Just as I love not camping, I also love not working.
I used to be verrrrrry into my paid gig, which I thought of at the time as my 'Career'. Maybe it was my career, I certainly worked hard at it. I worked 60+ hours every week, my phone rang at all hours of the day & night, I travelled interstate, I had lots of people in various teams reporting to me. I had exciting meetings with major clients. I earned some OK money. It fulfilled most of my childhood dream of growing up to do something 'important.'
After 5 years of this, the gleam had delustered somewhat. All of my salary (& then some) went on childcare fees for children I hardly saw during daytime hours. My family life had become quite compromised by my long hours & trips away. My truly horrible boss had ground the optimistic spark from my eye & my Doctor firstly put me on blood pressure medication & then took out half of my thyroid, which had a produced a non cancerous nodule from an overuse of adrenalin.
So Mr BC & I took a hard look at the direction our life was going in & decided to move interstate, where we could afford to live the lifestyle we dreamed of. The plan was for me to work part time & no more, which I was pretty happy about - I was looking forward to being the Mum I always wanted to be. 5 days before the removalists came, we found out I was pregnant with Monkey Boy. So the part time work idea went out the window & I really embraced being a Stay at Home Mum with open arms.
So now that Monkey Boy is 4, the question on everyones lips is
"When are you going back too work?" My answer is
".............................gulp".
The thought of toxic boss syndrome makes me reach for the Avapro. The very thought of performance reviews, WIP meetings, client reviews, on-time reporting (snort), office politics & lunchroom etiquette frankly gives me the heeby jeebys. There must be a better way to pay the bills.
So, here are my ideas for being a profitable SAHM.
- Have a big clean out & sell lots of stuff on eBay. Give stuff to charity. Nature abhors a vacuum (as do I) so getting rid of stuff is the karmic equivalent of making room for more stuff, right?
- Get all outstanding paperwork up to date. Do the tax returns, etc. Check with Centrelink to see if there are any childcare rebates etc I haven't claimed.
- Monetise the blog - look at the top right column, see? I've joined Nuffnang! I thought about it & decided that it didn't mean selling out. I don't expect to be Dooce or the Pioneer Woman overnight, but every little bit counts & is a step in the right direction.
- Think hard about a small business that I can do in my own time. This is a whole other post, so stay tuned..
- Explore other paid employment that can be done in my own time. I'm thinking Mystery Shopping rather than delivering pamphlets, or starting my own 1800sexymum phone line.
- Because I am a little bit pagan, I will also be asking the universe for money making opportunities via the usual channels - tarot, & weekly chats to the ocean.
- I think the most important thing is to ensure my head space remains positive about it - being negative & self defeatist really does mean you have failed before you even start. Too hippy? I'll let you know if it works!
So, what are your favourite ideas to avoid going back to paid employment? Enquiring minds want to know!
xx