Making Money As a Stay at Home Mom: 8 Stupid-Easy Ways To Earn Cash

Making money as a stay at home mom isn’t hard if you know what to do. My husband (who is a CPA) and I have spent years creating ways to cut costs and add income.

Now I am sharing our greatest secrets to make money with all of you. Some of these tips seem unreal, but I promise they are true. And they work!

In fact, most of these tips are stupid easy. Anyone can do them. Other tips may require a little outside help. Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you need some expertise.

Even with outside help, you can make quick cash at home with a little extra effort by doing these things.

More importantly, these tips are possible even if you need to social distance.

RELATED: 4 Awesome Reasons to Be a Stay At Home Mom: Is It Right For You?

Making Money As a Stay At Home Mom: 8 Tips to Make Money Today

Making money as a stay at home mom is not as hard as you think. Check out these eight awesome tips to make quick cash on the side by doing simple things on the computer as well as putting in a little work around the house. These suggestions are easy and can be done on your schedule using social distancing.

1. Sell on Craigslist

HOUSE

If you want to increase your income at home, then sell your house online without a realtor. I have personally sold our house on Craigslist. Yes, you did not read a typo.

I sold our house on Craigslist.

We put a “For Sale” sign outside and under the word “For Sale” I had a flyer with the listing information just like a realtor’s flyer, and a link to the listing on Craigslist.

The Craigslist listing had pictures and a blurb telling more about the house. It was a little work but totally worth it.

We sold our house in two days.

Yep, two days.

I still can’t believe it. Having a good neighborhood definitely helped, and the market was good at that time period.

Selling in a slump would have been much harder.

If you don’t feel comfortable doing the paperwork yourself, pay someone you feel is competent to help with the sale. It’s definitely cheaper than a realtor.

Other suggestions to sell your home

If you need a little more coaching, do the ForSaleByOwner route. You can list on MLS and get help from local real estate agents. You will pay a little more, but you will have peace of mind.

Another option is Facebook. Here are 6 ways to use Facebook to sell your home according to Forbes. When you open up Facebook, there is a place to list your house for sale under Marketplace.

I have not tried this route before, but it looks to have the same effect as Craigslist. I prefer Craigslist, but don’t be bound to this one avenue.

Advertise in multiple places. You want your home to get as much exposure as possible.

Taking the extra time to list your home properly will make you thousands of dollars. Don’t sell yourself short on this.

RELATED: How to Save Your Money: 101 Stupid-Easy Tips Anyone Can Do

You can find Estranged on Amazon or at your favorite digital store. 

CAR

Yesterday, we sold our car on Craigslist. If you want to know how to make money as a stay home mom, selling a car is one of the best things to do. It’s all about marketing. You don’t have to leave the house to do this. It’s all done on the computer.

It’s easy. Just list the car with the pictures, and the buyers will come to you. We listed our car a few other places, but we got the fastest response from Craigslist.

The one I just sold I listed at about 10 a.m. on a Saturday morning. We had inquiries within 30 minutes. It sold by 2 p.m. (Weekends are good for listing things.)

This will be the second car we have sold on Craigslist. The first car we sold, we actually made a $500 profit on the car. We bought it and didn’t like it. We turned around and sold it. Many people do this as a side business.

Selling it yourself is so much better than selling to a dealer. You make a lot more money. Obviously, we think a lot of Craigslist.

CLEAN OUT

Making money as a stay at home mom is easy if you just take a little time to clean out your closets, drawers, and the attic/basement. I regularly go through the house looking for stuff we don’t use.

If it has not been used in a year or so then out it goes. I like listing things on Craigslist because it’s free, and it’s really easy to use.

The prompts take you through each screen. There is a place to tell about your product and a place to upload pictures. After a few more prompts, it goes to your email. Then you click on the listing, and it’s up.

I find it is so much easier to deal with local sales versus eBay, which is national. When making money as a stay at home mom, it is important to take into account your time and resources.

I don’t want to pack and mail things so I don’t.

2. Sell on the Nextdoor App             

If you want to know how to make money as a stay home mom, the Nextdoor app is the way to go. It’s not just local–it’s really local.

This app is for your neighborhood and surrounding areas.

It’s like a virtual garage sale only you focus on one item at a time. There is a section in the app that says “For Sale or Free.”

If you follow the prompts, it will get your listing up pretty fast. I can do it from my phone. Furthermore, I sell most things using this venue.

I put my product on the porch and the buyer comes to my porch and puts money under the mat. I have never been stiffed.

I have made hundreds of dollars turning items I don’t use into hard cash with very little effort.

How the Nextdoor App Works

The app locates people in your neighborhood. It has different selections on whether you want to stay in your neighborhood or expand into other neighborhoods around your neighborhood.

I go for casting the net as broad as possible. The more people see it, the faster it gets sold. As we speak, I have a lamp sitting on the porch waiting for someone who lives in my neighborhood to pick it up.

If it is a small cash item, I just tell them to pick it up on the porch and ask them to leave the cash under the mat.

You can always meet in a public place like Starbucks if you don’t like doing it my lazy way. Or just open your door when they come.

Get your FREE PRINTABLE LOVE COUPONS and use them as gifts for the ones you love.

Latest sale on the Nextdoor App

When learning how to make money as a stay home mom, remember that you can sell about anything online. Last week, we sold our ugly closet cabinets. Go figure!

The cabinets were original to the house. In fact, they were built in 1976 so they were old. We recently remodeled and pulled them out.

They were just sitting in the back driveway waiting to get hauled off. Both of them were pretty rough looking–chipped, a drawer was off its treads, and painted a dingy, light blue.

We decided to put them up for sale.  I listed them both for $20.

