Ok so your not really going to be making money by folding the kids laundry but staying at home can save you a lot. Think about how much you earn per week. The average median salary of women of child bearing age is $634 per week(according to the bureau of labor and statistics). Now count up all the times you went out to eat, box mixes and premade items from the store, cost of child care, cost of gas to get to and from work, etc... The to numbers are probably close especially if you have children that are not yet of school age. Cooking: Cooking from scratch(flour and sugar not easy mac and shake and bake) can save you an exuberant amount of money especially if you buy your items in bulk (from places such as sams club). Meals require three main elements. Meat(if your vegan this is protein), vegetable and starch. Things like bread can be added to the meal as well however this is a good place to start. A simple meal such as baked chicken, with steamed broccoli and brown rice can be a good place to start. After you are comfortable with making simple dishes try new things such as mozzarella stuffed pork chops, complemented by stuffed mushrooms and potatoes au gratin. Collect recipe books and try a couple recipes from each one. You often find that you will have favorite books because the author has the same tastes as you and cooks more to your style. Baking: many people think this is the hard one however if you have a good recipe book and follow directions you will find most of you creations are a success. Also know your terms so you can follow the recipe properly. Do you know what stiff peaks are? If not watch a youtube or search the web. Most items that we consider bakery items only need a couple of ingredients. Flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, eggs, milk, water, salt, butter and baking cocoa. Fabric crafts: Clothes can be expensive. However a trip down to JOANN Fabrics when patterns are on sale(yes they do sell those $16 for as cheap as $1 sometimes) with a 40% off coupon one one item(which can be used as many yards of one cut of fabric as you want) can really add up to savings. For example I bought fabric(usually $8 a yard) for $4.80 a yard x 2 yards= $9.60. I went home and made Christmas nightgowns for my girls. They love them. and I only paid about $5 for each nightgown after including notions such as elastic and thread. They are adorable, durable, nicely made and in a print i would not have gotten at the store. Plus the girls get really excited when i make stuff for them and the look on their faces as they dance around the house is defiantly worth it. The pattern was online free. Here the link http://gotosew.com/2014/08/4-squares-nightgown-tutorial/ Home school: If you want to you can spend more time with your kids by homeschooling. Homeschooling can be a wonderful asset to the stay at home mom since children often enjoy helping in baking, cooking, cleaning and just helping mom in general. Plus math is way more fun when adding fractions together to make the perfect cookie. If your looking to be a bit more self sufficient you can also try having a garden, having chickens for eggs or even a cow or goat for milk. The possibilities are endless, not to mention your family will be healthier due to not eating chemically processed foods.
