Ideas For Income as a SAHM?

[HeatherRD]

I cross-posted in WAHM Well, but I think more people read this forum, and I could use all the ideas I can get. I don't really see myself as becoming a WAHM, but a SAHM trying to earn some extra income on the side.

DH is SAHD, while he also works on his projects at home. He's a writer/artist type and he has a lot of ideas for projects he wants to do. He's not making money at it yet, although he does have a book on Amazon now.

I am a dietitian and employed, but I am desparate to be a SAHM or WAHM. I am thinking of quitting now, which would leave us with basically no income. We could get on assistance (Medicaid/Foodstamps), and then DH would be able to work on his projects full time, hopefully enabling him to be successful with them. In the meantime, I am trying to think of ways to get extra income, but am having a hard time. I'm not artistic or crafty, so I can't make anything to sell. We could sell some of our possessions, but that wouldn't amount to very much.

Does anyone have any ideas for me? I would be so appreciative.

I hope to join this forum as a SAHM very soon!

[carmel23]

I'm not sure how it works in your state, but here you cannot get assistance if you just quit your job--you have to be fired or lose you job.

Can you set up your own diet consulting firm? Do you have clients or a way to advertise looking at what people eat or targeting a special market (vegan, gluten free, etc.) and helping busy people come up with meal plans/ cooking ideas that are easy to manage and nutritionally sound?

And think about this in a broad way, it doesn't have to be limited to your community but could be done online--where you reach more people.

[Ms. Cellaneous]

I second the idea of trying to do something with your dietitian background. Perhaps you could do consulting over e-mail -- especially since you're a vegan, you have expertise that people might not be able to find locally, so you could help them over the internet.
A business that seems pretty big these days is helping people make home-cooked meals... ie someone comes over to your house one Sunday, you help them cook a month's worth of meals, pack it up for them. They buy the groceries (you tell them what to buy) and you do all the set up and clean up. Not sure what this business is called but if I had the money to spare I'd pay for it!!
One book you might want to check out is the 4 Hour Work Week. I thought it was a very helpful guide to starting a home business and not the get-rich-quick scheme I thought it would be. I haven't had time to implement the ideas in it -- I see we both have babies born last October! -- but I really hope to try.

Good luck!

[Katie T]

I think that is a great idea, and I also think here in Iowa you have to be fired, layed off or something of the like to get assistance.

Wish you luck!

[Drummer's Wife]

I'd say try to use your RD if possible. Maybe a private nutrition/diet counselor? You could meet clients in your home, theirs, or in a public setting. Or, what about a part-time consultant with the school district? I've heard of dietitians working mostly from home - where they go over/critique/design lunch menus for the schools, and meet up with the school board monthly.

My other thought was freelance writing. You could start a blog, or look for gigs pertaining to your field. Places like about.com pay decently, so I would check the positions for openings frequently - you would likely qualify to write about food/diet/nutrition/recipes b/c they really like someone who has professional experience and letters behind their name.

not sure if you are wanting to completely get away from dietetics as a SAHM/WAHM - so if you do, just ignore my ideas.

Otherwise, I would say childcare in your home would help supplement any income your DH brings in.