Julianne Wish, Member Contributions
Most people live paycheck to paycheck, and spend what they want whenver they want. But if you keep up the pattern long enough, you’ll soon discover that the money runs out before you’ve paid all the bills, and there is never any left over for special purchases or holidays. To get control of your household spending and start saving you will need to set up a household budget.
The thought of having to stick to a budget might make you cringe. It does sound restrictive and boring. However, if you really want to create wealth, you will find that a budget can actually give you freedom. You will have control over your finances, know where your money is going and you will have a plan to reach your financial goals. Not spending on a few things that you can do without right now means you will be able to spend on larger, more important purchases in the future.
Here are some easy household budgeting strategies you can use to get started.
Find out how much you earn.
The way you are paid can determine how you budget your money each month. If you are paid weekly, you can calculate your budget based on four paychecks per month. That means that you will have four extra paychecks throughout the year to help with (extra) expenses. If you are paid bi-weekly you can calculate your budget based on two paychecks per month and have two extra checks throughout the year. If you are paid monthly, calculate your budget based on the monthly amount. You won’t have extra paychecks throughout the year, so you’ll need to be careful in budgeting for the extras. For those who are not paid with regular frequency, figure out your annual income and divide it by 12 to determine your monthly income.
Track Your Expenses.
Your fixed expenses will be easy to figure out. These are the items that stay the same from month to month, such as your mortgage, car payment, etc. Your other expenses can be trickier to calculate. To find out how much you really spend in a month, carry a notebook with you and write down everything you spend for the next 30 days. This will tell you what you are spending and where all of your money is going.
Figure out the Difference.
Now, find the difference between what you spend and what you earn each month. If you have extra, a good portion of that should be saved and invested. If you find that you are spending more than you earn each month you have two choices: either lower the amount that you are spending or find a way to increase your monthly income. Doing both is something you might want to consider.
Lower Your Expenses.
Lowering your expenses is the most obvious way to resolve the problem of spending more than you earn. Simple changes made over time, such as renting a movie instead of going out to the movie theater, can add up to big dollars in your bank account. Other changes might be lifestyle choices, such as giving up one car and using public transportation.
Taking control of your personal finances by setting up a household budget is an important first step in creating wealth. As you begin to make wise decisions about where your money is going, over time you will find opportunities to spend less and save and invest more.
Julianne Alvarez-Wish is a military wife, mother, business owner, professional writer, blogger and legislative advocate. She is the Director of Communications for Our Milk Money, the Colorado State Leader for the National Association for Moms in Business and the owner of Buy By Mom and Buy By Mom Blog. She is the Colorado Springs Stay-at-Home Mom Examiner for Examiner.com. She also blogs at A Wishful Thought. Her passion, purpose and goal is to help parents work from home so they can be home with their children.
Julianne Wish, Member Contributions
Organization can be a great challenge for some work at home moms (WAHMs). For others, it comes naturally. Still others wish they could be more organized but don’t know where to begin. Regardless, getting organized can really help you run an effective business from home. Here are some tips.
The Calendar.
Your calendar can be a simple notebook, an online calendar, or a business day planner from an office supply store. Some WAHMs like a big desk calendar; others prefer an hourly rather than a daily or weekly approach. Choose what works for you – if you have trouble organizing yourself, a more hourly approach may help in the beginning. If you are naturally task oriented and ordered, a weekly calendar might work better for you.
The calendar is where you divvy up your time. It’s where you prioritize the urgent tasks and separate them from the less urgent ones. Your calendar is also where you note the time it takes for repeated tasks – making meals, running errands, doing laundry, bedtime routine with the kids, etc. It can really help to go ahead and write those things in just so you can realistically see how many hours you have to devote to work.
Quick Meals.
Meal preparation can take some time, especially if you are concerned about your family eating fresh, whole foods made from scratch. However, you can cut corners on time and not necessarily on health. Here are some ideas for taking a load off of meal prep:
- Have someone in the family go to the store for you. Keep your list specific and easy to read.
- Divide up meal preparation among family members (this depends on the age and number of people in your family, of course, and does not apply to everyone). Let everyone in the family choose a day when he or she makes dinner, or helps make dinner.
- Delegate clean-up to other family members as well.
- Food does not have to be elaborate to be healthy. Pasta tossed with steamed veggies is quick and healthy, and lean meats like turkey can be popped in the oven and baked while you work. Save the gourmet experiments for the weekends.
Be Realistic.
