Making Money as a Stay at Home Mom

When I was younger I was always working. As a teenager, I often had several jobs at once and from high school onwards I bought my own clothes, my own school supplies, and paid for the upkeep of my own animals. It was busy and hectic and I gave up a lot of social activities to do it all but I liked it. I liked the independence of providing for myself. When I met my husband and moved south I transitioned into being a stay at home mom. Making money as a stay at home mom proved to be a bit more difficult. The journey back to independence was long and hard but here is how it went.

Making Money as a Stay at Home Mom

It was hard. At first, I was bored out of my mind and then I started to feel bad for the way I relied on my husband. Sure he always told me it was our money. He assured me that who went to work and who stayed home didn’t really matter but for someone who was used to helping out financially, it was a difficult idea to wrap my mind around.

As the kids grew older, I found more time on my hands. I started to look for ways to help out. My goal was not to make a lot…just enough to buy little things here and there and maybe help save for larger things. A lot of ideas came and went but eventually, I found something that actually worked. When I first heard about it I thought for sure it was a scam. There was no way anyone could possibly make money doing online surveys right? But I gave it a try and I can honestly say I’m really glad I did.

 Using Surveys and Apps to make money as a stay at Home Mom

This is no getting rich quick scheme, it can be tedious and time-consuming. Some days it takes me several hours to get through my daily routine. Other days only a short time – it all depends on the offers available and a little bit of luck. This process makes me enough to fund my hobbies and help out with household purchases that would otherwise be hard for my family to absorb.

Morning Routine

Here is how my morning tends to play out… After getting the kids off to school, I plug in my phone and start an app called AppTrailers. AppTrailers is available on both Android and Apple devices as a free download. AppTrailers is pretty simple to use. After registering a PayPal account you simply start the videos and let the points accumulate. AppTrailers pays 50 cents for every 500 points you manage to get and there is no minimum payout so if you feel like it, you can cash out as soon as you earn 50 cents. I usually wait until I have at least $5 dollars worth which takes about two weeks if you earn 500 points a day.

Once AppTrailers is up and running I settle down with my laptop and start to hit up my survey sites. I have three sites that I visit on a daily basis – SwagBucks, InboxDollars & CashCrate. The order I do them it doesn’t really matter but I try to do $2 worth of work on them each day. Doing this is enough to get Swagbucks first daily bonus and cash out for $25 every other week, hit InboxDollars $30 minimum twice a month, and earn $60 a month from CashCrate.

Some days this is easier then others and if I find myself getting frustrated I switch from one site to another in the hopes of some better luck. If I follow this for an entire month I get $180 of free spending money. This does not include any extra surveys I might qualify for. Some studies can include free test products (I’m still using the laundry tabs from one study) and bonus Amazon Gift cards or PayPal payouts. Making the rounds at all the sites can take me several hours a day. If it’s not working out and things seem to be dragging then I don’t sweat it, this is extra money. Even if I only manage a little bit each day and don’t meet my personal goals it will add up eventually!

Suggestions and Motivation!

I also suggest joining Microsoft Rewards, even if you only use their search every once in a while the points add up and can be cashed out for a nice variety of gift cards. I tend to choose Amazon but if you are a coffee drinker Starbucks is also a good option.

Getting used to these sites can be difficult. I think a lot of users give up before learning each site or they feel the time is not worth the pay. But when I am sitting at home watching TV, I figured it was worth making money at the same time. I’ve managed to learn a few ways to make things go faster. Stay tuned for upcoming guides on each site and in the meantime feel free to sign up and try them out for yourself!

Making Money as a Stay At Home Mom – Update!

I have now published several guides to help you master the site mentioned above! I have also found another survey site that works pretty well. Check out the list below for more information!

• Swagbucks Part One – Getting Started
• Swagbucks Part Two – Earning Swagbucks
• Guide to Cashcrate
• Guide to SurveyJunkie

2020 Update

While I still spend a little bit of time on these sites I have found that blogging has taken over a greater portion of my time. This is not a bad thing as it means that the blog has been relatively successful – in fact it has paid for Christmas and back to school for the last couple of years. Starting a blog can be a great source of extra income for stay at home moms if you’re willing to put in the time and have something you enjoy writing about! 

If you are interested in starting a blog then I highly suggest you check out my various articles, including my Siteground hosting review, Keeping a blog organized, and my tips on monetizing your blog! 

Now that our family has started a homesteading journey I’m hoping that I will be able to add some additional revenue streams to our family income as things develop! 

You might also be interested in following our Pinterest board about saving and making money!

• 

• 

• 

•