who hires independent contractors, gives a good in-depth description of the position here.

There are several companies that contract people to do this type of work nationwide. Wolfgang Research, Sunlark Research and Deed Collector are a few reputable companies to check out.

This is not the type of thing where you're able to bring children along. But like many work-at-home jobs, you're able to set your own hours, work independently and in some cases you can even make as much as you want depending on how hard you work! For more ideas on jobs with this kind of flexibility working outside the home, check out my post on in-store marketing and merchandising.

Working at Home and Using a Sitter Anyway

Today we're doing things a little differently around here. I'm taking the kids to the sitter so I can get some work done. I know it may seem funny to use childcare if the whole point of being a work-at-home mom is that I can actually be at home with my kids, but there's a little more to it than that.

Something I've discovered about doing transcription at home is that I basically set my own salary. The amount I make is simply based on how much work I do. Contracting with more than one company makes it more likely that I can get as much work as I want. So now that we have student loan bills rolling in, it's time to kick things up a notch. If I work at home full-time just one day a week, it could really boost our income. But that means I'm going to have to enlist some help. Contrary to popular belief, you actually can't work at home with your kids under your desk or sitting on your lap. Time to call Susan!

So last week I made the call to our sitter, Susan, who watched our son for 3 years while I was working full-time, and she was more than happy to help out. We've decided to start taking the kids there once a week, so I can get in a full day's worth of work. The key part of this is the bottom line: Can I earn more in one day than I would have to pay our sitter for both kids? Significantly more? For me, the answer is yes.

I'm happy with this arrangement for a few reasons:

• It will make a significant difference in our monthly budget, even after paying the childcare bill each month.
• It's only one day a week, so it's more like a "fun day at Susan's house" for them than another day that mom's "working."
• I will probably be more productive at home, because it's impossible to sit at the computer transcribing all day non-stop. Breaks are necessary to avoid what I call "brain fuzz" or you may call semi-insanity. I'm looking forward to having a more tidy home.
• The kids will have a great time playing with other kids their own age.
• I have a free day each week where I can get other small errands done as well. It also gives me one definite day a week where I can participate in the market research studies I often turn down because I have no one to watch the kids! That's another opportunity to earn more.

The trick is going to be tweaking my workload so I take on the right amount. I'm confident that this is a good choice for us. Not every work-at-home job affords the ability to simply take on more work and make more money, but mine does. And from my experience, hourly jobs often offer lots of over time and pick up shifts if necessary. It sure beats getting a part-time job somewhere.

I'd like to hear from other work-at-home moms. If your children are not school age, do you have any kind of childcare arrangement (or did you when your children were younger)?

Catch Me at Money Saving Mom!

I'm hanging out over on Money Saving Mom today - doing a guest post on how to get started working at home. It's a little more in-depth than what you've seen on here.

I know so many people who just want to stay home with their kids. Or money is getting tight and they just need to find a way to bring in a little extra. Working at home can seem a little confusing and mysterious, but it's ideal for many people. I worked so hard to find a way to work at home so I could be a stay-at-home mom and still have an income. If I help one person by sharing what I've learned, then I've really accomplished something great.

If this interests you, keep coming back! I'm always uncovering and examining new ways to work at home, make extra money and save a little in the meantime.

Learn to Spot a Scam

One major pitfall of finding ways to work at home is trying to navigate all the murky waters of scams and illegitimate offers out there. If you're unfamiliar with the work-at-home world, you aren't aware of specific companies that are known to be legitimate and common scams that are out there to prey on individuals trying to find jobs working online.

Here are some things to avoid, avoid, avoid:

• Never pay for a job. There are few legitimate companies that require you to give them any money for training. Never pay a fee up front, never give credit card information. Paypal info (a common way to be paid as an independent contractor) should only be given as part of a formal hiring process once you're sure the company is legitimate.
• Do not expect to "get rich quick." Any company that promises you're going to make an unusually high income - "Six figures for part-time work!", etc. - is giving you a line. The paycheck you'll make working at home is just like the one you make working out of your home. You're paid a reasonable rate hourly, per piece or project, or on commission. You will not get rich working at home.

When you begin the search process, to begin with it's best to start looking on legitimate sites where work-at-home jobs are the norm. WAHM and Work Place Like Home are two forums to check out. Elance and Guru are two sites where employers will look for your resume. Craigslist often has work-at-home postings, but this is an easy place to get scammed and I would not recommend that newbies start there.

