10 Hobbies that Make Money for Stay-at-Home Moms

I’ll be the first to tell you that nothing is as wonderful as staying at home with your kids.  I’ll also be the first to tell you that nothing is as wonderful as making your own money, on your own terms, doing what you love.  

And as luck would have it, you can actually do all of these things at the exact same time. It sounds too good to be true, but it’s totally achievable.  You just start by making money from your hobbies!

I have not one, but two hobbies that make me money while still being a stay-at-home mom.  Neither interferes with taking care of my kids.  In fact, often, they’re a welcome, if not necessary part of it.  But most importantly, these hobbies (both of which have the potential to become full-blown careers) provide me with more mental stimulation than I ever got in a 9-5 office setting.  They also give me something to talk about with my husband that doesn’t revolve around our kids or household.  And of course, they make me money, which means much more than just the extra cash around the house.

So if you’re feeling the pull to go back to work, but also have a big case of mom guilt, consider some of these hobbies that may be able to give you the best of both worlds!

Related post:  60 Ways to Make Money as a Stay-at-Home Mom  

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Blogging

This has to come first, not only because it is my absolute favorite money-making hobby, but because it goes hand-in-hand with being a stay-at-home mom.  

Not only do you set your own hours and decide your own workload, but you get to pick whatever topics or subject matter you want to focus on.  This means you can actually write about your kids.  You can create craft tutorials based around activities you’ve done with your kids.  OR if you’re up to your eyeballs in kid stuff, you can write about anything else.  Books, personal finance, recipes, travel destinations, politics. Literally anything!

A blog is your own personal cyber business and you get to call the shots.  But what makes this hobby truly amazing is all the potential it holds to make a ton of money. Enough, in many cases, to make more than you ever could in a 9-5 job.

So if there’s a little business woman trapped inside you, begging and pleading for an outlet, give blogging a try!  If you’re ready for the plunge, this post will get you started → How to Start a Money-Making Blog Quickly

Travel & Landscape Photography

This is my second favorite money-making hobby and I absolutely love it (I’ve been at it for over 10 years already!).  I used to love just taking pictures of flowers, landscapes, and cityscapes while traveling, so when I discovered I could actually make money from that, I was ecstatic.

There are a few different ways you can make money with your photos, but here’s my favorite: I upload them to free sites like Zazzle and RedBubble, where they can be turned into products like postcards, posters, and coffee mugs, and then sold!  Zazzle and RedBubble keep a portion of the money (because they do all the heavy lifting) and I get payments every time something sells.

If you love photography, I promise you will love this, so give it a try!

For more details on how to use Zazzle and RedBubble, check out these posts:

• How to Make Money with Vacation Photos
• The 5 Best Ways to Make Money on Zazzle
• How to Make Money on RedBubble

Bargain Shopping

Time to get really excited.  Did you know that you could actually make a lot of money from your shopping addiction hobby?

The most popular way to do this nowadays is to become an Amazon FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) Seller.  What this means is that you will set up a shop with Amazon, send them products that you will post for sale, and then they will take care of the inventory and fulfillment process.

If you can get great deals on items that you know people will pay way more money for, then you’re all set!

If this is something you are interested in, you will want to check out The Selling Family.  They are the king and queen of Amazon FBA sales and their website is full of information to help you start your own Amazon FBA business.

Family Photography

If you absolutely love taking photos, but prefer people over nature (and you’re actually good at it), then you have a ton of potential to make money as a family photographer!

There are a ton of reasons family photography is perfect for stay-at-home moms, but here’s my favorite: it’s really easy, if not better, to take your kids along for photo shoots!  They’re great decoys to get other kids smiling and every kid loves to be a helper.

Aside from that perk, this hobby is also really flexible.  You can decide when and how often you hold photo shoots. You can decide if you do them out of your home, or travel to other places.

Related post: 8 Jobs that Will Let You Bring Your Kids to Work

Sewing & Quilting

If you are good at sewing or quilting, you’ve been gifted with one of today’s greatest money-making hobbies!  The key is to figure out patterns or items that are easy to make, yet still high quality, that can then be sold on sites like Etsy.

Think about things like baby clothes, matching holiday outfits, customizable quilts, and even coasters. If you can personalize an item with embroidery, even better!  Browse Etsy to get ideas and see what you can come up with yourself.  

Etsy has completely changed the game for stay-at-home moms, so they’re a resource worth taking a look at.

Crocheting & Knitting

Crocheting and knitting go hand-in-hand with sewing and quilting – the goal is to set up an irresistible Etsy shop and post your creations for sale!

Just as I said before, the way to set yourself up for success is to come up with high quality (but easy to create) products that are irresistible to customers.  Try to be original and if there’s any potential to customize orders, you’ve got a huge advantage!

Consider using colors that match sports teams, disney movies, or classic nursery designs.  Anything you can do to make yourself stand out will go a long way.

Refurbishing Old Furniture

Time to put your HGTV addiction to good use!  If you just can’t keep yourself from hitting up every yard sale in town to find that golden gem to refurbish, then you are definitely sitting on a gold mine.

If you are good at fixing up old furniture and love to do it, then you have quite a few avenues to make money, the most classic being through Ebay.  Check for Ebay reseller locations around you and you may actually be able to find someone to help with the marketing and shipping (this would make life so easy so you could just focus on your hobby!).

Etsy, of course, is another option, as is Craigslist, which would make shipping costs negligible.

Yoga

Who doesn’t love yoga?  If this is a hobby that you truly love (and are good at), you can certainly turn it into a money-making endeavor while still being a stay-at-home mom.  

You just teach mommy-and-me yoga classes!

This may involve a bit of entrepreneurialism, as you will need to find your own clientele, but one great Facebook Mom Group might be all it takes!  Parks and beaches are perfectly places to hold your classes and might even be a great way to spread the word.

Baking

Everyone loves baking, but if you’re really good at it, you may be sitting on a gold mine.

You will need to employ local marketing techniques to get your name out there, but even something as simple as a Facebook page can do the trick!

Obviously your goods need to be unbelievably tasty, but you also should try to make them fun and beautiful looking and if you can carve out a niche for yourself making vegan, gluten-free, or paleo baked goods, your hobby has the potential to turn into a successful business.

Jewelry-Making

I’m on an Etsy kick here, so let’s continue with jewelry making! This is a really fun hobby, especially if you have a knack for fashion.

As with sewing, quilting, and knitting, you need to make Etsy your friend!  It’s the perfect platform to find people that want to purchase your creations.

One of the perks of selling jewelry is that it is small and easy to ship, which will really keep your costs down.

As with other hobbies that rely on internet sales, try to create one-of-a-kind, unique pieces, but most importantly, make sure they’re high-quality!

I hope you have a chance to give some of these hobbies a try and please come back and tell me about your success story! Good luck to you!

If you’d like more tips on reaching financial freedom, living a fulfilled life, and raising happy kids, subscribe to MBAsahm for notification of new posts!