When can I work from home Exclusively?

There are hundreds of people trying to make a full time income from home, but we are all faced with the question, "When can I work at home exclusively?" If you are one of those people asking this question then you know you have a lot to consider before you can take that step. No matter if you are do freelance work, have a direct sales business, or have started another business from your home, you will have to consider the same things before quitting your full time job. There are things that you can do so that you know when you and your family are ready for you to work from home exclusively.

How much do I need to make before working from home exclusively?
Each person will need to earn a different amount of money each month to work at home exclusively, so you will need to determine how much you need. This amount is not necessarily what you are earning from your full time job, but what you need to make it work financially so that you can. There are three simple steps that will help you determine this amount.
First, make a budget for your home and business expenses. You want to combine both of them because you are trying to ensure your ability to pay both your business and home expenses.
Then, determine what your necessary expenses are for your home and business. We all have expenses in our homes that we do not necessarily have to have. If you are serious about wanting to work at home exclusively you will want to consider giving up some things. So decide on what expenses you have to pay.
Finally, calculate exactly what you need to make so that you can work from home exclusively. In some situations you can break this amount down into sales, projects, or daily earnings. That way you can keep track.

These steps will give you the amount you want to earn each month from home, but you can also find ways to offset your home and business expenses so that you can work at home exclusively.

How can I offset my expenses so that I can work from home exclusively?
There are a few things that you can do to offset your expenses in your home and your business. Offsetting your expenses is simply determining ways to save money or reduce your expenses, so that you do not have to earn as much when you first begin to work from home exclusively. I am going to give you a few things that can help you, but you can determine other ways as well.
Begin by looking around your house for things you no longer need. I believe that everyone has some things that they do not need, we just avoid getting rid of these items for one reason or another. Well, instead of allowing these items to sit around your home use them to help offset your expenses. You can have a yard sale or sell them online.
Now look into recycling in your area. There are places that will pay a good price for scrap metals, aluminum, cardboard, paper, and more. Different states have different recycling guidelines, so find out what you can sell in your area. At one time, in my former state of residence, I was making about $20 to $30 a month on recycling. That amount can make a huge difference for you when you are trying to work from home exclusively.
Expand your home earning potential. This does not necessarily mean trying to earn a full time income in another area, but try to discover more ways to earn money from your home. There are a lot of areas that you may want to consider if you do not already earn in these areas; freelance, direct sales, online surveys, eBay as a business, crafts, childcare, house or pet sitting, etc. You do not have to try and earn a large income in these areas; just earn enough to offset your expenses so that you can work from home exclusively.

How will I know when I can work from home exclusively?
After you have determined how much you will need to earn from home, and found ways to offset your expenses, you will be able to set a goal on when you will start working from home exclusively. The final decision will be up to you and the needs of your family. Each person will have a different goal, but knowing the goal will allow you to determine when you can work from home exclusively.


Helpful Articles:

 How to Make Extra Money for Maternity Leave
How to Make Home Business Goals

Direct Sales Tax Deductions

I have worked in a variety of areas that are direct sales or work from home. Tax deductions are very important to those that are able to claim their income and deductions. There are a variety of laws pertaining to direct sales tax deductions and there are a lot of deductions that people do not use.

I put together a lens on Squidoo that lists things that you can use as deductions for your direct sales business. I suggest you look over these items to see what you may be missing each year.

Direct Sales Tax Deductions on Squidoo by Nona Weeks(Nonar21)

If you have any others that you think should be added please let me know. I put a great deal of work into this list, but there is always a possibility of changes and additions.

Reducing Hours at Work?

For the last year I have had to work a lot of hours each week, with the minimal being around 45 the most 60. It has become normal to me, and I depend on the paycheck now. Well I found out today that the overtime will be eliminated for the store. This is devastating me so much. I am trying to buy a home, I have to take care of my son, and I have to pay bills. If my overtime was temporary, or short term, I would not depend on it so much. This will be a reduction of on average $50-$100 a week. Not such a small amount. I am having questionable thoughts about what I should do., and I am also losing some of my passion for my job.

