Having been a stay at home mom for over a decade (yeah, a decade…how is that even possible?) I have managed to find a ton of different ways to earn money. It’s not always easy working around a spouses schedule to try to work a part time job. I have worked early mornings, evenings and even created my own work from home jobs. However, there are a ton of ways to get money as a stay at home mom without getting a job at all! If you are hoping to have more money in your life without working more, I have got 26 ways for you to do exactly that!

*This post contains affiliate links. Although I may make a commission, all recommendations are my own.

Download shopping apps

The day I discovered shopping apps was the day my life changed forever. I had tried my hand at couponing and never really got it to work for me. When I first heard about the Ibotta rebate app I was thrilled with how easy it was to use! Here are some of my favorite rebate apps to help you get money back on your purchases. PLUS, you can get paid just by signing up!

• BeFrugal – BeFrugal is an online resources for the best coupons around. Get a $10 credit here!
• Dosh – Dosh is an app that links up to your credit cards (or qualifying debit cards) and gives you money back on purchases you make. It works like other cash back apps by refunding you money on qualifying purchases only you don’t have to keep track of anything! Get $5 for signing up!
• Drop – Drop is an app that links to your cards and gives you cash back on some of the places you spend the most. My personal choices are: Target, Trader Joe’s, Chipotle, Whole Foods and Starbucks. Link a card and get $3!
• Ebates – Ebates is another app that has tons of awesome discounts at restaurants, stores, online shopping and even on vacations! Get $10 for signing up!
• Honey – Honey is a great app that you can use right on your internet browser to help find the best discounts on the internet! Just download Honey and when you’re online shopping, you will get notified of any potential savings!
• Ibotta – With Ibotta you get paid for the things you already plan on buying in stores and online! Just select your purchases and snap a picture of your receipt when you’re done. Ibotta will instantly refund you your money! Get $10 right now.

Tell your friends about your apps

Just like you can get paid for signing up for these rebate apps, you can also get paid when you recommend them to a friend! Make sure whenever you sign up for one of these apps and use them to get money back you share with your friends.

You can share through:

• Text
• Email
• Social media

Whenever you sign up, you will get your own unique tracking code to copy and paste. Share it in emails, texts, Facebook or Instagram and when people sign up, you’ll get credited after they make their first qualifying purchase! Talk about a simple way to make some extra cash!

Save on bills

A great way to have more money in your life is to reduce the cost of living in order to just keep more of your money rather than finding ways to make more. Trim is a super helpful program that does all of this work for you.

When you download Trim, the app will review your spending and check out your recurring payments in order to help find you different areas where you could be saving more money. As soon as I downloaded Trim, within 20 minutes it had founded me a cheaper deal on my internet bill!

Another great way to save on the cost of your utilities bills is to sign up for OhmConnect. They will fill you in on the best times to save on power and in some places they will even pay you to participate in their program! See if you qualify.

Reduce your grocery bill

It can be hard doing your grocery shopping with kids. I know I would get crazy distracted and more often than not would just start shoving things in my cart because my sleep deprived brain could barely function. As tough as it might be for some, reducing your grocery bill is totally possible and you can still feed your family healthy meals! We spend an average of $100 per week for our family of 5.

If you’re not great at planning meals and have no idea what to shop for, try out the $5 Meal Plan. It was created by a busy mother of 4 to help other moms stay on budget and still be healthy! Check it out!

Another great way to eat on diet and/or organic is to go through Brandless.com. We have absolutely loved using Brandless to get some of our favorite things like coconut oil, half-popped popcorn seeds, vitamins, face scrub and more. See my Brandless box opening.

Everything at Brandless is $3 and when you spend $39 you get totally free shipping! Get $6 off by clicking here.

Share Brandless with your friends

Just like rebate apps, you can save money by recommending Brandless to your friends.

If you have other stay at home mom friends they will definitely appreciate the convenience of having healthy, affordable food delivered right to their doors. The best part is, when you recommend Brandless to your friends, they get a discount and so do you! Sharing your link on Facebook or with friends through a text message is a great way to reduce the cost of your next Brandless purchase and you get to spread the word about an awesome company.

Get $6 off your Brandless purchase here!

Create a budget

I don’t know about you but I grew up believing if you lived on a budget, it meant you were poor. In fact, the exact opposite has proven to be true for me and my family.

The day my husband and I sat down to create a budget together was a day that changed our financial situation forever.

To get an idea of all things we budget for including vacation, groceries, and debt payoff, check out my Fun Sized Budget Bundle!

Having a budget means you get to tell your money where you want it to go rather then just spending carelessly without a plan in place. One things we always make sure to budget for is fun money!

Pay with cash

If you are one of the millions of families who rely on your credit or debit card to make purchases, I would encourage you to try paying with cash instead!

Using the envelope system, set aside money for each of your purchases throughout the month. Then when you go to make a purchase like gas or groceries only take the money that you have set aside. This is a great way to avoid over-spending.

There have been studies that show people who use cash are more likely to spend less and it really makes sense if you think about it. When you’re using cash, you are physically seeing how much money you are spending. With plastic cards, it’s very easy to get carried away.

