Ideas for working at home?

Alex_of_Swansea

Hey guys. Similar to topic below, but a tad more specific. My OH and I are planning on having kids in the next few years, and, as it stands now, we'd struggle financially if I gave up work. I feel very strongly that I want to be at home with babies, toddlers, preschoolers...etc. I'm a nurse - not a very transferable skill. I have a degree and a levels. Any suggestions from you knowledgeable crowd? Thanks in advance,
Alex

dianadors

Childminding is great when you have kids of your own. I know one lady in my village who makes £18k+ . I would be far happier leaving my child with someone who is a nurse than someone who has no medical training too. You are limited as to the number of children you can have and their ages, so it might be better to start off just with 1 part time child, or "school run" kids (You get these in a morning to breakfast and take to school, then pick up later, and usually in the school hols you have them full time. ) What do you think?

Justie

an alternative is to see if there is agency work in the area and do one night shift at the weekend every couple of weeks to earn some money and keep your nursing skills up to date - a friend of mine did this for a long time whilst she trained as a counsellor and then set up her own practice that she could work around the kids.

inkie

As a RN myself - i would second the idea of wokring agency - or if you wanted the guarantee of an income do one/couple of nights per week . I did this for a while when mine were younger - I did Fri and Sat night, every other week, and OH had every w/e off, and so was able to look after the kids - i slept whilst mid-day, and so still had the majority of the day with them. Earned about £500 for 4 nights per month.

plane_boy2000

I would go with the agency sugegstion - we have 3 pre school age kids and my partner is an RMN. I know it varies by area, but she earns very good money doing one or two night shifts a week, or sometimes a saturday / sunday day shift. To be honest I am surprised how much she does earn, we have no child care costs and it fits in well. Working nights the kids hardly even notice she is not aorund to so she gets lots of time with them. Work can vary so you sometimes have to be prepared to work a few extra shifts some weeks as you may not get work the next, but on the whole she is earning quite a bit more part time than she was full time in the NHS, plus working she get to retain her skills and keep her PIN number - something I recall you have to re apply for every 3 years and you cant get if you have not been in active work.

belfastgirl23

I think you should do some agency work too to keep your skills up. Whilst I really applaud being a full time homemaker, you never know when something happens down the line and you need to be a breadwinner for a while - best to keep your hand in.

Much better paid than most pt home based jobs too!

ailuro2

I used to know a couple who had put away half of the wife's income in the 5 years preceding her having kids- she then took the next 5 years off without dropping the amount of money available to them- I'm not so sure it's so easy these days, but I would recommend cutting down on expenses now so you have a bigger savings fund available so you cna go part-time, or do agency work.

Can you do any overtime now to increase funds?

Spendless

My friend a nurse with 3 children varies working 8am-1pm shifts or night shifts whilst her children go to breakfast club/school or hospital creche for her 2 year old. In school holidays she also switches to working fri/sat night or weekend day time.

poe.tuesday

I know it sounds like a stupid idea but a mate of mine completely changed her career so that when she had babies she could work from home, she started to work in a travel agents for a few years then she went off and had her babies, she has been working from home ever since as a homeworker for Kuoni (I think)

it may not be ideal but it's does work for her

Alex_of_Swansea

Thanks, all! The agency idea sounds good. Child minding would be good, but a friend of mine does it and needed quite a few adjustments to the house. We don't actually own our own house yet, so it's not an option at the minute. I was fishing to see if anyone more imaginative than me could think of something else. Thank you!
Alex

mrscliff104

When the money was really tight about 6 years ago one of the girls in the office suggested I become an Ann Summers Party Organiser. (I am very bubbly and outgoing) I looked into it, someone came to talk to be about it and I began. I make around £65 per party (which is about 3 hours....great hourly rate eh?) I then got into the team management side of it after a couple of years and now earn around £14k for a 48 hour week (which is approx how much time goes into it) I can take the kids to school and dentists and be at school plays, concerts and do Lunch every now and again lol. Which ever type of Party Plan you choose think it over as it is a real opportunity and I personally have never looked back.