I have five kids. Yep. Five.
“That’s a LOT of kids” is always the first comment people make when they learn that I have five kids, and shortly after they always follow with this…
“How in the world do you afford five kids?!“
When they learn that we homeschool as well, their heads practically spin around.
I totally get it. In this day and age almost every family I know has both parents working. It can feel completely impossible to cut back to one income.
So how does it work? How do homeschool moms afford to stay home?
*This post is sponsored by VIPKID. I am not a VIPKID teacher. I was compensated for my time, but I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own, see my full disclosure for details.
How Homeschool Moms Afford to Stay Home | Teach English Online
Well, our story is a little different than most. I became a stay at home mom when I was pregnant with Cap’n M because I got injured at work.
I always planned to go back to work after I had him and he was old enough, but both Cap’n M and A-Man had/have disabilities that made a traditional job impossible for me.
So I became a stay at home mom, and we lived on my husbands income for a few years.
Fast forward 4 years, and now my husband and I both work from home full time.
Now, your story won’t look exactly like ours, but mama, if you’re looking for a way to afford to stay home so you can homeschool, I might just have a solution for you!
Living On One Income is HARD
First, let’s just acknowledge, living on one income is HARD. Especially as a growing family.
When you’re living paycheck to paycheck, something as simple as needing an oil change on your car is enough to feel like an emergency.
The first year that I was a stay at home mom, I wanted to find a way to help relieve a bit of that stress on my husband.
I never dreamed we’d be where we are now. I just wanted to pay for a few coffees… (I love Starbucks… #guiltypleasure!)
I tried out some survey sites and little things to make money, but what I needed was a real work at home opportunity.
How Homeschool Moms Afford to Stay Home
Now, if you’re a mom who lives comfortably on one income and doesn’t need to stress about how to afford to stay home and homeschool, more power to you!
But if you’re looking at your finances and desperately trying to find out how to make ends meet, or maybe you live comfortably but you’re looking to work as a way to “fill your cup”, this post is for you.
Trying to Find a Work at Home Opportunity
Let me just tell you, it is not easy trying to find a work at home opportunity that’s worth your time and isn’t spam.
When I decided to get serious about trying to work from home, I looked at survey sites, transcription services, and a bunch of random “work at home jobs” that were really just spam.
It took me for.ev.er. to actually find something that would work for me and my family.
I started this blog, I spent hours and hours and hours building a few businesses from the ground up, and I wouldn’t change my story.
But you know what? I do kind of wish that I had found something that I could have done and made money from the very beginning.
Teach English Online
I realize that not everyone is going to start a business, work for free, and hope that one day it eventually makes money, and that’s totally fine.
So if you’re really serious about how to afford to stay home and homeschool your kids, there’s a super simple and fun way to make money from home part-time!
You can teach English online!
How to Teach English Online with VIPKID
What is VIPKID?
VIPKid is an online education platform that allows children in China to take English lessons from teachers in North America, all from the comfort of their homes!
I love that VIPKID really cares about their social impact. Two of their projects that I think are wonderful are their research institute at Stanford studying how children learn languages, and their rural schools in China with the Jack Ma Foundation. The VIPKID teachers get connected to a lower income rural school and get to teach English to the class, virtually.
About Being a VIPKID Teacher
As a VIPKID teacher you don’t have to make your own curriculum or need to speak Chinese! VIPKID uses a flipped classroom approach – students will independently learn the material and will get a 30-minute lesson with the teacher. After that they receive virtual homework and practice games.
You would also be a part of a 20,000+ teacher community with tons of support and meetups.
Some of the best benefits of being a VIPKID Teacher:
- Flexible Hours – I know lots of homeschool moms are teaching early in the morning before their kids are awake!
- Work from Anywhere – Set up an “office” in the corner of your bedroom and you’re good to go!
- Earn an Average of $19/Hour – I don’t know about you, but before I became a stay at home mom, I wasn’t making that high of a wage!
VIPKID Teacher Requirements
To become a VIPKID teacher, you just need to meet a few requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree in any field.
- One school year of full-time teaching experience or equivalent hours in similar educational activities (e.g. home schooling, tutoring, educational mentoring, etc.)
- Eligibility to work in US or Canada.
It’s seriously so simple. You can apply to become a VIPKID teacher today!
You can also follow VIPKID on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
