Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Additional Income For Moms

I once asked female friends and colleagues whether they would give up their career without a second thought so that they can start a family. Most said yes without even blinking while others said that they would just take the predetermined maternity leave before reporting back to work. The reason behind this was that to decently raise a family, nowadays, requires both parents to work, but then at what cost?

How many times have we heard about a child getting maltreated, hurt or worse yet, kidnapped, by people that have gained our trust and initially tasked to take care of the children?

Based on my experience as a work-at-home mom, I would have missed my son's first smile, walk and talk had I been regularly leaving for an office-based work. Yes, I do take care of my son by myself while my husband goes to the office throughout the day.

Technology and the advent of the Internet has allowed us to go beyond our doors while allowing us the freedom and flexibility to do our daily chores and work at our convenience.

You actually have several ways to earn additional income for your family, which includes:
  1. Selling online - there are various sites that offer online selling without a fee. I recommend www.eBay.com.ph and www.auction.ph. If you have a small business, this could be the best way of selling your items without leaving the comfort of your own home. You can also have your items picked up by a courier for shipping (please check with the courier you are interested in for the availability of this privilege is only limited to a certain area of coverage).
  2. Blogging - start a blog and earn through affiliate marketing and advertising fees. You can discuss anything that interests you. I started a recipe blog (www.testedkitchen.com) and this is my second venture into the wonderful world of blogging, although I still have to learn the techy side of everything.
  3. Freelancing - contrary to popular belief there are various freelance works available, for example web developing, writing, accounting, and even virtual assistance. Here are some of the sites where I have had the privilege of obtaining clients and recommend that you visit - www.writers.ph, www.getafreelancer.com, www.elance.com and www.guru.com.
  4. Affiliate marketing - you get paid for every referral or clicks depending on the type of affiliate program you enroll in. However, this usually works for blogs since you do need to post their adverts.
Whichever path you choose to take, remember that you do need to be patient and if at first you don't succeed, you can always try again. But if you ask me, a combination of all these things is the best.

Why don't you give it a try?

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

The Modern Filipina

The modern-day Filipina is not limited to staying at home and doing household chores. They are well-educated, more outspoken, have good paying jobs, and last but not the least, become wives and mothers while being able to hold on to their individuality.

Safe to say, I am one of these "modern-day" Filipinas, and a wife and mother at best. I try to maintain a household but at the same time retain my individuality by working. I am fortunate enough to be working for a company that believes in "home-based" work. Whether they wish to save on office space or are really considerate of their employees was none of my concern when they informed us that we were having a "home-based" arrangement. Now that I am a wife and a mom to a 3-year-old boy, there has not been a day that passes for which I am thankful of the work set-up I have.

Most of my friends are now married and have started their own families. Some have even chosen to resign from their office-based work to take care of their little children. Now and again they have asked me to help them find work that is home-based. Fortunately, modern technology has allowed this to happen - via freelancing and online selling. I know that there are quite a number of blogs that cover these topics. The difference here is that I shall be discussing it based on my personal experience. In fact, I do not even dare discuss something that I have not had a personal experience with.

Do you have a topic that you want me to talk about? Drop me a line and I'll see what I can do to help you. After all, Filipinos are known for their hospitality and helpfulness.