As much as I would like it to, the e-book above will not solve all of your financial problems.  

We are living in tough financial times; times that have left many of us feeling as though we no longer have any control over our lives—at least no control where money matters are concerned. 

A few decades ago, tough times meant that the man of the family got out his hunting or fishing equipment and headed to the nearest forest or stream to make sure his family was fed. Things have changed, and only a small percentage of our population is equipped to solved today's financial problems in this manner.  

That doesn't mean we give up and crawl into a hole until this latest financial crisis passes. If we are among the many who are being affected adversely by this recession, there are some things we can do to make sure these tough times will have the least possible impact on our families. In the following pages, you will find 15 ways other people have found to make some extra money at home. I'm not suggesting that any one of these ideas will replace the steady salary you may have lost, but I am saying that one or more of the ideas could tide you over until a new job appears on the horizon for you.  

When you have finished searching for an activity that interests you, check out the bonus section of ways other people have found to save money. Money saved is money you don't have to earn so never pass up an opportunity to save yourself a few more dollars. 

 Jeanne Gibson  

CONTENTS  

1. Earn Money at Home Doing Alterations & Sewing

2. Earn Extra Cash as a Senior Sitter  

3. Create Your own Worm Farm Cash Cow  

4. Decorate Cakes to Earn Money at Home  

5. Write Short Articles at Home to Earn Extra Cash  

6. Tutoring Can Be Rewarding as Well as Lucrative  

7. Rent Your Own Flea Market Table to Earn Extra Cash  

8. Start Your Own House Cleaning Business  

9. Do Online Research to Put Extra Cash in Your Pocket  

10. Encourage Your Teen to Hire Out as a Mother's Helper  

11. Teach Basic Computer Skills to Senior Citizens  

12. Sell Stuff on eBay  

13. Become an Odd Jobber  

14. Pet-Sitting is Fun and Pays Well  

15. Sell a Weekly Column to Your Local Newspaper  

BONUS ARTICLES TO HELP YOU SAVE MONEY  

16. What to Do if You Can't Afford Health Insurance  

17. To Find That Job, Be Persistent  

18. Tips for Cutting Wedding Costs

SAMPLE PAGES FROM CHAPTER 4:

DECORATE CAKES AT HOME

Most of us have forked over anywhere from $15 to $25 dollars for a birthday cake decorated with the latest hero or teen idol in order to please one of our children on his or her “big” day. Why not learn to do it yourself to save money the next time around, and perhaps end up creating a profitable business you can run from home.

Children’s birthday cakes are getting more expensive every year. It isn’t the cake itself that costs so much; it’s the design made of yummy frosting on the outside that racks up dollars for the creator. And, if you have recently been involved in the ordering of a wedding cake, the prices there are really out of this world. 
 

                      


Why not learn to do your own cake decorating and cash in on this lucrative business? Remember, it isn’t the cake the buyer is paying the big bucks for; it’s the icing. Anyone can bake a cake if they carefully follow the directions provided in a recipe book. Learning how to make it look delectable on the outside takes a little more education and practice, but not necessarily a lot of money. Your family, if they are anything like mine, will be more than happy to line up as guinea pigs for you to practice on.  

Here are some suggestions to get you started in this fun business, quickly and inexpensively.  

1. Check out your local library  

If your town has a good library, it will have all kinds of books on baking, including chapters on decorating your finished products. Look for a basic list of essential tools you will need and plan to add any that you do not already have to your kitchen utensil supply.  

Things you might not have may include things like a revolving cake stand, a pastry decorating bag and a variety of baking pans, according to the type and size of cakes you decide to specialize in. A visit to a craft store such as Michael’s Crafts will give you a variety of such tools to choose from at very reasonable prices.  

2. Build your own collection of basic cake recipes  

You won’t need a box full of cake recipes. Just one good one each for chocolate, white, and maybe strawberry or yellow cake is enough to begin with. Of course you will try them on your willing family to make sure they actually taste as good as they smell, but just plain icing will do for these early experiments. To keep from overloading your meal planning with cake, cut some recipes in half and just bake a few cupcakes to use in lunches or for snacks. If you run out of volunteer cake testers, which is probably unlikely, you can always call on fellow church members, neighbors, or fellow workers to come to your aid.  

3. Search online for sites offering free cake decorating instructions  

Wilton.com is one of my favorites. Their site gives you basic cake recipes, and even tells you how to grease the pan, pour the batter, bake, cool, and unmold the cake, and finally, how to ice it.  

Later, when you start doing cakes for customers, there will be requests for specific designs, but Wiltons can get you started with...           (read the rest of this chapter in our 18 chapter eBook, Create Your Own Job!, available for the Kindle at http://amzn.to/GSflpq, or for the Nook at http://bit.ly/GHRlHE for a temporary price of only $1.00.   See info at end of article to order a PDF copy of the book.

SAMPLE PAGES FROM CHAPTER 8: START YOUR OWN HOUSE CLEANING BUSINESS  

With so many women joining the work force, time to keep the housework done is in short supply. Why not cash in on a lucrative job market where you can pretty much choose your own time schedule. 

Had you visited in our home when my children were young, you would have thought a tornado had passed through their bedrooms during the night. They were a disaster. And the worst part was, no amount of reasoning, threatening, and punishment ever cured the problem. All three of my girls, I feared, were destined to be old maids. After all, what man in his right senses would ever propose to a young lady who chose to live in a pig sty?  

The funny part about it was that when my children went to visit their grandparents or to stay overnight with a friend, I got all kinds of compliments on what wonderful little helpers they were. Why to hear my Mother tell it, they cleaned her kitchen for her until it shone. If they were asked to dust the living room, they argued with each other over who got to do the job for grandma. 

Isn’t that just like a kid? And it’s a bit like grown-ups, too. I notice that I’m not too keen on scrubbing my own sinks or windows, but when I baby sit for a friend or relative, I usually tackle any housework that needs doing there without giving it a thought. Why is that, I wonder? I guess it doesn’t seem like real “work” when it is in somebody else’s house. Anyway, that brings me to my subject for this article, “Starting your own house cleaning business.”  

My neighbor cleaned houses for extra money for years. She once raved to me about how much she enjoyed her job, and often had far more business than she wanted. Finally, she decided to stick to just three or four regular customers. She set up a time convenient to her for each of her clients, spreading them out during the week so that she didn’t feel overworked. Her fee was $15 an hour. At that time, I thought, “Wow! I would never pay $15 an hour for someone to do something I could do for myself.” But, after giving it some thought, I decided that paying that amount just once during the week and knowing that my vacuuming, bed changing, window washing, laundry etc. was taken care of would be well worth it. Apparently her clients thought so, too, because she kept most of them until she decided to retire.  

If you decide to try the house cleaning business yourself, here are a few things you need to consider.  

1. Set the limits for your work area  

Decide at the beginning if you want to limit your business to your immediate neighborhood or whether you are willing to drive across town to work. If you plan to include sites some distance from your home, your price should include a mileage allowance or your profit will be considerably diminished, especially with today’s high gas prices.  

2. Supplies you will need For most housecleaning jobs, you will probably just need to come with an apron for yourself and some gloves if your hands are sensitive. Most likely, your client will have mops, brooms, vacuums, soap, etc. If you have a tool of your own that you prefer to use rather than what the client has, bring it along.  

3. Finding the jobs Did you know that it is estimated that over 60% of all jobs are found through networking? That means letting people you know—friends, relatives, associates—that you are looking for work and what kind of work you are looking for.     (read the rest of this chapter in our18 chapter, Create Your Own Job! ebook by clicking one of the links above, or by ordering a PDF copy through the Paypal button below.)