7 Side Hustles for Single Moms to Stretch Your Budget without Overwhelming Your Life

We are told we need a budget to manage our money. You go online and find a single mom budget worksheet that gives you a headstart (I hope) for your income.

Even with a budget, you might still be feeling the crunch of more month at the end of your money.

I’ve heard many financial experts say you need to cut back and trim your spending to cure the money crunch. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always work. With the cost of living, inflation, and the rising cost of everything in general, the recommended cure hardly works.

I personally believe the cutting back, trimming, scrimping and saving creates a mental block to financial freedom. The solution I found that work for me, and will hopefully work for you, is to increase your income.

The million dollar question is HOW!!

If you are already working a job and are raising the kids, trying to juggle schedules, household tasks and all the things that go along with being a mom, employee, and community member; a second job feels overwhelming. But you are not making enough to cover all the bills and have a cushion. So what do you do?

Go Back to College or Get a Side Hustle?

You have two choices:

Option 1. Go back to school and get training for a higher paying career

Going back to college is a long game because if you are switching careers, going to college for the first time, or are undecided on your major you will spend a few years figuring it all out.

I went that route. I enrolled in college for Organizational Management then switched my major to English. I was also juggling parenting my two young kids, getting them to school and daycare, working, and doing homework.

It took me three years to increase my income going the back to college route. It was noble but it was a lot of time, a lot of money (can you say student loans), and an interesting climb up the career ladder.

Option 2. Get a side hustle

This option has opened up tremendously in the last 10 years. You can make extra money from your phone, without leaving your house, or going into debt.

The side hustle route has its problems and benefits. I personally think the benefits outweigh the problems if you set it up correctly.

Finding the right side gig that fits your lifestyle and financial goals is the first step. You may have to invest a few dollars to get started and/or market your business. Don’t let that discourage you. Let your main job finance your side gig.

A rule of thumb I like to follow is to stick with your side gig until you make $100. Then evaluate if it is the right fit for you before you move on.

Side Hustles Add to Your Budget

Adding to your budget is easier than the stress of taking away what you already don’t have. Deleting is harder when you have established a lifestyle. Sure you could cut the cable and opt for streaming services. You could make your own coffee instead of getting Starbucks. You could even buy off-brand foods at the grocery store. All of those tactics work but they make you feel poor which creates more poverty.

A side hustle or gig will help you add money to your bank account which will make you feel richer. This rich feeling will create a wealth mindset and allow more money into your life. Of course, you want to manage your money so you can give to charity, save for your goals, pay your bills on time, get affordable medical care, legal help, and have money left over for the fun things in life.

7 Side Hustles for Single Moms

Here are seven side gigs you can do that doesn’t take away from your hectic life or overwhelm you:

1. List your extra bedroom on Airbnb

If you have a spare bedroom you can list it on Airbnb and begin making extra money. There are a few steps you should take to prepare the room. Great pictures, description, and competitive rates will add at least $1000 to your budget. Here is a checklist to prepare your home for becoming an Airbnb host.

2. Write or edit articles

If you have a knack for words and love research, you can write articles for the websites and blogs online. Sign up at UpWork, Textbroker, or check out Problogger jobs. You can make good money as a freelance writer especially if you have a specialty. My specialty is personal finance and technical writing. Both of these niches pay well because of the complexity of the topics. If you have a specialty consider getting paid to write in that area. With the right company or enough gigs, you can easily make thousands a month which is not bad for the budget.

3. Rent out your car

If you have a nicer car and don’t’ really use it on the weekends you can rent it out to travelers coming to your city. Sites like Turo and GetAround allows you to list your car and set your rates. Use the Carculator to see how much your car could rent for and see the monthly amount you could add to your budget.

4. Social Media Management

Your social media habit could pay you handsomely. But your talents to work for a small business, realtor, or local celebrity. With all the social media scheduling tools on the market, you could plan and upload images for posts for future dates. If you think this is something you want to explore check out this social media management course to get trained. I’ve heard of social media manager making $1500 monthly. One lucky lady makes $10,000 a month. Just think about how that much money would add nicely to your budget.

5. Create and sell digital products on Etsy

Use your creativity, productivity skills, or organizational skills to develop cheat sheets, checklists, and templates people can download and print. Sell those digital products on Etsy, PayHip, Selz, or Gumroad. Create your products once and sell them over and over again. It is a no-brainer. Sell hundreds or thousands of digital products without even having to set up a website. Your $10 product sold 100 time is $1000 and you didn’t have to break a sweat. Sounds like a stress-less way to stretch your budget!

6. Fiverr Gig

You can use your office skills, design skills, or imagination to create a gig on Fiverr. Head over and take a look at all the gigs people pay for. Create graphics, edit articles, transcribe videos, or turn pdf files into Word documents. The possibilities are endless. Typically each gig is $5 which doesn’t seem like much but when you think in terms of the number of minutes, pages, or other increments, the $5 can add up. You can also offer service tiers and charge more per tier. When you do more gigs you get more money and that’s amazing for your budget build up plan.

7. Teach an online class

Is there something people say you are amazing at? Do you get asked to cook, design, organize, or plan? That is your clue to create a class and get paid to teach. You don’t have to teach to a live audience every week but you record yourself teaching on video. Upload the video to SkillShare or Udemy and get paid when people watch your course. You can also put the course on Thinkific, Teachable, or other learning platform and price it any way you want.

Now you can see how easy it is to start a side gig and make extra money. You can add to your budget without being overwhelmed with going to a second job. What other side gigs can you think of where you can make good money without sacrificing time with your kids or energy for yourself?

Bonus: More Side Hustles for Single Moms

This list will grow so keep checking back to see what’s new!

8. Become a Notary Public and Make Extra Money

In my early career, I worked in the county Probate judges office. The head clerk was a Notary Public who regularly witnessed signatures on important papers. You have probably had to get paperwork notarized so you know what they do on a basic level. Well, guess what? You can become a notary too and start making extra money. You don’t need an office either. You can be a mobile notary who goes to clients at their home or meets them in public. What you charge depends on the type of paperwork and the volume. Get more information from the National Notary Association. You will have to find out how to become a notary from your county courthouse. They usually have the information online. You apply, submit your paperwork, get sworn in, then get your seal. Simple as that.

7 Side Hustles for Single Moms to Stretch Your Budget without Overwhelming Your Life