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re you
a stay at home mom who is
considering going back to work? Maybe you’re tired of budget-crunching on one
income and strongly desire to have your own money once again. Maybe you’ve
thought of working from home, but it seems unattainable. Maybe you don’t even
know where to start your search.
Before you think about
getting a 9-5 job, I would really like you to consider the following:
My friend Malcolm was
earning $36,950 per year, and his wife Latoya stayed home with their two small
children, while their first child attended public school. After living on
$36,950 for one year Latoya couldn’t take the budget crunching anymore. Living
on one income with two children got so suffocating for Latoya that she got a
full time job outside the home. “Two incomes would definitely make a big
difference,” she thought.
The full time job paid
$300 net weekly. That’s about $19,200 gross annually. Don’t you think this would
actually help the family out quite a bit financially? After all, two-income
families should be better off financially than one-income families. I would
think so. I bet you think so too. Let’s take a look and see what the result is.
Latoya’s income $19,200
Social security (7.65%) $ 1,468 Public transportation ($3 per day) $ 780 Daycare
cost for two children ($150 wk) $ 7,800 Buying lunch once a week ($10) $ 520
Income tax (15%) $ 2, 880 ________ Latoya’s Total Annual Income after expenses
$5,752
NOTE:
Latoya carries her lunch to work everyday except Fridays and eats breakfast at
home before she leaves for work. If she didn’t do this, it would cost her even
more.
I didn’t even subtract
other miscellaneous items (i.e., dry cleaning) from her pay, and that’s what
she’s left with. She is only making approximately $479 a month. Although many
two-income families are getting by financially, many are barely surviving. In
this case, Latoya should consider working from home.
Most people working
outside the home buy their breakfast and lunch everyday. So consider that also.
Latoya just happens to be very frugal and tries to save in any way she can.
Many women fall into the
same trap that Latoya is in. Some just want to spend more time with the family,
while others just hate the “rat race,” and desperately want to get out. However,
before you start looking for home employment please evaluate yourself to make
sure that working from home is right for you.
EVALUATE YOURSELF
Following are several
questions you should ask yourself before deciding to work from home. If you
can’t answer yes to the following questions, then you are not completely ready
to work from home. The questions are:
• Do I have a computer?
• Am I knowledgeable
about the Internet and email?
• Do I manage my time
well?
• Do I have the right
attitude to work at home?
• Am I easily motivated
or do I need people around me to motivate me?
• Am I disciplined?
• Can I balance family,
work, and everything else at the same time
• Am I teachable or do I
like to do my own thing?
• Am I reliable?
• Do I prioritize?
• Do I have a specialized
skill?
• Do I have all the
equipment needed to work from home?
• Does my spouse have
health insurance coverage for the family? If not, can I afford health insurance
on my own? (If you need affordable health insurance, you can receive instant
quotes from 114 different companies at
www.insureme.com. Just type in your information and they will match you with
specific companies based on your needs.) For dental plans check out
www.dentalplans.com.
• Can I actually reduce
the high cost of health insurance by joining a group health insurance plan,
reduce the level of coverage, increase my deductible, pay annual premiums rather
than monthly or quarterly, etc? (For more information check out National
Association for the Self-Employed at
www.nase.org/nase_benefits/health_benefits.asp, or American Association of
Home-Based Businesses at http://www.aahbb.org
.
• Can I contribute to a
self-employed 401(k) plan? (Visit
www.investsafe.com to request a free information kit on the
self-employed 401(k) plan for the self-employed and small business owner).
• Do I love to educate
myself on a consistent basis?
• Can I successfully work
around my children at home?
• Can I handle waking up
earlier or staying up later while the children are sleeping to meet my
deadlines?
• Would I be able to make
enough money to pay the bills?
If you are focused,
disciplined, have a positive attitude, highly motivated with excellent
communication skills, can answer yes to the above mentioned questions, then you
are ready to work from home as an independent contractor, freelance or
telecommuter. If not, then you can either learn these lessons along the way or
work outside the home.
It is very important that
before you start working from home that you have an office set up with a good
computer, phone line (you will need a second phone line for some assignments),
and a fax machine. Some computers come with faxing features. Most jobs are done
remotely, and the Internet is a conduit for telecommuting jobs. :: Mommy Too!
Magazine ::
Vernette Carbon is the owner-publisher of
AmazingWorkatHomeSecrets.com,
and the mother of two children. She is also a graduate from Bernard Baruch
College with a BA in Corporate Communications, and the author of an amazing new
e-book, "Amazing Work at Home Secrets.” For more info and a free 5-part report
sent to you immediately via email please visit
www.amazingworkathomesecrets.com/intro.html
Copyright© V&G Submittals
Collaborative, LLC.
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