Using cash instead of your card is a great tip to saving extra money by avoiding over-spending.

Invest your spare change

When you do make purchases with your card (we always pay for our gas with our debit card) you can also sync your card up with the Acorns app.

The Acorns app works by rounding up your purchases and investing your spare change for you. You can invest extra money each month through recurring investments or make large contributions whenever you choose. Being a stay at home mom, it can be scary not having your own 401K or savings plan and Acorns provides a simple and effective way to get you started.

Investing can be a scary thing for people if they have never tried it before and I totally felt this way when I first heard about Acorns. I did months of research before I finally decided to give it a try and now I am so thankful that I did. Read my post all about how my $50 will eventually turn into $150,000.

If you are ready to give Acorns a try, click here to get $5 to start investing!

Be a dog sitter

I started dog sitting this year and it has been the best and easiest gig of my whole life. If you are a stay at home mom and you already have dogs at home like we do, try dog sitting with Rover to make some extra cash.

You choose what size dogs you’ll take, the sex and the times you are available. If you want, you can also agree to dog walking or in-home visits. Personally, I have chosen to do mostly dog sitting services because you make the most money and it doesn’t really change my daily routine at all. Sign up here.

Open a savings account

Every family should have a solid savings account set up. For those that do have savings accounts, most are not making much of a profit on them. The majority of savings accounts are only giving you a .01% return on investment. With CIT Ban you could be getting a 1.55% return with a High Yield Savings Account or a 1.85% return with a Money Market Account.

What this ultimately means is that you will actually make money on your savings. It’s super easy to get started online and you can set up monthly transfers so you don’t even have to worry about remembering to put money into your account.

• Sign up for a 1.55% return with a high yield account
• Sign up for a 1.85% return with a money market account

Don’t let your money go to waste! Opening up a better savings account is a safe and secure way to ensure that you are literally making money while you sleep!

Learn more about the difference between savings accounts.

Rent out a spare room

Not everyone has a spare room to…spare…but if you do and you are needing some extra cash, hosting your room out through AirBNB would be a great option!

If you’re not sure how much money you could be making, checkout AirBNB’s calculator to see your potential monthly earnings in your area. In our little corner of the world (not in any “hot spot” areas) we could earn around $600 a month for renting out a room to only 2 people!

Sell your stuff

Chances are you have got some extra stuff lying around that isn’t getting used to its full potential. If that’s the case, why not try selling some of it? My family was able to pay off $1,200 of debt in one week and most of it was from selling some of our unused stuff on Facebook Marketplace.

Another great source for making money (and keeping things simple for stay at home moms) is to sell through Decluttr. If you have unused games, DVDs, books or CDs Decluttr will quickly give you an estimate for how much money you could make. You package up all of your stuff and send it free of charge to Decluttr. Once they receive and inspect your items, you will get a payment in the mail or through direct deposit. Check out Decluttr.

Take surveys

Trust me, I know those times as a stay at home mom when you can actually sit down without being interrupted are few and far between. What you might not know is that during these times, you can earn yourself some extra cash or even a Starbucks gift card.

Survey sites aren’t the most fun thing in the world but for the most part, all they are asking from you is your opinion. So instead of scrolling Facebook or Instagram, take 10 minutes to answer a few surveys. Here are some of my favorites ones:

• iSay – iSay is a survey company that gives you rewards just for voicing your opinion! Take surveys, collect points and redeem for gift cards or shop at the iSay market. Get signed up!
  • iSay Canada
• Springboard America – Springboard America is a survey company that is interested in the learning more about the values, attitudes and taste of Americans. Get paid for your opinion!
• MaruVoice – For those Canadians hoping to make some extra cash by voicing their opinions, sign up for MaruVoice.
• Opinion Outpost – Opinion Outpost is a a survey site that pays you for your opinion! Get started now!

Scan your purchases

Even better than rebate apps is National Consumer Panel. Unlike rebate apps, you don’t have to worry about anything before you go to the store. When you sign up for National Consumer Panel all you have to do is scan items you’ve already purchased.

Like survey sites, you can earn cash back or gift card rewards just for sharing your purchases!

Collect old toilet paper rolls

Did you know you can sell ordinary items like toilet paper rolls on Amazon? Teachers often need them in bulk for craft projects and they’ll often turn to Amazon to help them out.

Here is a 12 pack for $9.

While you’re not making a ton of cash, there really isn’t a whole lot to this! Because I homeschool, we hang onto all of our toilet paper rolls! So, even if you don’t feel like selling them on Amazon, save yourself the expense of purchasing crafts and instead craft with your old toilet paper rolls.

Start a blog

Full disclosure: making money from a blog is a lot of work! But, if you have a passion for writing and/or photography it’s a passion definitely worth exploring.

Having a blog can not only give you the freedom to do something for yourself that allows you to use your creativity, but if you stick with it, you have the potential to earn a pretty great chunk of cash each month. I personally usually make around a few thousand dollars each month and have been blogging for a year and a half.

