A distant grandfather of mine chose to move to America from Germany because he heard of this wonderful land of opportunity.  He was even more interested in the 40 acres of free land that the government was giving away.  He brought his large family across the Atlantic Ocean and they travelled to Wisconsin where he wished to settle.  In Germany he was a very fine cabinetmaker and when he saw the barren wilderness he wept wondering how he would feed his family.  Instead of throwing his hands in the air and giving up he rolled up his sleeves and went to work building a productive farm.  His son learned his work ethic from his father.  He had nine children and made his living by working at the soda pop factory he owned.   All of his children helped clean the bottles for the soda.  Later he moved into town and built a saloon and inn with their house on top.  He then built a stable for all the horses that would need a place to be while their owners stayed at the inn.  While my great, great grandfather is no longer living, the tavern is still running today.

During my childhood years my dad was a helicopter pilot in the Army.  Despite his good income my dad taught us to always find new ways to earn extra money and live within your means.  Most nights he would come home and help around the house, spend time with us, and after dinner he would head out to the garage to work on his latest projects to earn money.   He made and installed wooden porch swings for all of our neighbors and other word of mouth referrals.  He still makes custom leather belts, purses and wallets.  My dad is a welder so he often makes trailers for hauling and moving and sells them.  He also makes custom headache racks for trucks.  When we lived overseas my parents invested money in a “Movie club”.  The house we lived in had a maid’s quarters downstairs that they used as their store and they rented movies out to all the people in the neighborhood on the weekends.  My mom created a color analysis business and did home parties.  During the party she would analysis each woman and then sold her season color swatch packets.   She also learned to paint Folk Art and sold her projects at craft stores.

Fortunately, I have been blessed to come from a long line of hard working, self reliant people who have taught me to work and be creative in bringing home income for my family.  Over the years I’ve done many things to earn extra income. 

Here is a list of things I’ve done with short explanations:

Postpartum Doula- a postpartum doula is someone who is hired to help the mom after she gives birth.  She runs errands, cleans the house, helps give tips on breast-feeding and infant care, etc.

Sold on Ebay- for several years I made scrapbooking punchie packets to sell on ebay.  I own several hundred punches and I would create several art projects and packaged them and sold them on ebay.

Scrapbooking and craft classes- I have taught at Hobby Lobby, craft stores, and in my home.  Usually, afterwards I’ll sell projects I’ve made (such as the punchie packets listed previously, or take custom orders.

Scrapbooking Crops- for years I’ve held scrapbooking crops in my home and charged a fee.  In turn I provided the snacks and treats as well as free access to all of my tools such as the die cut machine and punches.

Babysitting- While my eldest children were small I babysat full-time in my home for extra income.

Stampin’ Up/Mary Kay/Cookie Lee- I sold all stamps, skin care, and jewelry with these three companies over the years.  In addition to income, I paid for my hobbies and earned prizes.

Crafts- I make everything from wreaths to cards to bird houses to crowns.  I also sew.  As I make these items to give instructions on the website my house starts filling up with crafts, so I started selling them at craft markets.  I love doing it because it is fun and I can feed my craft addiction.

Sewing- I’ve made custom clothing for people or done repairs for money.

Baking- We take orders for baked goods and deliver them if they’re local.  We also do bake sales.

Unpacking houses- I’ve made money by helping unpack houses.  It is fun to do and helps the person who just moved tremendously.

Build Websites- Building websites is fun and I’ve enjoyed the freelance work. 

Write- I write for several websites for pay.  I have also written a book and am working on three more.

Clean Homes- Over the years I’d take on cleaning houses, mostly for friends for pay.  We would talk while I worked and it makes the time go quickly.

The next three have been what I’ve been doing the longest and are the most successful for me so I’m listing them last.

Website- I’ve been writing for and working on the Homemaking Cottage for twelve years.  With the membership portion of the website and advertising we are blessed with income for our family.

Blog- With the product reviews I receive free product and with the advertising we are blessed with income.

Ebooks- years ago we sold things as printed materials and mailed items via USPS.  When I went through business classes the teacher told me that ebooks were getting big and that it would be easier on me and my family to sell my materials that way.  I’m so thankful I did.  People want things immediately in this instant society and ebooks get them the information they want NOW.

The economy is down right now, there’s no doubt about that.  However, we are not prisoner to circumstances.  With a little creativity and work you can bring in extra income with your talents.  Multiple streams of income are the best way to go.  When one is down one or two are up and you will have the money when you need it.

All Deluxe Edition subscribers can take this course FREE!