Penny Pinching

We're starting to feel the effects of losing my income, which has made me more interested in at-home business opportunities. The problem is that if they're legitimate, they tend to have hefty start-up costs or promote more high-pressure selling than I'm comfortable with. I've joined a mystery shopper group, but they haven't had any local shops available lately, and only compensate an average of $5-$10 per shop. I’ve considered doing Discovery Toys, but I'm not keen on hosting lots of parties for strangers or paying $100 to start.

The Ben Bridge store where I used to work has been completely remodeled and is short-staffed for the holidays, but I would never consider going back to work. Babies need their mommies at home with them. I heard a woman on the radio who talked about working in a daycare center for infants when she was in college. She said there were three babies per person, some as young as six weeks old, and they could hardly keep up with feeding and changing them all, and couldn’t hold them half as much as they needed to. It just seems unnatural. I’d rather pinch my pennies. I found a great program called Mvelopes on the Crown Financial Ministries website, which helps me track our budget better.