How to earn money to supplement my job as I just cant make ends meet

[youbethemummylion]

I am trying desperately to keep our heads above water however the necessary outgoings (I have already cancelled Sky etc) are coming to more than what we are bringing in.

I work part time and due to the cost of childcare I cant increase my hours. I also cant work out of the home on an evening as my DH has a job with very unreliable finish times so I cant guarantee he will be back from work to look after the children.

I've always thought when you look on sites like 'Not on the High Street' etc that some of the things look like you could make them at home however when I have actually looked at it in more details I don't think it would work. Cost of materials etc and also I have to admit I'm not that skilled in the artistic department.

I have tried time and time again to get work from home data entry type roles and I either don't get accepted or I do then no work ever comes out of it.

I looked at dog walking/sitting but the market around here is saturated with people doing this plus I work so cant actually walk the dogs in the middle of the day (when post people want them walking) and I couldn't leave a dog I was dog sitting whilst I went to work.

What else can I do? I thought of getting a glass collecting job (which is what I did at Uni) but no one is advertising for these and the clubs I have emailed say they don't have glass collectors just bar staff and would want me to start early evening which I can't.

Can you start work any earlier? Looks like that is your best option for time to fit with DH's hours.

Any way DH can commit to getting home on time, and working from home after kids are asleep? Or does that not work with his job? Its something I do when DH is travelling rather than stay late.

Any way you or DH could get a new job and earn more?

and

Thanks for the cake and wine addicted Neither of us can do our work from home and I do start a lot earlier when overtime is on but they cant extend my hours permanently. I'm actually getting paid more for my work than other places are offering.

May just need to downsize house wise as its the mortgage which I killing us.

Have you looked at going interest only on the mortgage for a while? It would just delay the inevitable, I fear, but may give you some breathing space?

Could you take in a lodger? Or language students in the holidays?

Interest only may help but as you said it is a bit of a delaying tactic. I'll look into it though.

Re mortgage and add credit card bill to it.
Babysitting / nannying taking kids with you. If work in person home you don't need to registered there are loads of people that need after school care.

Cleaning job with hours you can do when it suits you.

Agency care work for both of you again there are load s of different hours out there so you could work a few nights one to one.

I know someone who taught English online, mainly to Asian students. I don't think the money was fantastic, but at least she could do it in the comfort of her own home around her studies.

You may have tried this out but have you tried buying stuff from car boots/charity shops and reselling on ebay?

Have you considered extending the term on your mortgage? It'll mean your monthly payments go down. It will also mean the amount you end up paying back goes up. Obviously this isn't ideal but it might give you some space. We extended our mortgage so we could afford to move but we make over payments when we can and are both aware that when childcare isn't such an issue my earnings will go on the mortgage which will reduce the term again.

Babysitting? Maybe just on weekend nights if your OH is around. We are in the SE and pay our babysitters £9 an hour, a night out is £50 easy. Good, reliable and children adoring babysitters are like hen's teeth around here and always busy. I have a pool of three that I use in case one is busy (which is often the case) but I never share their details! Get yourself CRB checked and let everyone know you are available.

Good luck.

If you're only thinking after school childminding you do not need to be registered if it's less than 2 hours a day or the child is over 8 so that might be an option without going through all the red tape & expense of registering with Ofsted (although parents can't then use childcare vouchers if you're not registered)