Side Hustlin' Mommy

I need more money. Most of us do. So, what am I doing about that? I'm looking for more ways to earn more money. Amazon Mechanical Turk (Mturk) has been one of my best friends as far as earning a few extra bucks quickly is concerned. I'm in a bind right now not having a sitter to watch after my daughter while I go off mystery shopping and inspecting for the day, so I have to find a way to make up for what I am not earning out in the field. For me, this is where Mturk comes in to play. Today I am going to use Mturk as my example to illustrate my point. 

What is Amazon Mturk? In a nutshell, you sign up on Mturk as a worker and you can complete various tasks for pay amounts ranging from $0.01 to several dollars. The tasks may involve liking something on social media, completing brief surveys or doing web searches. In the past, it has been difficult for me to make large amounts of money since I have tend to have a short attention span and usually have a million things going on at once and generally can make more money at doing a few of those things. Now my situation has changed since A) I have an infant child and B) I no longer have a babysitter. No longer having a babysitter means that I am limited in the types and the number of mystery shops I can accept, it almost completely eliminates being able to do field inspections because I cannot take a five month old out in the field with me and to take on either a full or part-time job would mean to put her in daycare and much of my check would go towards daycare fees. Thankfully, sites like Mturk exist.  

Writing long articles is difficult for me at the moment because it is hard for me to focus on one thing for a long period of time with a baby in the room. So while freelance writing is not marked off of the list, it will not be one of my top earners. Only during naptime can I pick up an article or two from a content mill for a few dollars. Frankly, with everything going on in my head and in my life I don't want to do anything that requires much thought. Mind-numbing is actually appealing to me at the moment. Microjob sites like Mturk are the solution, or at least part of the solution, for people in situations similar to my own. In short bursts throughout the day I can do a task or few and earn anywhere from a few cents to a few dollars. Most of the jobs I accept take no longer than about ten minutes and I can complete several of them in an hour. Whenever the clients who requested the tasks accepts them, the money goes straight into my Amazon Payments account and from there I can either use my balance to shop on Amazon or I can transfer the money to my bank account and usually have it within a day or two. Most of the time I opt for the money.  

Over the course of a day I can earn anywhere from $3 to $20 just from doing quick tasks that pay between $0.10-$1.00. While this may not seem like much, it makes a huge difference in my household. Over the course of a month I'll earn anywhere from $90 to $600 a month. Most months between $200-$300. Even with just $90 I can cover my wireless bill and buy formula for my baby, which is my main priority at this time. If I need more money, I can increase the amount of tasks I complete on Mturk everyday. Whenever I get tired I can just stop and pick up whenever I am ready again. I make as much as I put into it. It is up to me to decide if I want to succeed. And considering the price of gas, oil changes and tire rotations, which I require more often than most since I travel more than most due to my work as a mystery shopper and field inspector, $90 per month or more without leaving the house and having the opportunity to stay with the little one and work around diaper changes and feedings, isn't too bad. I still do shops once or twice per week, which gives me a few hundred dollars and an opportunity to leave the house and talk to some adults, but to supplement that with sites like Mturk, Swagbucks, InboxDollars, CashCrate and paid surveys from the comfort of home make working from home much easier. It is frustrating whenever I don't have enough. Sometimes it seems hopeless. But, then I remember how many resources I have online. As long as I have a working computer with an internet connection, I can at least make some pocket change, if not more, that'll keep me and my little one fed until my next big paycheck. You can have more control over your finances if you put in the effort. You do not have to settle for not having enough. Help yourself. Give yourself a raise. 

For more money-making opportunities check out the Useful Links page.