I have been with this company, with the exception of my time off for an injury, for close to three years.  I am an assistant manager, but make very little hourly compared to what I have in the past. The place I work is like a family, and I love going to work. It is the corporate that is cutting back on everything. We have more than doubled our sales each month compared to where we were 12 to 24 months ago, and I do not feel as though they appreciate the people that bring the customers in and pay their incomes.

So what does my future hold? I have two more classes this fall to complete my associated degree in business management. Should I work a second job to make ends meet? I live in a rural area so finding something comparable may be difficult, or I may have to commute. Another option is to work even harder from home, or find a company that will allow me to do customer service or business management from home. Wow I am just at a loss at the moment. I need to find a way  to make up at lease $100 a week to be sure I can cover everything and provide for my son.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Combining Blogs

I had been posting to a number of blogs over the last couple of years, but as of today this will be my only blog. I will post tips, money saving advice, live events, working online and more to this blog. Having too many blogs distracts me from posting quality content. I am also hoping in the next few months I can start a website that I can share more with everyone.

Thank you all for reading my blog. I know it has been a long time since I have been seriously involved with blogging and even making money online, but live has changes and this is a great form of income for me as a single mom. The income I earn from home will go towards the property I want to purchase for my son and I.

Motivated Single Mommy

I have been struggling with the idea of not seeing my son while I work full time and go to school full time, so I have truly found my motivation. I have been working all week at my job, but also working all week at my online income. It has been hard at times, but then I think about being able to watch my son grow up. Spending a week and a half with him showed me exactly what I have been missing since I have been working non stop. I have to figure it out!

Motivation is a real key to success. I have thought about so many things that I want to do with my son, and I am trying to get it together so that I can. I am motivated to make an income from home, and I believe that I will. If nothing else I want to start working part time while I go to school. I just can't miss out on so much of his life. I know that single moms do it all the time, but I am working on an alternative to killing myself so that he can have the best. I still want him to have the best, but I want to do it in a different way.

I posted on my other blog about things that I am doing to earn more of an income online so check it out if you would like.

my at Home Income Blog

Can I be a Single Mom and Work From Home

I have to say that I love my job, but I am wondering if it is worth it. I have missed two days this week because of being sick and I know my check will not be enough to pay the bills that I have to pay. In addition to that I just found out that the hours have been cut for the next couple of months. I know two or three hours do not sound like a lot, but $20 makes a huge difference in my pay. I NEED that money.

Since I am going to be starting school in August I am even more concerned about whether or not it is worth working full time, going to school full time, and being a full time single mom. I do not have healthcare through my job, and if I did sign up for it the cost would be half of my paycheck each month. The only bonus of my job is that I have a regular weekly check and a very caring group of people that I work with. We are a small family.

Being able to work from home would make a huge difference in my life once school starts, but would I be able to make enough. At the moment I have no savings, do not make enough to pay all of the bills every month, and still have to consider all of the baby expenses. I was making a residual income of about $500 a month last year at this time, but I lost my motivation once the baby was born. I also did not have a lot of time to focus on my home income once I started working full time. If I took the time each day that I go to work I think it would be possible financially. It is the possibility of it not working out that scares me. I am the only provider for my son.

There is still a couple of months for me to decide and we all know that everything can change in a couple of months. I am going to try and make the decision that is the best for my son. I have to have financial stability for him, so we will see what is to come with my online income and life before I make the final decision about working from home or not.

Cafe Press

I have been looking into Cafepress for a little while now, and I have finally decided to open up a shop. I called the shop Single Mommy Shop. I know it is not original, but I think it fits well with my blog and my life. I chose to do just a small markup unlike a lot of shops I have noticed. I am not looking to get rich, i just wanted something to help a little with my boy. I am actually having fun trying to come up with ideas for different items for the mommy and the baby. I am hoping that after a couple of weeks I will have a pretty large selection of items that mommy's will be interested in. I will also be putting together a section just for work at home moms. I would like to get some unique items so keep looking if you are interested.

Cafepress seems to be a great place for single mommy's to make some money from home. If you are looking for ways you should check into it.
Come visit my store on CafePress!