Falling for a work at home scam is so easy, anyone can do it! Just forget common sense. Be eager for big earnings with no effort. And forget the cost… you’ll be earning big bucks in no time, right???

Step 1: Search “Work from home,” “home business opportunity,” “earn money fast” or similar terms.

You may very well find some legitimate options under these terms. My own site can be found under some of these terms on some search engines. But these kinds of terms are also targeted by scams as they’re so easy for people who want to starting working at home to think of.

Step 2: Become very excited about the first opportunity you find that promises big money with no effort.

Squeeee! Bounce! Lookit all the money people have earned following these instructions! Lookit all the pretty exclamation points! All the bolding and highlighting! The page is just so pretty, it has to be true!

You don’t even have to make sales. The money will come rolling in, all on its own. But if you recruit other people into the scam… err, business opportunity, you’ll get a part of their earnings too, even if they never buy anything else! Hooray!

Step 3: Sign up with no further investigation.

“I’m going to be rich, I’m going to be rich! Whoopie!” Or a similar thought process. They have a guarantee, after all, it says so right on the site. Surely that will protect you. And if you can’t trust people on the Internet, who can you trust?

Step 4: Ignore all naysayers.

Admittedly, this can be a good policy even if you aren’t falling for a scam… but that’s the only time. Just because someone can point to sites that explain the exact scam or to points on the FTC site that explain why the opportunity is a scam doesn’t mean they’re right, does it? They’re just jealous and/or afraid to succeed themselves.

Step 5: Keep trusting, even as things start to fall apart.

You’re not making money yet, but that’s okay. It will come soon, really. This business can’t fail, the model is too good. It has to work. It just has to!

Maybe if you just sink a bit more money in, just to speed things up a little… maybe you just need more recruits… pay no attention to rumors of an FTC investigation, can’t be true, they’ll show the whole thing is legit, right?

Back to the Real World

The hardest part of this whole thing is that some legitimate opportunities have you do very similar activities. Network marketing, for example, is often best done while also recruiting a downline. Investing more in a legitimate business can be a smart move.

The trick is to know when you have it right. That means researching the opportunities you are considering. Taking your time. Knowing what to say to the naysayers, even if nothing will convince them that you’ve got it right. Even being optimistic when things aren’t moving as fast as you’d like… which is very common in home businesses, especially legitimate ones.

Take some time and write letters to family members or friends. It’s a great habit to get the kids into, and you don’t have to limit yourself to thank you notes.

Just think of all the people who would love to hear from you in a letter. Grandparents. Friends who have moved away or you’ve moved away from. Pen pals.

You can of course just send emails, but there is something about a handwritten letter that’s a little extra special. If your handwriting is as poor as mine is, you’ll have to take extra care to keep it legible. That’s the problem with typing everything.

For children still mastering their writing skills, this is a great and fun way to practice. They can even write to friends who are in the area. Kids get such a kick out of getting mail, and you can build up a habit between your kids and their friends.

You’re trying to get some work done. The kids just won’t give you any peace. It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to get dishes done, laundry, send an email or something else. They want you. Now!

Days like that can drive a parent crazy. You have a lot to do, and the kids just aren’t cooperating. It makes the job so much longer.

Ever consider just giving in, at least for a few minutes?

Often enough, this has been my best way to get some peace and quiet for getting other stuff done. I take a break and have some fun with the kids. When they’re trying so hard for attention, it’s often just that they really need it right then.

Most of the time, they aren’t after a huge time commitment. Just a few minutes of play. My son likes the “tickle spider” game. A couple minutes of that makes him very happy. But other times he or my daughter will need something that takes a bit longer.

If you really need the time at that minute, of course you can take it to get things done. But take the time to tell your kids why. Give them a time frame until you can go play. Set a timer if that helps.

It’s rough sometimes giving up the time you had planned to get something accomplished. Many stay at home moms have really busy daily schedules, and if something else comes up, it’s common to let playtime with the kids slide a little.

Doesn’t mean it’s your best choice. Just the easiest one.

We all know how fast children grow. You won’t regret playing extra, but you might regret getting too involved in caring for your home or working.

