I began my maternity leave moving from Calgary to Edmonton with finances somewhat lined up to for us to survive until the government maternity leave benefits kicked in, however the bug extermination fees really hit hard and the cost of the move left things very tight. When I gave birth to my beautiful baby girl I couldn't help but wonder how much longer until the government cheese would arrive.
As things began to get tighter and tighter, my brain began to work harder and harder as to how or what I could do to earn additional income until we could get on our feet.
Two kids in tow (and recovering from a c-section) I began to make trips to the bottle depot. While this was a great way of earning a bit of money right off the hop, it was not nearly lucrative enough. The money from the bottle depot was enough to get a bunch of those plastic rollers from Dollarama which enabled me to roll up all of our change. You would be surprised at how fast the change adds up. In order to roll the change and exchange it for dollar bills at the bank you must have them rolled in the proper papers or rollers or the bank will not accept them (don't just roll them in white paper and hope the bank takes your word for it...they won't). If you don't have the money to buy any rollers, just go to the bank and ask for them. Most banks will give them to you free of charge and you can ask for as many as you like!
The next thing I began to do was make almost daily trips to the children's consignment stores. Trust me...its tempting to hang on to those clothes because you might need them again one day. I did that. They sat in my basement for 4 years. I decided it was time to give them up. Places like Once Upon a Child (http://www.onceuponachild.com/) will pay cash for your gently used childrens items on the spot. This can also add up quickly, particularly if your child's clothes are in great condition. They will not accept "Simply Basic" (I think that is from Zellers) nor will they accept "Teddy's Choice" - the old Superstore line of clothes. Once Upon a Child will take clothes two bins (or boxes) at a time. Do not take your items in plastic bags though or they will not be accepted. Gently used toys are also accepted.
The added bonus of doing this is, it gets you out of the house and interacting with other grown up people! Its easy to fall into a depression being stuck in the house on your maternity leave with a baby that needs to feed every three hours. Pushing yourself to gather up the items every time you have two bins will make you feel a sense of accomplishment as well for getting out and earning a few extra bucks, even if you just use that money to go to 7-11 for a slurpee. Job well done!
Another fantastic source of generating a bit of extra revenue is selling your used items on Kijiji (http://www.kijiji.ca/). All you need to do is have a user ID (which you can easily obtain for free with an email address). Listing your items on Kijiji is always free.
Those of you that know me well (or who have had the unpleasant experience of helping me move) can say that my basement looked like something straight out of Hoarders. I began selling everything on Kijiji you can imagine. I even sold things that were broken (one mans trash is another man's treasure right??). The kids clothes that were not purchased by the consignment store I then put into bundles (or "lots") and sold each lot for around $20. Some days I would make upwards of $100 just selling items on Kijiji. That is enough to get some groceries in the house! If your items don't sell right away, don't be discouraged. Take them off Kijiji and wait a week then re-post them, you will have a whole new list of viewers and better chances to sell.
The added bonus of selling items on Kijiji is, once again, it helps to get you interacting with people that do not soil themselves and expect you to change them. Also, it really helps to eliminate clutter. Anything that does not sell on Kijiji can always be sold by my final way of making some extra cash...
The Garage Sale. Sure...its a pain. Having to police your garage while strangers peek through your belongings takes some getting used to, but people are always out to look for a bargain and if you price your items right, you can stand to make a good haul having a garage sale. This is also a good way to sell some of the kids items you are no longer using along with getting rid of anything you have in your home that you were hoping to get rid of anyways. Games, clothes, toys, furniture, you name it. Someone is out there looking for it. The key to having a successful garage sale is to make sure your signs are clearly visible. If you cannot buy yourself the actual "Garage Sale" signs, just buy some bright coloured paper and a black marker from your local dollar store and use big bold letters so everyone can see...and put the signs on busy streets but make sure they point in your direction! :) Oh, and advertising your garage sale on Kijiji certainly doesn't hurt either!
Remember if finances are tight, they will improve it just takes time...at least...that's what everyone keeps telling me! The final bonus of doing all of this work is that it is certainly a lot of exercise. Exercise releases endorphins...endorphins signal feelings of happiness and well-being. If the exercise doesn't make you feel happy, having a few extra dollar bills in your wallet certainly will!
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