I am a single mom to an eleven year old boy and over the last seven years, I have accumilated $4000 in debt from credit cards. I decided that I needed to do something to get out of debt.

I purchased Suze Orman's book, Women & Money. She recommends paying off the hightest interest rate credit card, no matter the balance. That is my current goal... to get one credit card, with the highest balance, (currently 29.74%) paid off.

I absolutely loved Suze Orman's book, however, most of her suggestions, like you, I am already doing... (i.e. higher deductable on my car insurance, higher health insurance premium, interest earning checking account, balance my check book each month). I do not go shopping for anything other than food. I do not go out to eat, I do not gamble, I do not have any luxuries currently. I looked into getting rid of my car and getting one that could be paid off sooner, but decided against it. With old cars come problems and currently I am so flip flopped around, I would probably have to finance some of the previous car loan onto a new one... Needless to say, it is hard to find extra money from my regular paycheck to put towards credit card bills.

I started looking online for ways to supplement my income. I came across some amazing tips for online companies that pay you to complete a survey based on matches that you have after completing a short profile. So far, in two days, I have $13.05 in my account and another $25.50 pending for deposit into my account. These sites are free. I checked out a lot of online sites to find the best one for helping me getting my debt down.

Edited by mod to delete link.

Liams Mommy-I am a certified teacher who currently works as an online instructor with Educate Online. I teach 3rd-9th grade reading and math over the internet from the comfort of my home. I absolutely love it!!!

I also work online as an essay reader for standardized tests, particularly the SAT.

I really think the internet has given SAHM lots of opportunities to work from home! Love it!!!

You should check out Dave Ramsey's book "The Total Money Makeover"...We are using that and the program is GREAT!

Not quite work at home but sort of..

Where I live we have a local newspaper that is published once a week. I started delivering the paper and am now up to 3 routes that pay me $72 per week. I get up at 4am once a week, do my routes and head back home by 8am to take my son to preschool. It took a few weeks to work out the logistics of it all but now I have the system down so it doesn't impact my day at all. I'm just a little extra sleepy on Wednesdays! YAWN!

I've been doing yoga for years and started teaching a beginning yoga class. Over the years I've had up to 4 classes per week but have scaled back a due to low attendance. I taught 2 classes through the local Parks and Rec. My loyal students stuck with me but getting new students was challenging so finally I called it a day. Now I teach 1 class a week to the same group and have done so for 3 years now. Approximate income per week is $50.

Been doing the online survey thing. I probably max out at about $25 per month on that...although I just did a big survey that paid $200!

My other little side job is with local focus groups. I'm signed up with 2 agencies and although it is very inconsistent money it can be nice. I'm going in for a 2 hour focus group next week that will pay $75 for my time.

My goal is to make $400 extra per month, so currently I have:

Newspaper $288
Yoga $200
Surveys $ 25
Misc $100 (selling things, focus groups, etc.)
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$613 Ahead of goal! yay!

By the way, Hi - I'm Misty, this is my first post and I'm usually long winded!

Here are my suggestions on finding a legitimate opportunity that's right for YOU:

- Set your financial goals -- Are you just looking for extra income or a potential full-time income? How long (and hard) are you willing to work to meet your goal?

- Determine if you are looking for a JOB or a BUSINESS -- there is a distinct difference between the two and you want to focus your energies appropriately for the best results.

- If looking for a JOB, what are your marketable skills and previous experiences? If you are looking for a BUSINESS, go with your passions, things that interest and motivate you the most. Build a list and use that to begin your search. General rule of thumb: Never pay for a job (businesses, on the other hand, usually involve some expenses).

- Review your budget -- know ahead of time what you are willing and able to invest into your business, including start-up costs and ongoing maintenance and promotion.

- Find a rep to contact, check out their websites, ask questions, do your own independent research. Check resources such as BBB, scams - report the scam here, and Ripoff Report: By Consumers, For Consumers for potential scams.

Great ideas!

How did you start doing the essay reader thing? I am a certified teacher and I would like to do something like this. Is there a website? Is it Educateonline.com? TIA!

It sounds like you have been making a big effort, well done! I've been thinking of getting rid of my car, seems like a big spend when I can walk to most places that I go.

I was actually thinking of starting a daycare out of my home. Here you can hold up to 6 children although I would only be able to have 4 since I already have 2. And with the summer coming alot of people are gonna start looking for childcare. I talked with my dh and is okay with it so I may post on craigslist.

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Shatema
mom to Destiny and Daija divas in training

I see that some of you take online surveys for extra cash. I've tried it but can't seem to find any that actually pays money. It's always points or entries into drawings. If you know of some good ones, could someone private message me with the websites?

I've been making Amish Friendship bread. My husband takes it to work & sells it per loaf. It's a big hit. I make about $50 extra a month. Not much but helps.

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