One of the quickest ways to lose your sense of order and become disorganized is to take on too much. If you are a ‘yes’ person, you may ultimately disappoint your
clients because you promised more than you can deliver. So be realistic about the hours you can devote to working each week, and learn to say ‘no’ when you have to.
Julianne Alvarez-Wish is a military wife, mother, business owner, professional writer, blogger and legislative advocate. She is the Director of Communications for Our Milk Money, the Colorado State Leader for the National Association for Moms in Business and the owner of Buy By Mom and Buy By Mom Blog. She is the Colorado Springs Stay-at-Home Mom Examiner for Examiner.com. She also blogs at A Wishful Thought. Her passion, purpose and goal is to help parents work from home so they can be home with their children.
Julianne Wish, Member Contributions
Moms are busy and by necessity you have to wear many hats. People tell you to focus in order to succeed in business, but how can you focus and stay motivated when so many things demand your attention? Here are some tips for busy moms who need to keep their focus and motivation.
Choose the Right Job.
If you are just trying to bring home some money and are willing to take on jobs you dislike, you will burn out before long. This is not to say that you can just do what you want and earn money at it, but it does mean that finding the right work at home job is important to your motivation. Choose topics that you care about, and use skills you enjoy using. Just because you are good at something doesn’t mean you want to do it all day.
Establish a Routine.
New and intersting things are fun and exciting, but routine helps keep you grounded. It’s a good idea to set your alarm for the same time each weekday morning and to head to the home office/computer at approximately the same time each day. Trying to scramble and figure out your work hours each day only wastes time and energy, and hampers your productivity.
Stay on Task.
It’s amazing what you can do if you buckle down and shut out distractions. It’s easy to think you spent two hours writing and article, but if you cut out the trips to the refrigerator and the bathroom, the email reads and replies, and the few minutes here and there you spent on social networking sites, you probably spent less than one hour actually typing. Taking breaks is fine – in fact, it’s necessary to avoid burn out – but schedule your breaks into your day rather than taking them at a whim.
Delegation is Fine.
Presumably, your family is going to benefit from the extra income you plan to generate with your home business. It would behoove everyone to support your efforts. Delegate some of the household chores and errands to the kids and husband (or whomever is in your family).
Ask others to help.
You might consider getting a friend to act as a motivational partner who can hold you accountable if you haven’t accomplished your business goals. He or she can check in on you at regular intervals to see how you’re doing and to encourage you if needed. Tell this person what your goals and intentions are so that he or she can check your progress. For some people, it really helps to know someone is ‘looking over their shoulder.’
Be a Nice Boss.
Just because you are your own boss doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be a nice one. Give yourself time off and frequent breaks, but also crack down when things aren’t getting done.
Julianne Alvarez-Wish is a military wife, mother, business owner, professional writer, blogger and legislative advocate. She is the Director of Communications for Our Milk Money, the Colorado State Leader for the National Association for Moms in Business and the owner of Buy By Mom and Buy By Mom Blog. She is the Colorado Springs Stay-at-Home Mom Examiner for Examiner.com. She also blogs at A Wishful Thought. Her passion, purpose and goal is to help parents work from home so they can be home with their children.
Julianne Wish, Member Contributions
It’s unfortunate that there are so many ‘work from home’ scams out there, but the sad truth is that they exist. Therefore, if you want to work from home, it’s a good idea to be savvy about these scams and know what to look for. In addition to listening to your gut and doing your research (search the web on each company you consider), here are some tips for making sure that a work at home opportunity is legitimate.
Beware of vague claims.
Scammers like to make big but non-specific promises, like how much money you will make. They may even try to sound specific by giving you a dollar amount you can expect to earn. But if you can’t discern what, exactly, you would be doing if you worked for them, or if you can’t tell what the job description is, then steer clear. You want concrete, specific directions and job descriptions, not vague promises about getting rich overnight.
Testimonials.
Testimonials can be a great way to promote a legitimate business, but watch out for testimonials that sound far too glowing or staged. “I was able to quit my job after only one week and now I make thousands each month working from home!” says Jane Smith in Somewhere City. Jane and many others may have similar testimonials on a company’s website, but once again they are too good, too perfect and too vague. Jane doesn’t say what she did to earn all that money, and the success time is way too quick (one week).
Consultants/Reps.
Beware of consultants and representatives who call you constantly trying to get you to sell their product. Legitimate businesses won’t harass you or try to pin you down on selling a product. If it’s a truly good product, then it should be enough in demand that they don’t need to bug you.
Customer Service.
