How Much is it Really Costing You to Make a Little Extra Money from Home?

by Traci Anderson | More from this Blogger

25 May 2007 09:45 PM

Ever since making the decision to become a stay-at-home mom, I've tried various ways to make a little extra income from home. I've sold items on Ebay. I've consigned our clothing and I was a home-based Director for a direct selling company. I recently quit my latest home-based business because I realized that I was not spending as much time with my children as I'd hoped. Initially, my husband and I were quite concerned about the effect my decision to quit would have on our budget. While I am still earning some income from home, it is about one-half what it was when I was involved in direct sales.

For the last three months my hands would shake as I opened our monthly bank statement. "Hmmmm...nothing has changed". Maybe we will start to notice the difference next month, I thought. Two more months passed. We are dead-even financially. How could that be? I wondered.

I started to think about all of the business expenses involved with my former career. I traveled to and from parties twice per week. I bought my team members small gifts as sales incentives. I spent countless hours on the phone making long distance calls. I stopped for coffee when I traveled. I ate more fast-food while I was "on the go" and I used childcare more often.

Now, I am a writer and graphic artist. My only expense is my computer (which I would have purchased anyway) an internet connection and an occasional babysitter when I have a deadline to meet. I make one-half the income, yet I have virtually no expenses.

Earlier this year, I sold items on Ebay for some extra "fun-money". I was so excited to get nearly $200 in my PayPal account. However, I failed to factor in my time (spent packaging, cleaning and preparing the items). I also failed to factor in the cost of numerous trips to the post office.

A few months ago, I sold some of my children's clothing at a local consignment store. I made $104 with one trip to the store and about an hours worth of work. Once again, while the $200 looked better on paper, my actual earnings were probably a wash.

Have you thought about having a garage sale this summer? I had one last summer and earned $250. Frankly, had used the countless hours I spent tagging, displaying and preparing my items, I could have easily earned that amount (or more) by donating the items to charity for a tax-deduction and focusing the saved time on the upkeep of my home.

Have you taken the time to consider what your money-making ventures are actually costing you? I strongly encourage you to jot down your expenses. Take it from me, you may be surprised at how much you are actually earning (or NOT earning) for that matter.

Learn more about Traci Anderson

Traci is a work-at-home-mom (WAHM) from beautiful Big Sky Country (Montana). She spends most of her time trying to keep up with two extremely energetic (but hysterical) Irish twins.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger