I need to make $425 a month

[ihugtrees]

I want to go back to school in June, and have found a wonderful attachment parenting in home childcare that I would like to send my daughter to. The woman is lowering her prices for us as we are an enlisted military family living on just my husband's income, but the lowest she can go is $425 a month. I have searched for childcare alternatives but really feel comfortable with this lady, and the only other situation that I think I would be okay with would be a nanny share, which would be more expensive.

The thing is, we are already on a tight budget. There isn't much room to cut. I also can't work because I don't have childcare for my daughter when I work. I've been searching for months for regular babysitting/nanny jobs to do outside of school hours, and have found nothing. My DH says the only way we can do this is if we can find a way to make that $425 a month to pay for it.

Anyone have any suggestions for a regular way that I can make a set $425 a month, either with flexible hours to work around school or working from home? I was thinking maybe selling Avon or Pampered Chef or something, but I don't know if I could make that much per month...

[zebra15]

How many hours is her $425 rate for?
Are you looking to make the $425 from home or during hours your DH can watch your child? Are those hours your DH is available set or varied?
IMO pampered chef, avon etc are difficult at best.
Is there a way to change your school to hours that your DH can just watch your child? Most schools have evening and weekend classes as well as online programs.

The other thing I would check is if your 'school' has a day care center. The center may not be perfect but its probably a heck of alot cheaper than $425/month

Also since you are military see if they have any assistance

[KBinSATX]

Can you make things? My home business has been great for me. It took awhile to really get going but I enjoy it very much.
In the beginning I only made a couple hundret a month but I've been in business for over 2 years now and my product is now pretty well known -even have a lot of overseas sales, etc. so it's 'rel' income now.
It pays for the kids' college funds, hobbies, clothing, etc.
I have my own website now but starting out Hyena Cart was a great spring board for my business.
I am not into the sales party thing so I have no idea about how easy it would be to make money with Pampered Chef stuff.
Another fun way to make some money for me was to teach a foreign language (I am a native speaker) through the Community Education Program. You are free to schedule those classes during whatever times work well for you (mostly evening) so perhaps your SO could watch your kids while you teach something (yoga, pottery, whatever you are good at)?
Don't bother with the filling out surveys thing. lol (they're horrid - so much wasted time and no pay)

[TiredX2]

Are you already on both WIC & food stamps? Are there any other options in your budget to save money (rather than earn more money)? Cable tv, cell phones, hobbies? Any way to increase frugality anywhere?

Where would you be going to school? Would you have access to grants or work study you could do while on campus anyway?

[EricaDoula]

What about using a military daycare? They are usually very reasonably priced. Or how about having a garage sale and selling some extra things on ebay? I mean, those won't help you every month but it could help you get a jump start. Good Luck!

[TwinMomPlus]

I agree that direct sales (avon, pampered chef) are very difficult. It helps if you know tons of people who like to spend money but otherwise, very hard to get into. Plus you have to pay a big start-up fee.

Can you work a PT (retail?) job on nights/weekends when DH is home? Or can you take the classes when DH is home? Do they offer distance learning? Most schools now offer this.

What can you cut out of your spending? Cable?

What are you going to school for and when are your classes? You should talk to someone at your school, they may have options for you like a daycare at the school or student loans.

[Drummer's Wife]

I know a lot of people frown on this, but what about student loans? I know it might depend on how much longer you have in school, your potential earning power, other debt, etc., but it's something I am considering myself to help cover he $600 a month needed for my youngest while I finish school.

[phathui5]

Could you apply for jobs that would be a night or two a week? Night shift at a grocery store? Waitressing? Bartending?

[ihugtrees]

Re: military/college campus daycares: they are not much cheaper than this...I called on them a few weeks ago and they were around $100 a week, so I'd only save about $25 a month. The chances of me finding one I am comfortable with my daughter being at are next to none. I KNOW there are military moms who are AP--I've seen them on this board--but I've never met them, and my husband works at the clinic as a medical assistant type, and he sees really, really awful things there Also, the military childcare requires up to date vaccines--my daughter has had zero. They do not take exemptions unless they are religious.

