Hi My Name is ____ and I'm Broke

I figure there are probably quite a few of us that could insert our name in that blank today. I know I sure can. For those of you who don't know, I became a SAHM for the first time in April after the end of my maternity leave for our second child. It was by far the hardest decision I've ever made. I knew it would leave us financially "strapped" like we've never been before, but I guess I was hoping it wouldn't bother me like it does. But it does bother me. Alot.

You always hear about those moms that say they don't miss the "things". That you get used to it. That the kids don't need "stuff". The only thing I can think is that those people either never had the "stuff" or maybe I just haven't been at this long enough. Cause right now, it sucks.

My son still asks everyday if we could just go get more money out of the bank. He doesn't understand why we can't go shopping everyday now that mom is home. He doesn't understand why he no longer gets a hot wheel at the blink of an eye. $.97 adds up when you're broke..

This week I had to turn down a girls night out to the movies because I don't have $8 to spend because we just got a surprise $38 bill for Ethan's bloodwork in the mail the same day we got a letter stating that my husband's student loan payment is doubling because THEY calculated something wrong. I had to turn down a birthday dinner invite, because I didn't have any money to buy her a birthday present and it's just not right to go to the dinner without one. I had to put back an awesome birthday present for a friend's daughter because I just can't justify the expense even though the thrill on her face when she opened it would have given me great pleasure for days. And I can't buy my husband the truck of his dreams, because well, we don't have money for that either. Even if it is used and has 114k miles on it. I can't buy groceries next week to pay to go to my best friends bachelorette party which is at a spa. Could I not go, sure. But she's only gonna get married once. And I would never forgive myself.

Like I said, I knew that times would be rough. Oil changes would have to come from the savings..if that gives you any idea of how close it would be. But my long commute meant I would now have to split that hour a day I got with one child with two and I just couldn't figure out how that would be possible or worth it. I made pretty good money and leaving that job meant cutting our income almost in half. We weighed the pros and cons and when they reneged on going part-time like they said they would at the last minute, I knew this wasn't the place I was supposed to be. So I quit. And gulped. Hard.

I decided to start a blog after my second son was born because I loved the idea of an online journal and an awesome way to share our adventures with family. I quickly found the blogosphere I had no idea about. Then, I began learning about ways you can make money. I couldn't help but be intrigued.

So here I am. I love writing and talking about my kids. LOVE it. So I write. It's therapy for me and I love to think others enjoy seeing pictures of my handsome boys. I hope my readers can relate to some of the issues I go through as well as the adventures. I love getting comments from my readers because it makes me feel appreciated - and any mom knows what it's like not to feel appreciated at times. (Comments have been down, by the way..what gives?!?) But truth is, I also need money. What better way to make money than doing something you love?? So, I'm trying some things.

Here's what I've figured out so far in just perusing through other sites.

1) Affiliation links look to be a great way to make money. However, I want it to be a product I 100% believe in and I haven't found the right one yet. I also found a sight that connects you with companies looking to pay you to post their products for a monthly fee. But if you are broke like me, I'm not ready to jump into another monthly payment.

2) I added an Amazon store link. It works great, except a lot of blogs have it and I'm not sure how to get people to go to mine versus someone elses. I've made $0 since it started 2 months ago. Also, I chose 3 categories to bring up when they go to the store, and it only shows one. I've logged into my account numerous times and can't find where you can revise that yet. If anyone knows, email me.

3) I added the Swag Bucks link. If someone signs up and starts making swag bucks, you get a percentage of what they buy, I believe. That's also brought in nothing so far. But it's only been on there a week or so.

4) I added a Sponsored Tweets link both for companies that want something tweeted and those that want to make money tweeting. I've made $5.00 in 3 weeks. The most money I've made in 6 months.

5) I added AdSense. Really easy to do with Blogger. Great idea, but again, no money since February.

I do believe in the potential of the items I've added, but I also realize you're gonna need a lot of traffic to get a fair amount to click on your blog. And chances are, most of those "clicks" are not gonna come from fellow bloggers - cause they all have one too. So, networking is key. You probably already knew that, but I'm just sayin. If you don't, you won't make any money. I will post a blog soon about ways I've found to increase your traffic so far.

Over the next few months I'm going to do my best to continue to increase traffic, research more ways to monetize my blog and try those different methods out. I will share everything I learn along the way to hopefully save you time. And if you have any tips or advice, feel free to comment here so we can all learn together. Because, after all, isn't that why we are all here - to support each other! :)