Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
Discover how to make extra money and navigate the challenges of single parenting. Learn tips and strategies to create a sustainable income for your family.
My friends always ask me how I make extra money, and I tell them I have turned what I do best into a cash adventure.
Life Was Good Until I Got A Divorce
Until four years ago, working full-time was as easy as getting up, going to work, coming home, and collecting my paycheck.
Then came along our son, which made things a little more complicated; 19 months later, my daughter joined our family, followed four months later by a divorce.
Life was not so easy anymore.
Many nights, I lay awake thinking, “How can I do this all alone?”
How can I make extra money for the kids to do things like swimming lessons and soccer?
I could not wrap my head around how I could return to work full-time.
Although I have over ten years of experience in landscaping, I now have a life that makes that job impossible.
I have always enjoyed working, so I looked for a part-time job instead.
Part-Time Job
While viewing an online posting board, I found the perfect part-time job— experience is needed.
I got that job, and for two years now, I have worked as a merchandising representative for multiple companies, traveling to different stores every week.
Also, I have some flexibility with my hours, which is perfect for a single mom.
My next step was to figure out child care, but I was unsure where I would look.
Childcare Sources
Where do I look for child care?
- Family– Grandparents love spending time with their grandkids and asking if they could help a few hours a week. It doesn’t hurt to ask if you have any brothers, sisters, or cousins!
- Friends– Are any of your friends home on maternity leave or a stay-at-home mom? Who doesn’t want to earn a bit extra money? I have some friends I can ask about, even on short notice. If you’re lucky, friends can give pretty reasonable rates.
- Advertising: Many university, college, and high school students also advertise to babysit at reasonable rates online, for example, Facebook or Kijiji.
Turning My Passion And Skills Into Extra Money
My love for gardening is something I will never let go of; to me, it is therapeutic, rewarding, and, most of all, quiet.
I quickly started to miss it and the serenity of nature surrounding me.
One day, I decided to post an ad on Kijiji that offered to help people with gardening.
I hoped for a few extra weekly work hours when posting the ad.
All I wanted to earn was enough money, so I no longer had to live paycheck to paycheck.
A free Kijiji “Employment Wanted” ad started it all for me.
The ad looked something like what I described below.
Do You Need Help With Landscaping Spring Clean-up?
Hello,
I am an experienced landscaper looking for part-time hours within a private residential setting to earn extra money.
My experience in landscaping spans over ten years, and I have earned a diploma in horticulture.
I charge an hourly rate for my landscaping services and would be pleased to chat with you about your small projects.
My landscaping skills include:
- Pruning and Hedge Trimming
- Total Lawn Maintenance
- Sodding, Planting, Mulching
- Fertilizing and Over-seeding
- Edging, Flower Bed Installation
I’m the girl you’re looking for if you’d like someone skilled in landscaping, dedicated, and a hard worker.
Please get in touch with me via email, text, or phone.
This project can be a one-time visit to get you on top of things for the seasons or on an ongoing basis.
Thank-You,
Katrina
Although my results were remarkable, I should have taken more time writing the ad.
My New Clients
During the first week, I received two replies once the ad was up on Kijiji.
I worked out an arrangement with one of my new clients.
I’ve been their private gardener for almost two years, working three hours every other weekend just helping them keep their property pristine.
I give them a helping hand with whatever jobs they want completed.
Between grandparents and the kid’s dad, three hours on a weekend, it isn’t too hard to find to make some extra money.
Property Flip Landscaping
Last summer, my Kijiji Ad attracted a young couple who had recently purchased a property and planned to flip it.
Again, in my ad, I listed all the services I offered, which, lucky for me, they needed.
Mentioning my education in the ad helped my credibility; I wasn’t just looking to pull weeds.
Related: How To Build A Rock Garden With Weed Prevention
This couple hired me after an interview explaining my situation to them.
I was honest, stating that being a single mom was difficult for me and to work eight hours a day, five days a week, would be a struggle.
