Surviving with a single-income home is difficult, if not impossible in the 2024 economy. I have witnessed homeschooling families, including myself and my wife, attempt to juggle multiple bills while working jobs that may not pay as much as others because the parents are committed to investing time in their children rather than accepting a job that pays extraordinarily and requires 24/7 availability.
When you charge $500 an hour for legal consulting, you have a difficult time telling someone that you are not going to be able to take their calls because you are taking your kids to a weekend seminar. You know that someone else will be willing to keep their phone on all weekend in order to answer that question for $500 an hour.
So, we either farm our kids out to a system that provides not just education but complete childcare or we find jobs that are ok with the occasional call-out because family priorities just conflicted with the job’s needs.
But, there are ways to invest in your kids without completely giving up one-half of a couple’s income-generating capabilities. And, if you are a single parent attempting survival AND homeschooling, I applaud you and offer you these 5 opportunities to earn an income while homeschooling your children.
One: Micro-Farming
For the purpose of earning an income, the difference between microfarming and urban farming is negligible. MorningChores has an excellent blog on microfarming and urban farming to go into more depth on specifics regarding a productive homestead.
While you can sell much of the produce that you create in your homestead, the immediate advantages are significant enough that I suggest everyone engage in some form of food growth and production in their homes. You can save money on food even if you don’t produce an overabundance and you also increase the nutrients in your food that come from farm to plate food consumption.
If you want to turn a homestead into a profitable, income generating micro or urban farm, I suggest you research aquaponics and hydroponics, vertical farming, beekeeping, local laws regarding animals, and container gardening. Your amimal husbandry will be limited by noise and pollution ordinances so consider starting a co-op with other homeschool families if you want to produce dairy, eggs, or meat from your farming. Ideally you can make an arrangement with a family who has property and local freedom to raise the animals. Less ideal but still workable is arranging a land lease on some vacant property.
Two: Crafts as Sales and Services
I include this as a specific area that can be included in education of your children while providing you and them opportunities to earn an income. My son has sold projects from his sewing class and both my son and daughter made arrangements with their sewing teacher to pay for items they wanted through their work in the classroom.
I have a coworker at one of my day jobs who sells knit hats. She does not do them as a primary form of income but she enjoys knitting so she makes hats and her coworkers love them and will pay for her hobby work.
One homeschool mom I know sells leather craft goods. Another makes and sells bath bombs, while my wife made Christmas wreathes out of paper bags and windfall pine cones. The amount you can sell varies depending on your capabilities and the time it takes to create something. When you are pricing an item for sale or service work like tailoring, remember to price accordingly. You are not competing with Hobby Lobby, you are creating a unique experience through your product or service for the individual buying from you.
You can always reduce costs or offer for trade in kind when dealing with other homeschoolers who have similar financial situations. See DIYJoy for a list of 75 craft ideas to sell.
Three: Online Sales
While you can sell your crafts online, you can also sell other people’s stuff. There are many courses online on starting an affiliate marketing program but I absolutely do not recommend this for a homeschooling parent as an additional form of income. Unless you really like writing (go back to crafts) and want to invest the time an energy into building an audience online, affiliate marketing will be just a major time and money pit.
On the other hand, if you have a hobby involved in “shopping therapy,” take a little bit of time and capital to set up a basic resale business online.
I have a friend who makes $17,000 per year on his EBay business because he loves estate sales and thrift stores. My wife and I both have Master’s degrees so we sell online courses that we create. This is significantly more lucrative than attempting to sell someone else’s online course using an affiliate link.
Are you able to work as a car mechanic? Sell your favorite supplies/tools online through making tutorials on a personal blog or on a video platform like YouTube. This could work with any area that you have expertise: take something you know and find information, products, or services that you can resell online.
Four: Consulting
I consult with businesses and with people wanting to start schools or colleges. My wife does patient advocacy for connective tissue disorders and neurodiversity. When you have a significant life experience, you can help teach others through your story and experience. Because consulting has to start part-time, this can be a great option if you want to start earning a small supplemental income while homeschooling that can grow as your children become more independent.
Five: Start a One-Room School
One of the most successful strategies for my students who have started one-room schools is to expand an existing homeschool or fill the space for empty nest homeschoolers. Depending on your state laws, HSLDA has great resources on homeschool laws, you may be able to just teach a friend or family member’s children in your own home without any paperwork or legal hurdles. With other states, you will have to register as a co-op or fill out other paperwork but it is still incredibly simple to transform your homeschool into a one-room school with tuition paying students.
Aletheia has some free resources on The One Room School Method as well as a $300 online course on how to start a One-Room School in 30 days.
Income opportunities while homeschooling are many, but you still need to stay the course in the face of a significant loss of income vs childless individuals or those who negligently abandon their kids. But, trust me, the investment in your children is worth it.
