If you want to stay at home with your child, you may be wondering what you can do to afford it. You may be especially frustrated if you just can’t seem to get the numbers to work with your budget. You may be willing to make some financial sacrifices, but you should be careful that you don’t stay at home and find yourself going deeper into debt each month. Through careful choices and sacrifices many households find that they can afford to have one parent stay at home.
1. Working at Home: Telecommuting
Many employers are more open to telecommuting than they were a few years ago. You should approach your employer and see if this is a viable option for you. You may have to compromise and work from home two or three days a week and go into the office on the other days. This could eventually work into more days at home, and less days at work. If you do this, you need to make sure that the quality of your work does not decline, and that you continue to produce as much as you used to. You should also make yourself available to talk to your boss at certain times of the day.
2. Working at Home: Freelance Work
You may consider picking up freelance work to make up the amount from your lost income. There are a lot of different areas to freelance from accounting, to writing to programming. You may begin to pick up clients or make contacts at your job or through people you know. You may want to build up a steady stream of clients before you quit your job, because it can take a few months to get established. Freelance work will not give you any health benefits or retirement so you need to plan for that.
3. Working at Home: Owning Your Own Business
You may decide that opening your own business is one way that you can make money and be at home with your children. You may decide to run an online boutique or eBay store. You may decide to baby-sit from your home or tutor. You may decide to give piano lessons or sell items for Avon, Mary Kay or Pampered Chef. All of these options will work if you are willing to put the time and energy into marketing yourself and your store. You should enjoy what you are doing, because that makes it easier to do.
4. Working an Opposite Shift
You may be able to stay home or keep your child from day care if you work opposite shifts from your spouse. You may switch to the night shift at your current job, or look for an evening job that will allow you to make enough money to cover your budget shortfalls. Waiting tables is an option. You may also consider working a hospital.