• Research the company. Google the company name and check out their website. You can often get a sense from the website whether or not they are legitimate. Check forums like WAHM by doing a search to see what else has been posted about them. If nothing, post a question and ask. Finally, you can check out the BBB for more information.
• Don't necessarily be put off by someone responding to you with a Gmail account or a non-company e-mail. Keep in mind that individuals or small businesses often hire freelancers to do work for them, so don't let that be a reason to discount a company.

Often you'll see information posted on messageboards or non work-at-home job sites. Or you may get an unsolicited e-mail.

• Be wary if the the source is not forthcoming about what they actually do. Legitimate work-at-home companies will post an ad that looks just like a regular job ad. They'll give a detailed description of the job, company information and sometimes salary information. If they can't be clear about what they do or they mention an "opportunity" (which is not a job) then that is cause for concern.
• Always be wary of unsolicited work-at-home job e-mails. There are many people looking for work-at-home jobs and typically companies do not have trouble filling positions. There is no need for them to e-mail real work-at-home positions to job seekers in most cases.
  

There are some very common schemes out there that can get you into trouble legally or cause you to lose money.

• Check cashing schemes are very common. If you hear anything about depositing money into your account or sending you checks that you then cash and send money, RUN. These are not only scams, but they're illegal!
  
• There is always a new e-mail or post being circulated about someone in Africa who is in need of money and has a very sad story. Commonly you will read about Nigeria or South Africa. Again, avoid anything that tells you to send money first. This should be obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people will quickly send money for the opportunity to work from home.
• Do not give out personal information until you've taken all the necessary precautions to be sure a company is legitimate. As with any job, it's normal for a compay to get personal info, including social security numbers, when they're paying you so don't be surprised by that.

Finally, you really must pay attention to your instincts. If something seems wrong, let that opportunity pass by and look for the next. Companies who hire work-at-home employees go through a formal hiring process, where they do some combination of interviews, taking your resume, training, etc. There are very few companies who are just looking for people to sign up or they're hired on the spot. You must do your homework. Remember, a work-at-home job is still a job. Most of the structure is the same. It's just that you're working in your office instead of theirs.

Working at Home...at Tax Time

One of the biggest concerns people have with working at home is the tax issue. How do your taxes work?

Not everyone who works at home will have to worry about paying taxes. If a company hires you as an independent contractor, which they will tell you, then you will be required to withhold your own taxes and (most likely) make quarterly estimated payments.

Kristine McKinley is a Certified Financial Planner and CPA. She answered many questions for me when I was starting out. She offers a great (FREE) tax course for work-at-home moms. If you're considering working at home or you've just started, I highly recommend this resource. It takes a lot of complication out of the process. When you sign up, the lessons are e-mailed to you.

Don't let the uncertainty of taxes be a reason to keep you from working at home. Here is the least you need to know:

• If you expect to owe $1,000 in taxes (minus withholdings and credits), then you need to make quarterly payments.
• The 1040-ES is the form you will use to file. It explains everything in IRS-lingo.
• To figure out how much to send, estimate how much you expect to make for the year and divide it by four. You can base it on what you make the first month or two working at home.
• Page 6 of the IRS form will tell you where to send the payments. Once they get your first payment, they will send you stubs to send with future payments.
  

Tax payments are not complicated once you understand how much and who to send it to. I have a separate savings account set up and I take 25% of each check I receive and deposit it into this account. It makes the process much easier and the money is there when the tax man comes!

Work At Home Possibilities - Online Tutoring and Teaching

Tutoring students or teaching courses online is another possibility for those looking for work at home. This was one of the first actual jobs I'd ever heard of anyone doing at home. It was also one of the first work-at-home jobs I had, with Tutor.com.

In most cases, it's done entirely online using the company's forum or "virtual classroom." There are positions for tutors and teachers in every subject and the student age ranges from early elementary to adult. The pay varies, but you can expect to make anywhere from $8-$10 an hour starting out and as you're promoted to different levels, you will make a little more.

While most companies do require a Bachelor's Degree (in any discipline), some will hire those who have attained a certain number of college credit hours even if they don't have a degree. If you have a teaching certificate, the opportunities are even better! Typically the application process will include a sort of test in the subject and level you want to tutor in.

In my experience, tutoring can be very flexible in terms of schedule, because you basically set your own. The scheduling procedure varies by company, but often you'll either tell them when you're available and they will give you a schedule or you will go into their system and set your own. The downside to this process is that with some companies scheduling is normally based on seniority. That means that as a beginner, you'll be the last to make your schedule and you might not get all the hours you'd like to have in a typical week.

