AIBU to think I can earn regular money somehow

[Sodizzymyheadisspinning]

Right now I'm an Ofsted registered childminder, but have given notice to all my families and I finish work next week. My youngest dc has severe autism and just can't cope with children in the house anymore. That's why I made the decision to stop. He needs 1-1 care.
He will be going to nursery for a few hours a day soon, so I will have about four uninterrupted hours per day where I can work. When dh comes home in the evenings, I could also work then too (although not too late as my dc doesn't really sleep and I'm awake a lot during the night with him. Dh too).

I still want to work though. We can survive on just dh's pay, but only just. If something goes wrong and we need to pay for something unexpected, we'd be screwed.

Any ideas what I can do? Before childminding I had done various admin, PA, junior management type roles. I've also done the odd bit of freelance writing for a local paper.

I should be able to make some money on a self employed basis, right?

Will gratefully accept any advice or ideas as well

Could you retrain? Something like a book keeping course (I say "like" because I don't know exactly what qualifications are needed). But then you can work from home and to whatever schedule you like/need. And you sound organised, looking for mental stimulation and good at maths. I don't know but I guess it might pay more than some other things (although cleaning and childcare can be good earners) and then you'd be able to afford a day off to have "me time" too.

I did something similar (but abroad) and I'm also decent at maths but don't love it. I enjoyed the stimulation and the routine/predictability of the actual work (i.e. no ethical dilemmas to ponder about) was very helpful when other areas of life were overwhelming.

Thanks ceefax. Both my dc have ASD but the youngest is much more "severe" than the eldest. Hence the need to work for myself, around him.

mystery I'll look into it and see if there are book keeping courses I can do.

I was going to suggest bookkeeping too! I have also had to think about how to earn around caring but my brain is fried so while like the idea of bookkeeping, I am not good enough at the maths!

It should also provide some fairly regular clients and you could pretty much set your own hours with occasional cleint visits. You might also be able to get work/ recommendations from local accountants once they get to know you. I think it would be quite uneventful too - unlike dog walking which for me has the potential for loose dogs, losing keys and owner stress! All fine perhaps if you aren't already managing challenging situations.

Re qualifications; professional quals are preferred to college/ uni for accounting so the same might apply to bookkeeping but i'm sure someone could advise better :)

Run your figures through this calculator, using DLA for DS.

You might find you don't need to try and find anything if you get tax credits, etc.

www.turn2us.org.uk/Find-Benefits-Grants

I would also recommend bookkeeping. You can be really flexible with when you complete most tasks and there is usually a fairly consistent volume for each client.
You can do an accredited foundation course online for a couple of hundred pounds and then charge £18-25/hr.
There are quite a few things you need to consider when setting up any business so research is important but bookkeeping is fairly easy to get into and most business owners hate doing the books!
I understand what you mean about doing something completely different in the time you will have available.
Have a look at www.aat.org.uk/find-a-course/aat-bookkeeping-and-computerised-accounting-courses/foundation-certificate-in-bookkeeping

If you claim carers allowance you can still earn ontop- around 110 per week I think or more if you pay into a pension. Realisticly within those hours plus all the meetings and appointments that's all your likely to earn to start with anyways so it's worth doing. Your TC allowance will also go up once you receive dla but if you earn ontop of CA then you don't get the extra tc iyswim. I enjoy working so I do without the TC but claim carers allowance.it means your ni is paid even if you don't earn enough (iirc).

Can you advertise as a mothers help or cleaner

Some elderly just need a hand with shoppping or appointments a bit of cleaning (usually things they can't manage change beds windows fetch prescriptions

You can offer more than the medical staff who run in and out in 15 mins

If you like photography, consider snapping and selling it to stock photo sites. It does not have to be fine art - everyday situations, landscapes and items are good.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Lots to look into!

Match betting if you can deal with the maths. A very easy £2000 tax free I earnt working 4 hours a day but I was meticulous and I am extremely ris known averse. If you like a flutter it's not for you. You can lose hundreds if not thousands in minutes. If I worked full time I could have doubled my earnings. I stopped once my credit card was paid off as got a full time job. Which pays out more than what I could have earnt doing match betting full time time. It's great for a stop gap but to be a long time earner you have to be business savvy (and I have a level maths and a hard science numerate degree and even for me, I could see it wasn't viable long term)