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I get asked all the time how I got the jobs I have and how I’m able to stay home with our son all day while also earning an income. Basically people want to know how to become a WAHM. Some people are just stumped that my husband and I are able to live on his teacher’s salary (in South Dakota – the lowest paying state in the nation for teachers), while others get visibly upset and jealous. It’s almost like they’re thinking, “If they can do it, why can’t I do it?!”
Everyone’s situation is different, but today I want to share how I was able to become a work at home mom. Please read on if this is something that interests you.
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We need to go back a bit… In the fall of 2011, I started a teaching blog and selling resources on Teachers Pay Teachers. I thought it would be a fun way to share my teaching ideas and possibly make a little extra money on the side. Slowly I started adding games, printables, and more to my online store.
Each year my store and blog grew. I wasn’t making a lot of extra money, but there were many times where I had an extra $200 or more a month. I used that money to make extra payments on my student loans and then my car. By February 2014, I was completely debt free. Thankfully – Andrew, my husband, had also done enough drivers’ education classes in the summer to also be debt free.
Also during this time, I started teaching some online college courses for teacher renewal credits. While the classes have had small numbers, this is a way to keep my resume up-to-date. (I’m finding that many people simply don’t understand being a self-employed online entrepreneur. This company makes it look like I have a “real job” because there are actually references to check.) There are many great positions that allow you to teach college classes full-time, so I have enjoyed using this as a resume booster and to keep my options open for the future.
When Andrew proposed in 2014 I started this blog to showcase some of the wedding decorations I was creating. Since then this has turned into a lifestyle blog where I share all things parenting, money saving, and so much more! {Thank you for being here!}
Andrew and I got married in May 2015. That summer we found out we were expecting our first child. During the 2015-2016 school year we mostly lived off of Andrew’s salary while putting mine away into a savings account. I had wanted to stay home, and Andrew fully supported that idea as long as we could do it financially.
We knew we were going to need private health insurance. Unfortunately the school’s family health policy was horrible. If Andrew wanted our little family of three on that policy his take home pay would have been just $800/month. When you consider rent being $500 a month, $300 was NOT enough to cover all of our other expenses.
We were able to shop around a bit and find an out of pocket policy that covered the lil man and myself for roughly $550 a month. It became my goal to make that much money, even though Andrew’s take-home pay from the school could have covered the health insurance.
Truth be told, his pay was enough to cover all of our bills – including investing $450 each month. But we knew we wanted some wiggle room to donate to the church, eat out on occasion, and not be stressed.
Honestly? I was stressed about giving up my teaching retirement plan. I wanted to also be able to invest $450 each month to max out my IRA. So as soon as I started making $500 per month to cover our health insurance (which was within the first three months), I upped my goal to $1,000 each month. So far I’ve been doing that for the last six months! :)
Fast forward to the summer of 2015, a friend approached me about becoming a virtual assistant for her blog. What?! Someone wants to pay me to pin on Pinterest for her? Ok!
So I became a VA. I currently work for two different bloggers on a regular basis, but I also accept other clients as it works into my schedule.
I’ve done everything from editing and proofreading blog posts, products, and ebooks to updating SEO and creating graphics for blog posts. I also pin to Pinterest, schedule posts to go out on Facebook, do research for new topics, and other random things that may be asked of me.
If it’s something I feel I can do, I give people my honest opinion on how long it will take me. If it’s not something I’m comfortable with, I politely decline.
You can read more about my VA business here. Many virtual assistants charge in 15 minute increments, but I literally charge by the minute or by packages. This way I can go take care of my little man if he wakes up from a nap or needs me in any way. If you are interested in starting your own virtual assistant business, I highly recommend checking out this book.
Back in the fall of 2014 I started using essential oils. I realized they had many great uses, but it wasn’t until I was pregnant that I seriously began to look at all the great health benefits. This past fall I decided to start helping other people rid chemicals and toxins from their homes by educating them about essential oils. This has helped provide another little extra revenue stream for our family. {You can learn more about that journey here.}
Whew! I know that story was a little all over the place. Thanks for holding on with me! Between the two blogs, my online teaching store, teaching college classes, essential oils, and my virtual assistant work – I have consistently been bringing in roughly $1,000 per month for the last six months. Yes, that’s six different plates to juggle in addition to my every day jobs around the house, caring for our son, and being a wife. Sometimes it can be a lot, but being here to see my little man take his first steps and being home with him all days makes every extra minute of it worthwhile!
I know I haven’t shared exact income reports here, but do know that it is possible to become a WAHM. I hope this my story on how to become a WAHM is helpful to others out there who want the same for their children, selves, and families. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have in the comments below.
awesome facts!!!