ideas please!

Something you could look into is a group called WAHMS (working at home mums) on Facebook. Large group of mums that have a home business of some sort to give you ideas.

The only other thing I can think of would be looking after others' children as well as your own in your own home. Cleaning other peoples houses can be tricky with a baby/toddler!

Edited by nathansmummy

Are you into gardening? Having your own vege garden would lighten the shopping bill a bit, and if your DD is the kind where it would be possible, you could do gardening for others too. I've hired my sister to do general stuff around the garden atm to help her through uni.

Homemade creations could be a goer too, as long as there is enough margin in them, and remember to consider trademe fees and the likes.

Maybe you could walk dogs behind the pram or something?

Just throwing random ideas out there.

What sort of area do you live in?

I'm doing my massage practice from home I do treatments in the evenings after DD has gone to bed, it works as my clients come after work.

I don't make a huge amount of money $20-40 a week it helps with petrol and coffee.

pocohontas wrote: oh something ive always thought would be fun is to be a secret shopper! i talked to a lady the other day who does it and she was saying how fun it is!!! you get paid to go shopping!! saounds good to me!

oh I'd love to do that. Was thinking about it when I had little kids at home but thought it would be too hard dragging a child around.

It's hard trying to think of something to earn a few extra $$$ at home. My best advise would be stick with what you know. I'd love to make homemade toys etc, and do consider myself quite creative, but it's been a loooooong time since I was behind a sewing machine.

I love shopping, and spend longer than I probably should, searching for great deals on baby clothes. I started to buy things for my boy from the UK, because I knew the shops, knew the quality and I knew I was getting a good deal.

So I set up a wee business importing UK branded baby clothes, called Baby Bargain NZ My margins are very small by the time you take GST and import duty into account, but it's fun I set up a page on Facebook, and do half my trading there and half on Trade Me.

Baby Bargains NZ

Good luck with whatever you decide

just liked you on facebook Milliemoo!

oh cool thanks for the ideas ladies. as far as our day to day living costs, i feel we are doing all we can to keep them as low as possible- i bake instead of buying museli bars, bikkies etc, buy cheap food, meat and the likes and stretch it as far as we can with the crock pot etc, NEVER buy anything really indulgent, and maybe have takeaways once a month if were lucky, we have a big vege garden, heat our house with our log fire and get free fire wood, use cloth nappies, are very blessed to be given lots of good quality hand me down clothes so very rarely have to buy anything for bubs.. and the list goes on, and we do make ends meet- (in fact im a freak and kinda find it fun to try and stretch the dollars as far as i can, its a wee challenge for me hehe)its just the little things that get ya down- like the fact that ALL our family live in auckland, and its the little things like wanting Maddy to know her family etc that we cant afford to do. from the looks at the mo, well be spending her first christmas alone in blenheim, and her first birthday without family etc. i know, shes too young to understand, but it would be nice to go, and DH gets down at the fact we cant do things like that anymore..its more for him i want to save some $$ more than anything.

ive looked into secret shopping etc, but in blenheim there doesnt seem to be much to do with that kind of thing. i do paint tho, so have painted a few kiddies canvases to put on TM and see what happens.. and have emailed Porse and Educarents to see if they have any openings to look after a child a few days a week..
am not too worried, something will come up if i look hard enough. thanks for the ideas everyone! x x x

ooh and i never said- Milliemoo that is a fantastic idea! id love to get into something like that, but wouldnt know where to start to be honest! good on you tho!

I agree with everyones suggestions on finding something you love doing/ have skills in, and working out from there a way to turn that into a bit of extra cash.

I have my own little business which I am able to run from home, on the computer etc during the week. And in the weekends while DH is home I am out working a few hours to bring in the $$.

Mine started with something I enjoyed doing with my own kids, painting, painting on faces, and it seems to be working pretty well working around being a SAHM.