Christmas is looking gloomy this year

[Mumof3andamanchild]

I Need help is anyone making money from
home struggling this year no idea how I’m gonna afford to get anything for my children for Christmas any reasonable suggestions I’ve got things on vinted for sale but nothing is really selling. I’m currently a stay at home mum my oh doesn’t want our son to go to nursery until he’s 3 I’ve been trying to find employment I can do from home but nothing is coming up my car needs fixing the kids need bigger clothes no idea what I can do 😩🙏 thank you in advance

If your DP does not want you to work, he needs to support you.

Theres a group on Facebook called The Work from Home Hub and they post remote positions, a lot are part time, maybe worth a look.

Charity shops are great for finding bargains, Ebay too, Amazon too. You could also check out if you have a baby bank in your local area, see if they could support you with essentials are look out for any upcoming mums markets

Sorry about your father, but could you support him and become his carer? You would be able to claim carers allowance?

Also, if your car needs fixing, there is a company called payment assist and they will pay for the repairs and you can pay it back over the year if you are struggling to find the cash all in one go.

Sorry here's the link;

www.mumandworking.co.uk

Good luck op 🙂

I wonder if your OH has a regular two days off a week (well two nights off presumably) then he must have a fair bit of time off in a row? Say he finished Friday morning then he’s off Friday night and Saturday night and then back at work Sunday evening, that’s three days during which you could try to pick up a few hours work. Sounds like it wouldn’t need to be a lot to make a big difference. For example hotels/event places often need waiting staff for events at the weekends, my relative does lots of things like passing around drinks at weddings which is quite nice work and only at the weekends. Schools or care homes might want someone to do one or two lunch or dinner shifts a week. Do you have any craft skills? I’m thinking you could theoretically make stuff in the eve when your partner is at work and sell coming up to Christmas.

No i haven’t even heard of that I’ve been looking on indeed and glass door , jobs bear and local facebook job sites
yes I have got them all a couple bits off vinted my older two don’t mind second hand I use to volunteer before I got into work and bring them back clothes and things they loved it I kind of wished that was a paying job at the time now thank you I will look on there

Thank you so much

I have a friend who makes cakes at home and she makes a good bit of money of them. She does communion cakes, christening cakes, Christmas cupcakes/halloween/st paddy's day/valentines day etc etc. Shes always busy with it x

If the father of your (youngest) children won't support you to work, he needs to provide more ££ to cover that choice.

You are in a very vulnerable position, especially as you are not married, this issue is much more than Christmas.

There are a lot of seasonal retail roles advertised currently, could you take on anything like that?

The old classic 'take in ironing' might also be a good option if you don't want to be out of the house.

Take a look at the long running 'make £10 a day' thread in Money Matters on here - some good ideas on there.

It won’t earn you a lot but I use an app called freecash. If you play games and level up it gives you credits that you can swap for an Amazon voucher. I used to earn about £10 a week on it. Might help get a few little bits?

Thank you I’m on testerup but it doesn’t seem to be doing a lot but I’ll give the one you mentioned a go

Thank you I’m getting some good ideas now thank you so much

The link is blank but I’ll Google it thank you 🙏

I know this seems a bit odd and I don’t know her situation but would your 20 year old maybe babysit an evening or two a week between now and Christmas, in return for a hot meal and say £20 - you could try to get some pub work in the evenings and if you did 6-finish that’d be a £30 profit each time. Obviously better if she’d do it for free in return for snacks!

Just be wary of MLMs when looking for work from home roles, they prey on vulnerable Mums wanting to make a bit of extra money.

www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/blog/scams-and-fraud/is-a-multi-level-marketing-scheme-mlm-a-good-way-to-make-money

Can you get a cleaning job on your partners day off? You could offer your services on Facebook. What about cleaning in a school or office after school time? Or a shift in a pub or restaurant on a Friday/Saturday night? You might also get tips? Babysitting? Could you do posting of leaflets for a local business then you can take your LO with you?
Vinted - do you have any higher value items you can sell?
What about baby toys or things your youngest has grown out of? Could you pop them on Facebook?
I appreciate you don’t have the funds now but if you do get a job then try and save for Xmas next year, if it’s £5 a week that’s £250.
In terms of nursery - if you got a job would you qualify for any free hours? It sounds like you don’t have much choice OP x

Excellent idea!

Yes this is what I worry about if you Google work from home jobs you get a lot come up but I just don’t know what’s legit

Sign up for every Freecycle and similar scheme within reachable distance of you. Especially any in nearby wealthy areas. Put up a wanted wishlist of things that could be good presents for your DC and check every single day for offered items that are being given away that might work too.

Typical Freecycle items that appear often are: bikes, skateboards, scooters, dressing up clothes, bulky items like toy garages and dolls houses, unused craft sets and art materials, and musical instruments. You might need to wash dressing up clothes or clean a bike or scooter thoroughly but you could end up with some lovely toys.

Then go to Poundland or supermarket for sweets and small items for their stockings.

OP, I must be honest, I find that £10 a day thread very depressing. It started years ago when £10 a day was worth something. But these days it's increasingly hard to make that amount from things like online questionnaires. You could end up wasting hours for almost no return. Way better to get a job in a pub or cash in hand cleaning or similar a couple of nights a week, with guaranteed income, and as PP said, ask your daughter or a local trustworthy teen to babysit for a small fee.

I haven’t thought about after school cleaning I guess I don’t think of the evenings cause I’m normally cooking and cleaning in my own house as soon as I’ve picked up my middle boy from school little one is a handful and i thought if I got an at home job maybe I could do that once he’s gone to bed it’s just finding something legit I’ve mentioned it to the job centre but they don’t seem very helpful at the moment . To be fair I always use to do Christmas throughout the year in the sales ,eBay ect . I think I do need to have a good clear out so I might have some other bits to sell .
i do have some jewellery I was thinking of taking to the jewellers and find out if it’s worth anything so I can put that up for sale . I really don’t know how it works with nursery now I know it use to be 16hrs free when they turned 3 but I dont know if that’s changed

I think that’s your starting point - find out what you’d currently be entitled to. I can appreciate you not wanting to send him in to nursery but if you need the money and it’s just a few hours a week it might do you all good.
Other things I thought of! Avon and also holiday property cleaning/air bnb. You could look for local air bnbs and contact the owners? Good luck OP x

Oh that’s a good idea I have got little stocking fillers off shein but I will go and have a look in Poundland might be able to get some chunky cars from the little one I have got an art pencil set in a wooden box that I found on vinted under £10 and plain paper pad for my middle boy he loves drawing and is pretty good at it even if I do say so myself thank you

Charity shops and car boots are your friends. Always loads of stuff.

Also, remember, kids really, really don't need as much stuff as they have. I had very magical christmas, and I used to get about five things in my stocking.And then two presents.
The magic bits were baking mince pies, making decorations out of old magazines, walking around the neighbourhood and looking at the lights after dark, going for a cold walk and having hot chocolate at home watching am Xmas film, singing Christmas songs, opening our advent calendar (the picture ones!). Kids get overwhelmed if they get too much stuff and my now teenagers have never, ever complained about having secondhand things. Saves the planet too!

Did you work before having your 1 year old?

We’re not married and I don’t want to be married . I didn’t come here for relationship advice I was looking for ways to make a little extra money or ideas on gifts to see what other stay at home mums are doing thanks though

Yes I did work before having my 1 year old