Work-at-Home Moms: How to Survive in a Brutal Economy

The economy is in crisis. Families are struggling to stay afloat, and things aren't getting any easier. With this in mind, we've put together some practical tips that moms can realistically follow while balancing the huge workload that comes with managing a family. You may not strike it rich, but you can earn a little extra money or boost your savings.

Here are some great opportunities for work-at-home moms:

Opportunities for the Organized Mom

A recent eBay/Nielsen survey revealed that the average household has 52 items worth over $3,000 just lying around! Post your unneeded items on Craigslist, eBay, eFleaa or Hoobly and watch them turn from "clutter" to "cash." Everyone has unused stuff in their house; furniture, baby equipment, and antiques are bought on these sites every day. A minimum asking price ensures you won't sell too low.

Many moms have built a small business by hunting for bargains to resell in their spare time. Once you have a good seller's profile, expand by hitting local garage sales, or clearance and end of season sales for low priced items that can be resold for a tidy profit.

If you have a baby or toddler, take them with you and go undercover as a mystery shopper. Mystery shoppers visit restaurants, stores, and other businesses to report on their service from a customer's perspective. You'll need to fill out a detailed questionnaire and make a small purchase as proof of your visit to complete the job.

Start by searching for assignments online and register with several agencies (this should always be free). The average fee per visit is about $20. Visiting several places in a row will maximize your earning potential! Check out Shoppers View, Service Excellence Group, and Service Intelligence.

Organized moms should also try becoming virtual assistants. As small businesses across the country are crunched by the economy, they must make cutbacks. However, they still need help running their business on the day-to-day. VAs work a few hours a week on tasks such as customer service, travel arrangements, or bill paying.

This work is easily available on freelance sites like Elance, or virtual recruiting firms such as Virtual Office Temps, Team Double Click, or Alpine Access, and usually pays about $20 an hour.

Opportunities for the Creative Mom

Moms skilled with crafts can turn those talents into real cash. Websites such as Etsy and Silkfair are dedicated connecting your handmade toys or vintage clothes to thousands of potential buyers. Etsy charges a percentage on each sale (3.5%), while Silkfair charges 3% but allows you to sign up and list items for free - or run your own custom store for 24.99 a month. Etsy posted $88 million in sales in 2008!

Shutterbug moms can use photography to create residual income through sites like Bigstockphoto, Shutterstock, and Fotolia, which provide corporations your images for use in their advertising and on their websites. Pay can be anywhere from 25 cents per download to a percentage of the commission on a photograph, so upload a bunch!

Try profiting off things you're passionate about by selling eBooks. Many sites offer master rights to eBooks; just find ones that interest you and create a website to sell them (and keep 100% of the profits!). The best thing about this is that it doesn't take a lot of time or technical skill; you can use the website builder Wordpress to create simple sales pages.

Opportunities for the Expert Mom

Most moms had a different life before their kids. Skills and knowledge developed during this time are valuable to many potential clients who may find planning a wedding, solving computer problems, or decorating a house difficult. If these things come naturally to you, use your abilities for extra income!

Using knowledge you already have easily fits around a busy family schedule and doesn't cost a dime. Print some flyers and spread the word around your neighborhood; if you're good at what you do your clients will pass your reputation on to others. Submit a free ad to the community paper for extra publicity, or ask a local store to post your flyer. You can also use your skills from home on sites such as LivePerson or JustAnswer, which pay people per minute to answer topical questions.

If your specialty is something you can put on paper, making extra cash will be even easier. You'll just need a basic website with great content. Are you great with newborns or helping other parents? Have a collection of family recipes? These passions can translate into profit with your own web page.

Do some research on driving traffic to your website, then place some affiliate marketing links and advertisements. You can start with no technical knowledge or investment by using a free website builder program. These give you the software, support, and training you'll need.

You can also turn your expertise into articles. Many companies pay amateur writers to produce their content because of how much cheaper it is than carrying a writing staff. The Internet is full of articles and blogs where people are paid to put their knowledge into words, why not use some of yours?

Figure out where your expertise lies and put together a few sample articles to use in a portfolio on Elance, GetaFreelancer, or ODesk, then earn anywhere from a few dollars to $50 per article. Make sure you only use original material! With Elance showing a staggering 4,000 new jobs and $2 million in fees each week, the sky's the limit.

If you have a college degree, try tutoring students from across the globe. Tutor.com pays for hourly mentoring, essay reviews, and has an interactive board to work through problems together. Another site, Transwebtutors, provides live homework help on a variety of disciplines. If you are bilingual or have expertise in math or social sciences, this could be an excellent earner!

With the boom of home-based businesses brought on by the Internet, busy moms have more options than ever for generating a decent income from home. All it takes it a little research, a little skill, and the desire to make it happen. Just find what interests you and make it work!

About the author: Melanie Citron is a freelance author who wants the web to be open to everyone. She regularly researches and writes about great free or low cost resources to help all have a great presence on the web. See more of her writing at BuildMySiteforFree.com.