They not only sold, but someone hauled them off in the process. Basically, someone paid me to haul my junk off my property.

Making money as a stay at home mom is easy if you take a risk and be willing to sell anything. And I mean anything.

3. Sell at a Resale Shop

Making money as a stay at home mom is easy if you get your family to help out.

I have my kids clean out their closets now that they are older. If you have younger kids, you can make money off of your baby stuff if your child has outgrown clothes, toys, shoes, and equipment.

Items that are gently used can go to a resale shop. This goes for you too. Clean out your closet and move out clothes, purses, and shoes you don’t want.

Here is a suggestion to know if you have worn something recently:  Hang your clothes all in one direction. When you wear it, hang it in the other direction when putting it back.

That way you can tell what’s been worn, and what has not been worn. If it hasn’t been worn for a while, sell it.

Waiting until the end of the season isn’t always a good idea.  Try to sell your things during the season.

No one is buying shorts in the middle of January. Sell summer clothes in the summer, winter clothes in the winter.

I like selling my stuff immediately, but I will consign, especially if it is furniture.

4. Sell on eBay

If you want to know how to make money as a stay home mom then learn to be patient, and wait for the bigger payoff.

I have sold a few things on eBay like expensive sunglasses, a really nice fishing reel, and a Tiffany pen.

It’s not my favorite thing because it takes about a week, there is a listing fee, and I have to make a trip to the post office. But I like the money it brings in for higher dollar items.

You can arrange to pick it up at your house if you don’t want to drive to the post office.

I’ve never done that, but if I sold all the time I would. If you don’t like dealing with strangers or need to social distance, it is a safer option.

Listing is not complicated. If you have general computer skills, you can do it.

5. Sell at Half Price Books

Selling books is another way to make money as a stay at home mom.  I keep a stack of books in the cabinet to sell. When I have enough, I haul it to Half Price Books.

Chances are you probably have a bunch of books stuffed in all sorts of places throughout your house. Once you collect them, you may be surprised at how many bags you have.

If you have teenagers, you will probably have a stack of books at the end of the year from their school reading list. SAT and ACT books are also a great thing to sell if you are done with them. They get a pretty good return on the money.

I like getting rid of books around the house just for space.  And the cash doesn’t hurt either.

If you have multiple kids, it might be worth saving the school reading books because they will probably be required to read the same books in several years.

Get your FREE BIBLE WORD GAMES and practice the alphabet at the same time. This is even fun for adults to do!

6. Have a Garage Sale

One of the best tactics to making money as a stay at home mom is to assess how many resale items you have around the house. If you have a lot, consider a garage sale.

At my first garage sale, I made over $1, 000. We were shocked. It is a lot of work, but not bad for a weekend.

It is important to organize your items and display them in a logical way. Price every item, advertise in the paper, Craigslist,  Nextdoor app, etc.

Most of all, make signs and put them around the neighborhood.  This is essential.

I made standard signs that could be used multiple times. (I stored them until the next garage sale.) We started at 8 am and closed up at about 2 pm on both Friday and Saturday.

It’s nice to arrange for a donation truck to come that Saturday to take whatever didn’t sell. That way it doesn’t go back in the house.

My kids always helped, and they got to keep some of the proceeds.

RELATED: Family Schedule: How to Keep Your Sanity When the Kids Are Home

7. Sell on Facebook

Selling on Facebook is great for making money as a stay at home mom. I have not personally tried this avenue, so I can’t tell you all the pros and cons of this.

First,  click on the house icon (Marketplace) and then click on the bar to type the item,  Facebook gives an option of three categories: items for sale, vehicles for sale, and housing for rent/sale.

From there, list what you want to sell.

From my research, it looks like a great way to list anything. I would love to hear from some people who use this.  Comment in the section below.

8. Donations

Donations are another way to make money from home. Itemize everything you are donating and write it down on the receipt the organization gives you.

Goodwill gives a good donation value guide to help you estimate your items.

The IRS allows you to deduct the fair market value of used items in gently used condition. Age is a determination of quality.

You may not get cash, but the tax deduction is always a huge help. Make sure to save the receipt and give it to your tax accountant.

Pin it for later!

How Do Stay At Home Moms Make Money?

If you want to make a steady stream of at-home income, garage sale and then turn the items over on eBay, Craigslist, Nextdoor App, etc.

You may not make as much as a job, but it adds up over time.

Over the years I have made thousands of dollars selling our house, cars, books, clothes, furniture, and having garage sales and turning garage sale items online.

One of the biggest secrets to remember when making money as a stay at home mom is to be willing to stay flexible. Do not get too greedy with your sales.

Better to move it, than keep it.

Don’t get discouraged if the resale shop or the bookstore gives you $10. When you have kids, $10 can help. It’s $10 you didn’t have an hour ago. And $10 you earned, not spent.

These real ways to make money from home are great to get a little spending money over time. Is your husband going to quit his job and live on your side hustle? No, but it does do several things:

• Extra cash to help your family
• Clean out your closets and drawers.
• Other people haul off your junk.
• Extra space is created in your house.
• Tax write-off.
• Help those in need

RELATED: 3 Incredible Reasons For Being a Stay at Home Mom

What Jobs Are Best For Stay At Home Moms?

Garage sales, Craigslist, the Nextdoor app, resale shops, etc. are all great jobs for a housewife to earn money. Most of all, your whole family can help you do some of the work.

Your kids can clean out their rooms, help with a garage sale, or even list your items online if you can’t or don’t want to do it.

Don’t let junk pile up when you can turn it into hard cash. There is almost always someone who thinks your junk is a treasure!

Do you have tips for making money as a stay at home mom?  Leave it in the comments!