Re: taking loans out. I am not eligible for student loans until the January semester, as I got behind on them and am now on a rehabilitation plan. I just can't wait until January to continue working on my degree, though, because 1) my marriage is rocky, and I have NO backup plan or way to support myself should it not work out and 2) this brings me to the problem with working another job or taking classes at night--my DH is deploying. He leaves Friday, and will only be back a scattered 4 weeks over the summer, then will be gone until next March. I have never wanted to be a stay at home mom, and I desperately miss the intellectual/mental stimulation of school. This is a huge source of depression for me--if I don't stay busy, I get depressed. I feel like school is really essential for my mental health. We are saving every penny right now to pay cash for 1 or 2 classes starting in June. Any way, sorry for the sob story...my DH will be gone so I cant leave my daughter with him and take night classes, and if I work an outside job, I will have to find childcare.

The $425 is for part time care up to 25 hours a week. Most childcare places around here charge the same, although I probably could get one slightly cheaper. At least 15 of those hours need to be for classes/study time, but I could put about 10 hours into something else. However, this childcare is only available in the daytime, so waitressing is out. I also had hoped to use at least one day of the time my daughter is in daycare to see a counselor for the aforementioned depression.

I don't know any foreign languages and I am absolutely not crafty at all I have never even sewn anything. I would like to learn but I'm sure it would be a long time before I was good enough to sell something I made.

Re: WIC and food stamps. We make $100 per month too much to be eligible for any government help. We *may* be eligible for WIC, I'd have to check, as my DH has gotten a raise since the last time we were on it...but we hardly ever used it. Food is the one area where we try to get quality items. We don't have cable, or even a TV, we don't eat out, we don't buy things for ourselves or spend money on entertainment outside of Netflix, but we do buy quality whole foods. I don't feel comfortable eating commercial eggs or drinking factory farm milk, we don't eat things with high fructose corn syrup, so the cereals are out...we don't do juice...so the $10/wk in produce, the beans, the rice are about all we would use. I guess that adds up to about $60/month in help, so maybe I should get back on it. Right now our grocery budget is $150 a week for 3 people, and we frequently go over that...but since my DH is leaving, I am going to spend a lot less. How much do you think is a reasonable budget for a mostly organic, whole foods diet for myself and my (piggy!) 10 month old? We both eat three meals a day plus snacks. Also, does anyone know if you have to vax to get WIC?

[Smocked]

Does the school you plan to go to offer online classes for the time being until you can afford childcare or until she's in school? I know it's not the most ideal situation, it's one I have been faced with since I didn't finish school either before I had my kids.

[Tilia]

Does your budget include that his income will be not taxed due to the deployment? Will he be getting hazard pay?

What about hiring a mother's helper for the times you need to be staying home to study and working 10 or so hours per week? Even minimum wage would be maybe $250 or so per month. Then you could work for 10, and go to class (plus library, computer lab, commute) for 15 hours a week.

[zebra15]

Honestly from what you say, right now you can not afford daycare. I know its not what you want to hear but 425/month for 100 hrs of daycare and no income just doesnt add up. You are already behind on past student loans and right now do not qualify for any more. Unless you can take online courses, regardless of what you 'want', you cant afford it.
What I would do is look for employment for mental stimulation, then start back to class in January when you should qualify for student loans again.

Also $425 for parttime care is quite expensive around here. You may need to keep looking for other types of care. There are moms who provide care for less than $. You need to pay her $4.25/hr so you need find a job at min $10/hr to cover daycare and expenses (taxes, travel, etc)

[Jaxinator]

If you live on base you can look into providing care in your own home for other military dependents. I can't remember the name of the program, but you get certified then you go on a list, with the hours you can watch another child, how many, what ages, and all that. If you don't live on base, maybe it's something to consider?
(I don't know what branch he's in, but that's how the AF does things)
Also, someone else mentioned hazard duty pay, and tax free income, which is something to think about. $150 a week for essentially one person to eat is a large budget, so you'll probably find a lot of extra money there when your husband leaves. Plus little things, like gas for him driving, electric he's not using...