Find out what the customer service is like with the company you’re considering working for. If you can’t get through on the phone or don’t get replies to your emails, that’s a red flag that the company is either very disorganized or not legitimate.
Fees
Fees are somewhat of a gray area. It’s normal to expect a sign-up fee with an online community with great business resources, for example those that own that community network are probaly work at home people too! It’s also normal to expect to pay a fee for marketing services or for getting your name put on a list for a prospective employer to see. The point is, you are getting something for your money.
Beware of companies that ask you to pay a fee that does not seem to have any basis, or a fee for you to be trained. Most sources agree that you should avoid companies that ask you to pay just for the privilege of working for them.
Also, be sure to differentiate a job working for a company and a home business where you are working with a company. The two are very different. You can expect to pay a start-up fee to start your own business working with a legitimate company.
Julianne Alvarez-Wish is a military wife, mother, business owner, professional writer, blogger and legislative advocate. She is the Director of Communications for Our Milk Money, the Colorado State Leader for the National Association for Moms in Business and the owner of Buy By Mom and Buy By Mom Blog. She is the Colorado Springs Stay-at-Home Mom Examiner for Examiner.com. She also blogs at A Wishful Thought. Her passion, purpose and goal is to help parents work from home so they can be home with their children.
Julianne Wish
There are a lot of interesting business ideas out there for work at home moms (WAHMs). As more and more employers look for ways to cut costs, hiring people to work remotely is getting more common. Also, some WAHMs run their own business and have people working for them. Here are some business ideas and strategies for a home based business for moms.
Telecommute
There are multiple resources on the web where you can browse for telecommuting jobs. You can also check with local employers who may appreciate your skills. Your current employer or employers from your past are often sources of telecommuting jobs.
Telecommuting jobs are varied, but writing, typing and secretarial duties are probably the most common. Some people work for travel agencies or do other phone work from their homes. Tap into something you already know how to do and offer your services to employers who need you.
Freelance Work
Another business idea is to do freelance work for clients. You could offer marketing advice, design websites, write articles, edit e-books and a host of other things. Working freelance means you have multiple clients rather than an employer and you will need to market your business and skills in order to find clients.
Start Your Own Business
If you don’t want to work for others (or if you want to do both), you can start your own home based business. Like freelancing, you are responsible for finding clients and promoting your business. Consulting, providing information, coaching, and building a membership website are just some of the ideas for a home based business. Some moms have had success providing information to others who want to build their businesses from home.
Marketing
Choosing the right marketing strategy (or strategies) is important. Look into social networking like Facebook and Twitter, and use their advertising platforms to get your name out. However, it pays to take it slow. No one wants to be ‘spammed’ all the time about your business. Build relationships in your demographic – join groups, make friends, join discussions, etc. – and then see where you can advertise to your potential customers.
Depending on your budget, you might consider hiring someone else to do your marketing – in fact, it could be a nice give and take if you hire another WAHM to market your business for you. Maybe she, in turn, can use your help.
Have a Plan
You need to know what you’re doing and have a handle on the tasks that need to be done. As a mom, you will have unexpected interruptions and unexpected moments when you can snatch a few mintues to work. If you have a grasp on the day’s tasks, you can slip in and out of work mode and always know what needs to be accomplished. If you have a spare ten minutes you weren’t expecting, and you have to spend that ten minutes organizing and figuring out what needs to be done, you’ve lost productivity.
Julianne Alvarez-Wish is a military wife, mother, business owner, professional writer, blogger and legislative advocate. She is the Director of Communications for Our Milk Money, the Colorado State Leader for the National Association for Moms in Business and the owner of Buy By Mom and Buy By Mom Blog. She is the Colorado Springs Stay-at-Home Mom Examiner for Examiner.com. She also blogs at A Wishful Thought. Her passion, purpose and goal is to help parents work from home so they can be home with their children.
Most people live paycheck to paycheck, and spend what they want whenver they want. But if you keep up the pattern long enough, you’ll soon discover that the money runs out before you’ve paid all the bills, and there is never any left over for special purchases or holidays. To get control of your household spending and start saving you will need to set up a household budget.
Julianne Alvarez-Wish is a military wife, mother, business owner, professional writer, blogger and legislative advocate. She is the Director of Communications for Our Milk Money, the Colorado State Leader for the National Association for Moms in Business and the owner of Buy By Mom and Buy By Mom Blog. She is the Colorado Springs Stay-at-Home Mom Examiner for Examiner.com. She also blogs at A Wishful Thought. Her passion, purpose and goal is to help parents work from home so they can be home with their children.
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