Most of the people think that housewives can’t really contribute to the family budget without doing their regular 9 to 5 in an office. Being an unemployed mom with 2 beautiful kids got me thinking about how untrue and unfair this is, to say the least.
I and my kids, the 24-7 present tenants of our family house have been witnesses to countless situations where we had to find common ground on certain things. Being a very economical person myself, ironically enough, I figured that I somehow manage to make financial gains out of every situation around the house. Ok, maybe not every situation, but let me get to the point real quick!
Garage Sale Day at the House
Yup, we all get to that point when your kids grow big enough to become curious about their house’s environment and when they start exploring new territories and frontiers. For my little kiddos, the new frontier that had to be conquered one day was the attic.
Since they recently watched the movie about the group of children gathering the attic to read stories to each other, they decided to make their own little exile up there. The problem was, the attic was jam-packed with old wooden cabinets my husband’s father left there when we were moving in (and he was moving out).
Not to mention, this quickly made my children stir and just like that it became practically impossible to convince them that all of the cabinets and wooden chests are not usurping their safe haven called the attic. What could I do?
A couple of hours later, I found myself phoning my husband seeking permission from him to clean the attic of everything that was in the way of our children. I made a couple of phone calls more and by that evening, everything was moved to the garage. That finally made peace with the younglings.
However, a garage was my husband’s only parking spot. One thing led to another and by tomorrow you could see me running my first own garage sale, selling not only the old stuff we moved from the attic but everything in the house that wasn’t using any purpose to anyone anymore. It turned out that this crusade of my children bolstered our family budget and, perhaps more importantly, made more living space for every one of us in the house.
Knitting & Sewing
I was always keen on these hobbies. It helped me find my pleasure in doing these little things, while at the same time I was able to make a nice sweater for my husband or for me.
One day my old friend Maurice stopped by for a cup of coffee. Since I was knitting just a moment ago she came in the house, she found herself very amused and intrigued by my little hobby. Again, I believe you know the drill. By the end of that week, I ended up making another sweater (practically the same) for her husband, and by the end of the month, more family friends showed interest in my skills and services.
Then it occurred to me: why not make it a business out of it? Since everyone obviously likes my product, I believe that there will be more people willing to pay for it if I was to offer it to them. I made a little research on how to sell your products online and started my own homemade factory and e-store.
I’ve worked with some amazing people and helped customize presents. One time we actually made a military sweater customized with challenge coins for a friend of ours from the military. It was some awesome stuff!
Today, I have enough time for my kids, I love what I do and I manage to work when I have enough time to do so. Most importantly, I feel confident and equally contributing to the house because I’m able to help out with the money issues of the family myself.
Stephanie is the founder of Military Travel Mama; she is the wife of a military professional and mother to two children. Follow her blog for more about military life, military discounts, family trips, healthy eating, and parenthood.
