Somebody Stole My Money! But I’m not Mad

Who stole Rich Single Momma's money? Why isn't she mad about it?Yesterday I got a call from my financial institution (FI) USAA.

The lady on the line told me she suspected my debit card had been stolen or duplicated.

She asked if the card was in my possession. Then she began rattling off charges that had been made earlier in the day from Publix (twice), Athlete’s Foot (twice), and some beauty store.

All the charges were around $100 totaling over $500 stolen from my account.

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Do You Need That, Really?

A guest post by British author Louise Tillotson. Some terms are relevant to UK.

Last time, I talked about some ways in which to make or save money: selling unwanted items in a yard sale, changing to a cheaper utility provider, using rewards credit cards to get money back on what you spend, and using coupons to get money off your groceries.

In this post I’m going to be talking about some of the things you might be paying for which you really don’t need.

Insurance

Pretty much everything you buy these days comes with an offer of insurance. Some things are worth insuring; (more…)

Single Moms Making Money (and other great news)

This has been a great week so far. Sunday night I was a guest on the CoParenting Matters show on Blogtalk Radio. The hosts were Deesha Philyaw of Coparenting101.com and Talibah Mbonisi of WeParent.com. Annie Fox, author of several books for middle school kids was the other guest. You can listen to the show archive to hear what we talked about.

On Monday I found out that I was the 13th winner (more…)

How to Start a T-Shirt Business

How to start a t-shirt businessIn the Rich Single Momma community someone asked the following question about how to create t-shirts.

“If anyone else on this thread is currently creating quality t-shirts, I would welcome advice and directions… “

This is how I answered her question and took it a step further: (more…)

My First Work from Home Business

RichSingleMomma.com Road to financial freedomThis post is a continuation of the story of my journey toward financial freedom.

When my daughter was very young and I was a new, breastfeeding mom I was torn between working and staying home to take care of my daughter. I missed her terribly and wanted to be the one to raise her rather than a daycare center. I made the decision to become a stay at home mom.

My plan was to use my desktop publishing and administrative skills to earn money. I had a great book about desktop publishing and decided to take the plunge. A good friend had given me a used computer to get started. From that day I considered myself an entrepreneur.

I had a few business cards made and created flyers to give out. I began spreading the word about my services and I was even featured in the local newspaper. The angle was basically “single mom  starts home business”.

I was flying by the seat of my pants mostly because I had very little business sense or help. I didn’t know any business owners and had no contacts. My confidence level was very low so I didn’t take the initiative to go out and meet people.

I’m sure my pricing was too low and I was not very good at marketing. Still I tried and got a couple of steady clients. After a while the financial pressure began to weigh on me. I didn’t have a clear mind or sense of security for me and my baby so I began looking for work again.

The short time I spent as a business owner taught me many lessons:
1. Have a mentor
2. Have an established network
3. Target your services and market to those people
4. Have a solid support system
5. Have a simple business plan or plan of action

Even though I made the choice to return to work, I never gave up my dream to be an entrepreneur. I’ve found ways to make money on the side over the years as I test the possibilities. I’m sure I’ll be a full-time WAHM very soon with determination and a greater sense of confidence!