If you enjoy teaching or are looking for a job that allows you to be very flexible with your time, does not require phone work and leaves you with the ability to have noise in your background (no problem with kids, adults or pets at home while you're working), then I recommend looking into tutoring. The school year has just started, so there are opportunities out there.

In addition to Tutor.com, check into Brainfuse, eSylvan and Kaplan. And as always, I urge you to check out WAHM.com if you're looking for any kind of legitimate work-at-home job!

Transcription - How I got started

I got such a response in comments and email about my post on transcription that I want to expand on it a little bit. I've found that when you're looking for a job working from home, it can seem a little bit overwhelming and it really helps to hear how a real person actually started doing it. Let me tell you exactly how I became a transcriptionist.

I knew this was going to be a good fit for me because of the nature of the work and the schedule. The process takes a couple of weeks or more, so I got started several weeks before I would leave my full-time job. (Keep in mind this is definitely something you can do on the side while continuing to work full-time. I think it's a great way to just earn extra money!)

I started learning about the different companies on WAHM. There are certain companies that will hire with little or no experience. Those are the ones I started sending my resume to. Initially I got hired with a company called Morningside Partners. They emailed me after they received my resume, with a sample test to complete. I returned that and soon I was ready to start working! However, I didn't do much work for them because I found their format for requesting work a little too complicated back then.

Then I decided to post my resume on Guru. A lot of people also use Elance. These sites have both companies and individuals looking for anything from ongoing transcription work (and many other fields) to a one-time project for a college student. Don't shy away from the one-time jobs - often they'll take someone inexperienced and you could get lucky and end up with long-term work that way. Not to mention it's a great way to build your resume.

I got my first real job (that I did for a long time) on Guru. They emailed me after I had bid on their job (through the Guru website) and I began working for them. The pay was small - about $40 per audio hour - but for a newbie it was totally expected! I was soon bumped to $50 an hour.

The key to making money and having steady work is to contract with at least two companies. I soon found another transcription opportunity that interested me on WAHM and contacted that individual. He hired me within a couple of weeks. (You will often not hear specific company names discussed because of company policies but don't worry - it is not difficult to find out where they are. Check out my original transcription post to find a link to companies that hire newbies.)

Eventually I even got hired on with a third, very well-known transcription company. I then stopped working with the original company I'd contracted through. Honestly, I have two small kids and I'm only working nights and weekends so two is enough for me. The first company paid the lowest for the amount of work - that was my bottom line.

So now I work with two companies. One company that pays very well (but is very strict on grammar rules and style) takes a one-month hiatus in the summer, so I did lots of extra work for the other company. The other company assigns weekend work that's not due until Monday night and the other company doesn't have Monday work, so that's when I do it.

I've been doing transcription for about two years now and I really enjoy it. I love the flexibility of hours and the fact that I can take work only when I want it and it really doesn't matter to the company if I don't. I do often work weekends, but I do the work at unimportant times to avoid missing t-ball games or taking the kids to the park on a warm afternoon, so it doesn't really bother me.

I'll post more about a typical schedule for me and details like that later. If you have any questions, I'd love to hear them. Please feel free to ask - this is why I started this blog!

Greetings!

Thank you for visiting my blog! We are a young family with 2 children, ages 4 and 1. My blog's title, "Violet's College Fund" , is inspired by a goal of my husband, Serge, and I - that we are able to become secure financially and give our kids a head start in life. Like many young couples, we've struggled with our finances - particularly when I became a stay-at-home mom in 2007.



Knowing that our budget was about to get even tighter, I considered it my job to find ways to save my family money and make money as well. I was able to find an actual job working from home part-time and along the way I learned a lot about the process of finding work at home - something I know many, many parents want to find but don't know how. I also learned about ways to save some money. I love finding a good deal and when I score something great, I like to spread the word.

So here you'll find many things. Partly I've created this blog to document our journey to solidifying our finances. I also want to teach other people how they can find a real job they can do at home by sharing what I've learned. Maybe I can help others navigate through that unfamiliar (and scary) territory. I'll be posting great deals at grocery, drug and discount stores so you can learn to cut some money from your budget and put it towards other things. Since I have 2 k ids of my own and we're always looking for fun stuff to do, I'm sure there will be some things there for them as well!