Making $ At Home

The title is not deceptive~you can MAKE MONEY at home~by saving it!

The day arrived, and you were "downsized", layed off or your job went away for now, for good, and you are home for the first time in years if ever in your adult life. It's shocking really for those who have worked all of their adult lives since college or high school to find that what was once thought of as stable employment could vanish in moments~the moments it takes for a supervisor or boss to say those dreaded words, "we no longer need..." And there you are heading home. Home. But the bills? What about your income? What are you going to do now that your income is drastically reduced and in some instances, absent? There is a certain shock and grief that accompanies such major changes in our lives. Time and perseverance will prevail in making the changes to adapt, to find new ways of living and making it until such time the money either returns or life is adjusted and the security returns.

Time~Now you have something you didn't have when you were working. It's what the wealthy love to purchase for themselves that working people find little of or can afford~Time is a wonderful asset in our lives. Do you have projects that you didn't have the time to do? Do you have things you've wanted to learn but found too tiring after a long day at the job? Can you invest in those you love with more time and energy than before you were jobless? If taking on the gift of time and utilizing it to the fullest is possible, there has been a wonderful gift given in the loss of the job~a restructure of priorities and abilities. Sure, money is tight, but with some skills less can be more and then it's even MORE because you have time on your side to add to the wealth of investing in the things that matter: people and God. Did you ever wish you had time for something, but the job called you away?

Activities that can be done in the time you now had are endless~HERE are some suggestions:

Learn to fix wholesome foods that are not instant but budget boosting as instant foods are neither as healthy as cost a whole lot more.

Take up a hobbie or skill you've always dreamed of pursuing but had no time or energy to do. Have you wanted to play the piano, and have one? What about painting or sketching? Gardening? Crochet, knitting, sewing, quilting, weaving, felting, beading, writing, organizing, decorating, refinishing furniture, picking up your old band instrument and playing, singing, learning a foreign language, reading, card making, scrapbooking, photography, web design, blogging, teaching a class at church or other volunteer effort: Red Cross, YMCA, local hospital, Hospices, nursing or retirement homes, writing overseas military and more! It's endless~WHAT have you been dreaming of doing? Nature walks, camping, fishing, swimming, exercising of every variety, jogging, jumping rope, belly dancing, aerobics...ENDLESS!

You now have the time to invest into your family in a way to keep money from going out the door~to do as Ben Franklin said, that a penny saved is a penny earned~when you save~you are earning. Time will afford you the opportunities to do the tasks that will save money in the long run while labor intensive, but in the past working created a deficit in time to do these...

Mending clothing instead of buying more~wearing them out.
Making gifts instead of purchasing items~it's the thought that really does count!
Gardening and preserving foods for health and cost savings. I'll tell you about our garden and what it has done for our family...
Carefully plotting all the expenditures including trips out of the home with the vehicle for fuel~can you go more than one place on that trip by making several stops along the way? Can you coast to stop signs and start slowly~it does help make fuel last a bit longer not to push so heavy on the pedal...You're not in a huge hurry now, so take your time!
Shop carefully and spend very slowly for items. KNOW prices~I've written a whole post on this!
Make lists, make menus, make calendars and schedules~manage your home as if it were your job...
Calculate how much laundry and how much soap~use the clothes line and air dry...you have time now!
Research how to save as much as possible with ideas such as my Using It UP ideas...Find all the ways you can to keep the money you have in your pocket...
Carry cash only. Count every coin~find every coin~consider every coin!
Shop the secondary market as much as possible; you can check prices at many locations or sellers. Get the best price possible. Garage/Yard sale~second hand store and consignments although these will be higher priced except for sales...KNOW those prices! AND pay only what you know an item is worth~what your research shows it to be worth. Don't rely upon the seller's insight of value~they want our money!
Join recycling groups, civic groups, and church activities~net work...you have TIME!
Swap and borrow items with friends if possible. I don't really like doing this with some things...but it can be a huge help!
Clear out the clutter as you haven't had time before~and sell it or donate it. If you donate, remember that you will be blessed as you give...it's best to give than receive I believe!
Visit the sick, elderly, lonely, shut ins, friends, family and anyone who would enjoy your company~you have time now...

Having time now will mean that while the possibilies are endless as I've just demonstrated, you must make a priority list so that you will not just flail from place to place, but operate on a path that will meet with your household's goals. I haven't mentioned anything about children, but now you can pay much closer attention than ever before to their needs~consider all the options with your children: homeschooling and home training. Both are essential. I am a homeschool parent, so I am 100% in favor of this investment of time into my kid's lives, but if you have not done this, have had your baby in day care or another form of school~bring your child home and NOW you have time for so much that will benefit your little one!

Our garden efforts were greatly enhanced this year by several methods. First we planned to have one and started our own seeds. Now we had to purchase some needs, and will again, but we have planned already by saving seeds and containers so we will be ready in late Feb to plant~I've begun composting too to enrich our soil...but here's what happened this year~the yeild has been amazing! Right now I have 32 quarts of tomatoes in the freezer! I am still getting tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, banana peppers, yellow squash, Japanese pumpkins, CELERY, salad greens, green onions, egg plant...well, it's just delishous! And tonight for supper I used one pound of ground beef, some olive oil that I purchased at a dent can store (damaged packaging store that sells for about 1/2), fresh garlic, and from my garden all veggies except cuccumbers, tomatoes, and the pumpkin. I added a cereal bowl of frozen veggies (carrots, broccoli and cauliflower) to the mix along with salad greens, with soy sauce, black pepper and we had a very good stir fry...I cut up a cucumer/tomato salad where everyone could chose either dressing or none! This meal was less than $3 for four people because of our fresh produce! But it took and takes time~last night I worked 3 hours to chop 2 gallons of tomatos for the freezer! So time is a factor!! I will freeze the peppers and prepare the pumpkin for the freezer...all time consuming, but in the long run, we had a healthy cost saving meal!

Use your time that you invested in someone elses' business to take care of your HOME~make money by saving the outflow and outgo of your capital...if you are single without additional resources, you will want to consider additional methods of making or brining in new money into the home as you will have to have income...some anyway...

Did I mention taking a class? I found this site that has some great ideas: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://extension.unh.edu/news/growmony.jpg&imgrefurl=http://extension.unh.edu/news/2007/02/a_little_money_saved_goes_a_lo.html&usg=__g7XMXakTtSYy5vhqbr80tbhW9VA=&h=600&w=400&sz=61&hl=EN&start=11&sig2=wR3DnGxUWeCeGR9LPdBSfg&tbnid=0E1EseHJviTKEM:&tbnh=135&tbnw=90&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmoney%2Bsaved%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3DEN&ei=Q6KgSvGRC43hlAfPy7X1DA Look at the left side bar~there's great reads!

Managing my money so it will stay with me!