The following is a guest post. The opinions are those of the author.

Making ends meet when you are at home looking after your kids can be tough. But there are some ways to increase your earning potential that you can fit in alongside your mothering duties. Just read on to find out what they are.
Ebay

A very popular way of earning some additional income that can fit nicely alongside looking after the kids is selling things on eBay. Although most folks confine themselves to selling used and preloved items from their own collections to make a little extra cash.

However, this is not the only route to generating a side income. Another way to do this is to buy items in thrift stores. Obviously, check first that they are in good condition, sellable, and post-able and then resell them on eBay for a profit.

The thrift store makes a sale, you get a bargain, and you also have a fun trip for you and the kids to do in the day. You can even teach them how to do it, and maybe they will get the vintage shopping bug?

Of course, you don’t have to sell second-hand items on eBay. In fact, there are many people making a good living selling brand new items. But first, you have to decide what it is you are going to sell.

You can do this by looking at social media to see what is trending at the moment. Or perhaps it might be better to sell things that you already have some knowledge about? Like craft materials for a particular hobby you enjoy.

Then you need to source your products. Remember that buying wholesale works out cheaper by the unit so your profit margin will be larger. But you will need to work out how many you have to sell to make your money back and assess whether this is a viable option.

Surveys

If all of that sounds like a lot of work to juggle, with you already full plate, then maybe doing online surveys is a better choice to consider?

It works like this, the companies that have surveys on offer are doing market research for other companies. They need your honest opinions on things to give feedback to these companies on how well their product is being received and the like.

Therefore the companies pay the survey company to create and manage questions and get people to answer them. Which means that the survey company then passes some of their money on to you, in exchange for doing the survey.  It’s easy really!

But how does it work out in practice? Well, you can do most of the surveys on your smart device, which makes it super simple to earn some extra cash when you have a little time to kill. Like when you are waiting for your little one after a playdate, or when you are in front of the TV in the evening.

Before you commit to this though, you should be aware there are a lot of different companies out there such as Swagbucks. Also, not all companies pay cash, some pay in things like Amazon vouchers, so it’s best to be clear on this before you sign up.

Freelance sites

Another great way to earn some cash while not taking away from your other priorities like parenting is to register and apply for work through some the freelance sites like Fiverr. These sites are designed to allow you to pick and chose small freelance jobs according to your skill set and time level.

OK, so it might be hard to eke a full time living out of site like this, although some folks do claim to do it. But for topping up that bank account when the thing gets a bit low, it’s perfect.

Of course, you do have to have a marketable skill, before you can set yourself up as a freelance provider. Things like graphic design, illustration, copywriting, and coding is especially in demand.

Website testing

Lastly, a less well-known way of getting some cash earned when you have the kids to look after is to sign up to do some website testing.

This is where you agree to be recorded via audio, or video, as well as with the actions you take on the site. It’s purpose it to see how people actually use certain companies websites in real life and whether they can be improved to be more user-friendly.

You are also often asked to narrate what you are doing and how you feel about it for these tests, so it helps if you aren’t shy about giving your opinions.

Couponing used to be the preserve of the elderly. It used to be something that our grandparents did. It used to be something that the younger generation would swerve sharply away from because, although it would certainly save them money, it was also very uncool. But things have changed. And now thousands of young people are choosing couponing – couponing is ‘in’.

Here are some helpful hints to get the most out of your couponing.

t’s all very well searching for great coupons and collecting them but check the expiration dates. No matter if you find the coupons online and print them out or if you clip them out of a newspaper, those expiration dates can cause havoc at the checkout. No matter how much you beg, the supermarket isn’t going to accept anything that has expired, so don’t even try. Save the coupons in date order and you should be able to use them all and not waste any of them.

Coupon Websites

Coupon websites such as the brilliant FreeCharge have a load of different coupons on their pages just waiting to be downloaded. Sign up to as many as possible and you could even get emails about the best deals. After a while you will be able to tailor your weekly shop to whatever coupons you’ve collected. Not only will this save you plenty of cash, but it could also expand your culinary experiences and get you to try things you’ve never eaten before.

Check The Junk Mail

Let’s face it, most of the time junk mail comes through the door we pop it straight into the bin. We might not even look at it. But that could be a big mistake. Instead of dumping the leaflets or booklets why not take a quick peek at them? There could be some interesting coupons lurking within those pages, and you might want to add them to your collection.

Stock Up

Even if you find a coupon for something you don’t necessarily want or need, you could still want to use them. You could stock up on useful items by buying them with the coupons and storing them at home. So what if you end up buying 40 toilet rolls? You’ll use them eventually, and if the deal is good enough it’s definitely worth it!

It’s Not Just Food

Saving money on essentials such as food and toiletries is fantastic. It’s great. It’s definitely worth doing. But the great thing about coupons in the 21st century is that it isn’t just about food. There are coupons available for pretty much everything. Want to go bungee jumping? You’ll find a coupon. Want to reduce your electricity bill? Coupon. Need to get away from it all in a gorgeous spa hotel? You’ve guessed it; there could well be a coupon for exactly that.

Couponing is definitely cool. It saves you money, gets you to try new things, and it means you’re always prepared thanks to kitchen cupboards that are bursting at the seams. What’s not to love about that?