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Community Corner

Moms Talk: How Do You Stretch Your Budget?

Lisa Brennan talks about saving money and making money.

The economy is rough everywhere and while Caledonia has low unemployment, Racine is at 14 percent unemployment. This makes finding job opportunities difficult. I worked in Brookfield for three and a half years before I was laid off and let me say, being a single parent with a commute that long is difficult.

Here’s the deal, I do not want to commute to work anymore. More than that, I only want to work when my son is in school, which was what I had before my old company started to go under. Here are some options, I have considered working from home, starting my own business, making odd cash here and there, and working part-time. So I began looking to see if there really are legitimate online companies that pay.

Therefore, I am currently meeting with some friends to begin to formulate a business plan for an idea I have. In the mean time, I have been all over the Internet scouring our ideas about how I can make money or eliminate an expense. What I found: the best resource is always with the people you know.

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Product tester jobs are real and you can work for companies such as Nike, to test the newest shoes (Currently they are not accepting children’s applications, but adults are encouraged to apply). You really can get paid to take surveys, look at ads, be a secret shopper, most are legit the problem is the time invested versus the payout are not usually that great. I have done some work for a company answering questions that people text in.

I have had product parties to earn free products from companies. The interesting thing is, once you start getting things free or can find amazing deal, it makes you a tad bit unwilling to pay normal prices. You can contact companies to just tell them you like their products and they will send you coupons. I was at Wal-Mart doing some shopping when I noticed that some items were more expensive than Pick n’ Save. Wal-Mart will do a price match, but that is a pain and some items are slightly different even though the essence of the product is the same. I realize I can’t always get free toothpaste or receive cash back from my coupons when buying milk, but those are amazing victories.         

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So many of the moms I know are always wondering how to make a little more money here or there or stretch the dollars a little farther. It is possible to get a free lunch in life you just need to know where to look. But I’ve discovered the best way to find out about those free lunches, is to look no further than to talk to the people you are lunching with. What are some inside tips you have for saving or making money?

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