Sometimes this means learning to say no to people. If you’re at home people often assume you have tons of free time. And you might sometimes.

Other times, your life is quite full of other things. These are the times that you have to learn to refuse extra commitments. Overdoing it just tires you out and limits the time you have for your family.

Prioritizing can be one of the most important skills a stay at home mom can develop. But no matter how much you plan and prioritize, sometimes your kids will have other ideas. Cooperating with the ideas your children have for having fun together doesn’t have to mess up your plan for the entire day. Just take a few minutes and have some fun together.

Since I’m expecting baby #3, this headline caught my attention. I’m of course well familiar with having baby sleep on his or her back to lower SIDS risk, but having a fan in the room is an interesting one too.

Researchers feel that this indicates that better room ventilation may help in general to reduce risk. The fans showed a 72% drop in risk.

I have to say, this is making me wish for a ceiling fan in my bedroom. Baby will be in there the first few months at least, after all. My husband hates fan noise, so that would be an acceptable way to handle it, I think. A good ceiling fan is pretty quiet on its lowest setting.

Most families get hit with cash flow issues at one time or another. That’s just life. And of course right now many people are very worried about how the economy is going. Is it time to limit your spending on your home business?

Maybe. But hopefully not.

When to Cut Back on Your Home Business

If the money you spend on your business is making it hard to feed and house your family, then yes, it’s time to cut back. But only if you really have your household spending under control first. I’d suggest cutting things such as cable television long before you cut out your home business. There are a ton of other ways you can save money around the house that may help you to keep your business going financially.

Sometimes the money you spend on your business is not immediately paying you back. A profitable home business is always worth it, but if the payback isn’t quick it can be hard to think that way. If you’re having trouble keeping up, that’s a legitimate issue you need to face. Can you work things so that whatever income you are getting from your home business is helping you where you need it most?

A business that isn’t turning a profit yet can be a trickier creature to handle. Giving up means that you are losing the potential for a new income stream. It’s not always the right long term decision.

Your attitude towards your business is a part of this decision. Is your feeling more “Gosh, I hope this works,” or is it “I’m going to make this work, whatever it takes!” Is your feeling realistic, or are you letting emotion get in the way?

If the short term is what you need to think about, try to figure out if you can cut your business expenses way, way back but still keep things going. It may not be easy or even possible in all circumstances, but I recommend trying. If the business model is overall sound, giving up can be a really poor choice.

Finding Frugal Alternatives for Your Home Business

When it comes to just keeping things going, you don’t necessarily want to just keep your business up and do nothing to market it. You have alternatives.

If you don’t have a website, for example, get one! There are both free and cheap ways to get your business online. Bringing your business online can be a great way to expand your reach without spending a lot.

If you’re already online but need a way to cut the costs, take a solid look at what you’re spending versus what is being brought in. A domain name and website hosting are cheap enough that unless you’re bringing in close to nothing, they’re probably paying for themselves. Considering that you can get decent hosting for under $10 a month, this is probably not a make or break expense… unless you have a ton of traffic.

If domain name and hosting are your only expenses, but you still aren’t earning anything, it is very much so time to consider why. Too little traffic? Now’s the time to focus on marketing. Too little income but plenty of traffic? How are you monetizing your site?

When it’s traffic you need you can be frugal by considering the free options, such as article marketing. Whether or not you enjoy writing articles, this can be a great way to bring in links and traffic to your site.

You should also consider posting quality, relevant comments on related blogs. Just saying “great post” isn’t going to get people to click on your link. Blatantly advertising your site is just going to annoy people. Having something interesting to say gives you the best chance of bringing interested people over to your own site.

Monetization can be a bit more challenging. If you’re an information based site, perhaps you need to find more products that will be interesting to your site visitors.

If you’re selling products, but not enough of them, how’s your sales copy? How long has it been since you tested something new? If the same old copy worked over and over again, we’d still be seeing ads from the ’50s or even earlier. And we’d like it too!

The key here is to just not give up. Your money troubles are probably temporary, and giving up is often a very poor choice. Instead, find ways to make it work. Push your limits and see where you can take your business.