However, I assured them my commitment to meeting their deadline, and they understood.
Each week I promised to put the hours in every chance I could to get the job done with pride in quality and artistry.
I met their deadline and earned $2000 of extra money in my pocket.
Thankfully for them, they sold the house right on schedule.
I wasn’t expecting to find a job like this when I posted the Kijiji ad.
Not only did the extra money help me catch up on my bills, but I was able to purchase the new tires I desperately needed for my car.
I have since obtained multiple clients through word of mouth from this job alone.
Word of mouth works when the client is happy, and the job looks fantastic.
As 2012 rolled along, I still had the first clients from the Kijiji ad and another private residence with occasional hours throughout the spring, summer, and fall.
I was fortunate to have multiple small jobs lined up in 2012 and hired to remove and replace an existing lawn.
Building Clientele and Portfolio
I have plans with my two ongoing clients to continue with them and hope to secure one more property.
I will continue advertising and hope again for multiple small, one-time jobs to earn extra cash and build my landscaping portfolio.
Teaching Piano For Extra Money
On a smaller scale, I have also planned to try and do the same with my other passion, playing the piano.
I have played for 26 years and would love to play for others.
I aim to post an ad offering to play at weddings and other minor functions to make extra money or maybe offer to teach a piano lesson.
Tips for Making Extra Money
- Find something that you are good at and turn it into extra money!
- Please discuss what you do; talk about it a lot! Word of mouth can do amazing things for your business.
- Remember to maintain a professional image even though you are working for yourself.
- Don’t take on more work than you can fit into your already busy life; you don’t want to commit to work and cannot follow through.
Discussion: What Ways Do You Make Extra Money As A Single Parent?
Please leave your comments below.
Thanks for reading,
Mr. CBB
Post Contribution by: Katrina B
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Looks like you do great work and enjoy it! 🙂
Thank you!!! 🙂
What an awesome woman! This absolutely shows that with hard work and dedication, you can find extra money on the side. Everyone has a skill or talent that they can use for this! Great post!
I agree! Take what you love to do and make something out of it! Thanks for taking the time to comment 🙂
Where are you located??
Katrina will be on at some point today to address all the comments. 🙂
I am just outside of Kitchener-Waterloo. 🙂 Feel free to email me at katrina_6435@hotmail.com if you would like to know more. Thanks you for reading! 🙂
Wow – I mean all I can say is wow!!! Two kids, divorced and look at her go. She inspires me to do what I love. Thank you for sharing. GREAT post!
You’re welcome! Best of luck to you!! Thank you for reading 🙂
Wow you are an inspiration and you are very dedicated. I think the key to part time work is you have to enjoy it, otherwise if it’s taking up your precious spare time from your regular job it can be draining and stressful. Glad you found passions you enjoy and that can make you money.
Enjoying what you do certainly makes it easier! Thanks for taking the time to read my story 🙂
Wow, what a great post! Thanks for sharing your story. As a stay-at-home mom looking to bring in some extra money, your story is inspiring to me personally 🙂
You are very welcome! Thank you for reading it! My hope was to inspire at least one or two people, best of luck to you 🙂
Great initiative in order to be able to meet your needs! I like to see people who are determined to improve their situation actually go out and do it 🙂
Being able to afford some extras for my kids makes it worth it! Thanks for stopping in to read it!
Wow…. this explains how you knew exactly what I was talking about with the seeds!!!!! Lol!! My gardening is the self taught kind…..and I have the pile of books to prove that one!! What you are doing is awesome!!!!!!! Other than the fact I have a small yard the biggest problem I have at times is a hubby that wants to have things look full yesterday when you just planted….I have raised beds here and he wants to fill them up….. give the plants a couple of months and they fill out just fine but he doesn’t want to wait… I need to dig up along the driveway where we made the mistake of planting one chameleon plant!!! It’s going to take a few years to clean that sucker out!!! If I can get in there to dig I want to plant some nice big annuals to crowd it out. I’m thinking Picotee Cosmos, white Nicotaina and rose Cleome… and nice pink and white look, don’t you think??And big enough to shade the chameleon….I hope!!!!