If you want to learn more, take advantage of my 5 free lectures to help you get started blogging.

Create a course

Just like I created my Fun Sized Blogging Basics course, you can also use a great program called Teachable. They allow people of all different backgrounds and skill types to create their own courses to share with the world.

Sure, you have to put a lot of work and time into creating a course, but the best part is, once you’re done, you’re done! You do the work once and you can get paid for it over and over again. You might not think you have anything to teach the world, but there are a wide variety of topics that are being taught on Teachable.

Teachable courses:

• Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing
• Photo Editing 1: Lightroom Edition
• Make Fabulous Cakes
• The Foundations of Card Magic
• How to Write a Novel

As you can see, there is no limit to the types of information that can go into a Teachable course! Whatever you skill or talent, share it with the world and make money from it!

Check for lost money

I about died when I realized I still h ad a $143 paycheck that I hadn’t cashed from years earlier. It all happened when I lost over $100 in cash out of my pocket. Feeling super sad I typed into Google, “How to find lost money” and what do ya know, they had an answer! Golookup is a quick and easy source to help you find money that just hasn’t made it to you yet!

While I haven’t found any more money yet, it doesn’t stop me from occasionally entering my name!

Sell your photos

Chances are you are taking photos of your kiddos all day. It’s what stay at home moms to best, am I right? Well, if you have a high quality camera and you think your photos might be internet worthy, why not give it a try?

Smugmug is a great online resource that helps you create your own portfolio and start making money from your photos online! If you’re already taking the photos, and you know your kids are totally model worthy, why not make some money from it?

Shop second hand

Shopping second hand is one of the best ways to save big time when it comes to your wardrobe. Places like Swap.com have a ton of high quality, name brand items that you can get for super cheap! Shopping second hand is also a great way to prevent your old clothes from ending up in a landfill someday. While I am not perfect at it, I try to take steps to make as many environmentally friendly decisions as possible.

I’m also a big fan of downsizing your wardrobe all together! Being a minimalist, I have really started to learn what my style is which means I’m not wasting as much money on items I don’t even want! Check out some of the best ways to create a minimalist wardrobe.

Donate plasma

If you are not squeamish when it comes to needles, you might consider donating plasma for some extra cash. In most places, you can earn up to $400 per month by doing this. Heck, if I knew I wouldn’t pass out right then and there, I would totally jump on this!

Save on gas

Being a stay at home mom, you may not be using that much gas to begin with but chances are you are running errands quite frequently too. Thankfully, the world is starting to help you out in this department.

Check out my post all about how to stop running errands and get time back in your day!

Refinance your credit

Take a peak at any major loan or credit debt  that you currently have. What are the interest rates? If they are huge (25% is average) and dragging you down, try taking out a loan to refinance!

We had a major credit card debt (it was $12,000 OK!?!) and no matter how many payments we made it seemed like it never made a dent! That’s why we refinanced to a lower interest rate over 3 years ago. The Loan Exchange makes it super easy to apply online and get an interest rate starting around 16%!

This can also be a great idea if you have multiple debts that you are trying to pay off! Instead you can might be able to pay them all off at once and have only one monthly payment! Once you’ve done that, I highly recommend you begin using the Debt Snowball method to get yourself out of debt for good!

Do yourself a favor and quit wasting money on huge interest payments. Apply online today.

Pay off debt

Ok, so I kind of gave this one away already. My bad. This one really should be at the top of the list because when you are in debt you are losing money every. single. day.

When you have one parent staying at home, there really is no better time to start following the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps and start getting your finances in order. After building a $1,000 emergency fund, the next step is to start paying off debt!

It can be tough sticking to a budget, but I promise it works. As soon as we started using the Debt Snowball method to get out of debt we were able to pay off over $6,000 in 6 months and over-all we have paid off over $90,000 of debt!

We are still finishing off our final debt ( we have about $1,500 left) and when we are done we will have literally THOUSANDS of extras dollars each month. I’m telling you, if you are a stay at home mom, sticking to a budget and paying off debt is one of the best ways to create a financially secure household.

Workout at home

If you are a big gym goer, you could save big time bucks by deciding to workout at home. Here are some of my best posts on how to get started:

• 5 Best YouTube Channels for at Home Workouts
• Train at Home or at the Gym Without the High Cost of a Personal Trainer
• Start a Home Gym for Less than the Cost of a 1 Month Gym Membership
• The Gym Free Way to Flatten Your Mommy Pooch

Live smaller

Here is my favorite money saver of all. When our family of 5 downsized our hou over 3 years ago, we reduced our cost of living by about $9,000 per year! That’s huge.

Often times people are so excited to get into their dream home that they over-do it and get in over their heads with a mortgage payment they can barely afford. Don’t let this be you.

If you want to be a stay at home mom, trust me, doing it in a smaller house is easier in so many ways. Not only will you save financially, but there will be so much less space to clean up at the end of the day!

No matter what, just try to soak up each moment of life. You will survive this and hopefully you took away some ideas on how to lighten the financial burden a little bit!

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