[TiredX2]

Originally Posted by Tilia

Does your budget include that his income will be not taxed due to the deployment? Will he be getting hazard pay?

This is what I would look into as well. When BIL was deployed they saved all of his hazard pay and that was a huge amount.

[annethcz]

Originally Posted by zebra15

Honestly from what you say, right now you can not afford daycare. I know its not what you want to hear but 425/month for 100 hrs of daycare and no income just doesnt add up. You are already behind on past student loans and right now do not qualify for any more. Unless you can take online courses, regardless of what you 'want', you cant afford it.
What I would do is look for employment for mental stimulation, then start back to class in January when you should qualify for student loans again.

I was thinking the same thing. Working now (instead of going to school) would provide you with stimulation outside of the house and would allow you to save some money. That money would come in awfully handy if the marriage doesn't work out. Alternately, the money would allow you to save for school expenses when you go back in January.

[Mylie]

I don't have any suggestions for you...Wish I did...

I will be watching this thread because if I could just make another $400 a month myself we would be soo much better off...My problem is I am already working 2 jobs..Hope you figure out a way....

Originally Posted by ihugtrees

I want to go back to school in June, and have
found a wonderful attachment parenting in home childcare that I would like to send my daughter to. The woman is lowering her prices for us as we are an enlisted military family living on just my husband's income, but the lowest she can go is $425 a month. I have searched for childcare alternatives but really feel comfortable with this lady, and the only other situation that I think I would be okay with would be a nanny share, which would be more expensive.

The thing is, we are already on a tight budget. There isn't much room to cut. I also can't work because I don't have childcare for my daughter when I work. I've been searching for months for regular babysitting/nanny jobs to do outside of school hours, and have found nothing. My DH says the only way we can do this is if we can find a way to make that $425 a month to pay for it.

Anyone have any suggestions for a regular way that I can make a set $425 a month, either with flexible hours to work around school or working from home? I was thinking maybe selling Avon or Pampered Chef or something, but I don't know if I could make that much per month...

[ihugtrees]

I got behind on the loans before my DH and I were together & was scared to contact them as I didn't want him to get in trouble (the military doesn't look fondly on unpaid debt.) We are on a payment plan now and its fine.

I have searched for childcare, and less expensive childcare has a higher nuimber of children, non AP discipline methods, & feed the kids crap. I have been in childcare for the 5 years prior to this and I honestly feel you usually get what you pay for. Not always, but often.

I have been searching for part time employment with decent pay since November & have been unable to find a childcare position. I have not had anyone offer me above $3/hour since I'd need to bring my daughter along, and $3/hour barely covers my gas to get there! I've also applied for many secretarial type jobs, but nobody wants to hire me because I just have 5 years of childcare experience! Its a Catch 22.

He gets hazard duty pay but they take away his food allowance so we aren't making any more money.

I've honestly been brainstorming over this for literally 18 months, since I first became pregnant. I have been putting off school because we couldn't afford it, but if I don't go, I feel like I'm never going to go.

I'm contemplating holding car washes and bake sales to make the money...I just need this, and I need it soon. It doesn't help that I just moved here and I don't know ANYONE, and now my husband is leaving. I'm just feeling desperate...

[iowaorganic]

I am usually not a big one for direct sales. MK and I just didnt work out. But my cousins are premier designs jewelers and make great money at a part time level. I have no idea what you would be looking at for start up costs though. But I know that they make half of thier sales. And most women I know love sparkly stuff.

[phathui5]

Also, does anyone know if you have to vax to get WIC?

We've used WIC in Maryland and New York and we don't vax.

[JElaineB]

I'm not sure how big your school is, but have you checked with them regarding child care assistance? I know the university where I work gives students money for childcare, though it might be income-based. It would be worth asking about.