Thanks Christine, I really do enjoy digging away in the dirt! The cosmo, nicotiana and cleome combination sounds beautiful. Not sure exactly how your layout would be, but I would recommend planting the cleome in clusters of 2 or 3, the cosmos will get pretty big and you may not see the cleome. Good luck with the chameleon plant, if it’s contained to a raised bed you may be able to dig it out completely, you will likely lose some soil trying to get all the roots out so you may have to replace some soil afterwards . If you ever need to borrow a gardening book I have a large collection as well! I really admire self-taught gardeners!
If you husband likes the ‘full’ look right away, have you considered planting some evergreen shrubs then just adding some annuals every year to add some colour? Again I guess that depends on what kind of area you are working with.
Very cool how active you are at taking initiative. A lot of people think finding a part time job is hard, but like you’ve found out there are lots of part time positions out there that require no special skills or previous work experience. It’s often through taking on these extra jobs that doors will open for better opportunities. I work part time at school which is great because that’s how I’ve met a lot of my current friends :0)
For sure, you have to keep looking!! Having the stable,guaranteed income is key to how I am able to do what I do, I’ve met many friends through mine as well! A nice social environment 🙂
Great Post. Thanks for sharing.
What a great post. I love how made your situation work for you instead of feeling sorry for yourself. Very inspirational.
Kudos to you.. I would love to see more of your work, the before/after is very telling.. Personally, I can’t stand the actual “doing” of home improvement projects, but I still love them.. Just for the “after” 🙂 I just wish that I would remember to take a good “before” picture.. I seem to always forget to do this!
-jefferson
Thank you! I have forgotten a few times as well! I am planning to share some more pictures in the next couple months. Keep an eye out on Canadian Budget Binder:)
Some passions are easier to turn into money than others. I’ve been trying to build an ebook formatting business, but there isn’t as much business and my competitors aren’t limited by location!
Maybe time to look for something else that you enjoy and/or good at? Good luck, I hope things can pick up for you 🙂 Thanks for stopping in to read it 🙂
Basically, through the same skills I use at work, but for other clients!
Good for you Katrina! Not only do you like gardening and landscaping, you found a way to make money at it by meeting a need a lot of us have. I like gardening, I have no expertise in it, so it is trial and error, but my biggest challenge is time! I would like to find someone like you in my area.
Thanks Leslie! I’m constantly learning as I go! Every job presents a new challenge. Thanks for taking the time to read it 🙂
I found this story so inspiring. I am currently in a similar situation. I am a landscaping mom, and with the way the industry is going I am finding it hard to keep it as a full time job and finding it very hard to find another well paying job that fits my hours and utilizes my skills, this post gave me some more hope as I feel pretty down sometimes not knowing how we are going to get out of this debt and pay our bills, while providing for our family. Thank you
That’s awesome, there are lots of people out there who would appreciate your helping hands! Good luck to you 🙂
You picked an excellent hobby to turn into cash. I also love landscaping. Not only is it quiet, the results look great and it keeps you healthy.
I couldn’t agree more! A nice stress-break in a busy life! 🙂
IT’s always fun doing what you love. Making money is just icing on the cake.
It’s always great getting paid doing what you love. Many find it hard to find that while working.
What a great story Katrina! I am a stay-at-home Mom & always trying to think of ways I can make extra money. I haven’t figured it out yet but you are definitely an inspiration! 🙂
thanks Tricia. I hope you find something you enjoy to make some extra cash! 🙂
Hi…how does one get in touch with Katrina’s landscaping business?
Feel free to email her at canadianbudgetbinder {at} yahoo.ca Subject: Katrina