# Am I crazy for thinking of this?



## TEXKAT (Oct 1, 2004)

I work full-time in accounting and commute two hours a day. And I'm sick of it.

I've been seriously thinking about working from home doing various types of jobs (customer service, selling items on amazon/ebay, transcription, etc.).

*Am I being crazy for even thinking about this?!*

My husband works full time as well, we're very close to being debt free, we have a savings account that could carry us for about four months, and we live a simple frugal lifestyle. If my job didn't pay so well, I would have quit and started out on my own awhile ago.....but the money IS good. 

Am I crazy?!


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## mzgarden (Mar 16, 2012)

IMO, I don't think ideas make you crazy. I think it becomes an issue of having a solid plan to make it work. If I were to suggest a starting path, it would be to begin to do the 'at home' jobs as side jobs while you work at your current job. This gives you the opportunity to test the waters and fine tune your plan before giving up the FT job you have.


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

No, you are not crazy. Maybe first step would be to see if your company would either let you go part time (2-3 days a week) or if there is a work from home possibility. A friend did the latter and now only goes to the office once a week.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Ask your company if you can work from home. This would let you keep your current job, but not have the drive. There are office type companies who have 60% or more of their employees work from home. It saves them money because they need less real estate, coffee, parking, etc.


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## Michael W. Smith (Jun 2, 2002)

What BelfryBat said.

Check with your current employer and see if you would be able to come in once or twice a week (to get and return paperwork) and the rest of the time do your job from your home.

If that isn't an option, would they let you go to part-time?

At any rate, before you do anything, you may want to hold on a bit until you are totally debt free. Add a couple more months of living expenses to your savings.

Another option may be to start up your at home business - customer service, selling items on Amazon/Ebay, transcription, etc - and do it in the evening. You can then gauge if this option is doable.

Good luck!


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## MoonRiver (Sep 2, 2007)

mzgarden said:


> IMO, I don't think ideas make you crazy. I think it becomes an issue of having a solid plan to make it work. If I were to suggest a starting path, it would be to begin to do the 'at home' jobs as side jobs while you work at your current job. This gives you the opportunity to test the waters and fine tune your plan before giving up the FT job you have.


When I owned my last business, I found an accountant that came in once a month to go over the books. I had someone full-time that did the daily bookkeeping, but I needed someone to oversee what was going on and make sure taxes were being paid, etc. Best accountant I ever had. Eventually she adopted 2 orphans from Russia and became a full-time stay at home mother, so I had to find another accountant. Never did find someone as good and responsible as she was.

So possibly setting up quickbooks for small businesses is an option. Most small businesses don't have a clue what account codes they need and what taxes they have to pay. Then you could provide services remotely either on a per hour basis or contract basis. Make sure their taxes are filed on time and do the necessary reporting. Do the yearly taxes.

I think we found her through chamber of commerce. She was doing a presentation and my VP got her card. So find opportunities to do presentations where there are small businesses in attendance.


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## TEXKAT (Oct 1, 2004)

*Thank you all! 

*I'm going to hint at the idea of working part-time to see if that would be possibility here at my job. I'm just not sure if they would be open to it.

Building up our savings, paying down the few debts we have, and working in the evenings from home is where I'll start.

Guess I have spring fever not only for gardening but for wanting to work from home too.


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## TEXKAT (Oct 1, 2004)

Update -- So working from home or working part-time for my current employer is out of the question. I've been researching more work-from-home jobs and realize now that I may have to upgrade my computer. What I have found out that's encouraging is that there is so many different ways to make money from home.


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## hengal (Mar 7, 2005)

Keep us posted!


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## fransean (Dec 21, 2002)

A good place to start getting information is workplacelikehome.com
You will find jobs posted, companies discussed and all kids of helpful suggestions. 

Good luck!


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

I don't think you're crazy. A two hour daily commute isn't any fun and it costs money to do that.

There are legitimate jobs that you can do from home and you mentioned a few of them. Just be aware that you're not likely to get rich working from home. Legitimate jobs will often require either set hours or expect a certain number of hours work from you each day. If you get a customer service type job where you have to talk on the phone, they will expect you to have a quiet environment where callers won't be hearing dogs barking and kids screaming, that kind of thing. And you will also have to have the discipline to put in the hours at home. It's easy to get distracted by the typical things a person might expect.

Good luck!


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

Not trying to be nosy, but curious whether you're still commuting the 2 hours or whether you've been checkin' out some possibilities for work-at-home stuff.


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

dabble with a few on line money sources and see if you even like doing them. See if they pay enough and how much labor you need to do.


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## MichaelZ (May 21, 2013)

Crazy? Only if you lose health care. But if your husband's job covers that, then go for it. Sounds like doing accounting from home would be your best bet, either for your current employer or someone else. Don't fall for some "work from home scheme" - most are just a lot of hot air. Make use of your skills - they will truly give you a real work from home job. 2 hours of commuting adds up to 500 hours a year - unless you are learning something in that time, it is truly wasted time (and energy).


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## TEXKAT (Oct 1, 2004)

Update - I'm still working full-time (and commuting 2 hrs) but I'm also working part-time from home. I'm come across several "scams". Gosh! We all have to be so careful. grrrr Anyhow, I'm doing some data entry (very low level, no coding). I figure if I can get set up with several different (at home) jobs, I'll quit my current job.

We're still putting more money in savings and trying to stay debt free. Plus, trying to keep to a frugal lifestyle. DH is supportive, but I can tell he's a bit apprehensive.

Thanks for all of your comments.


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

TEXKAT said:


> Update - I'm still working full-time (and commuting 2 hrs) but I'm also working part-time from home. I'm come across several "scams". Gosh! We all have to be so careful. grrrr Anyhow, I'm doing some data entry (very low level, no coding). I figure if I can get set up with several different (at home) jobs, I'll quit my current job.
> 
> We're still putting more money in savings and trying to stay debt free. Plus, trying to keep to a frugal lifestyle. DH is supportive, but I can tell he's a bit apprehensive.
> 
> Thanks for all of your comments.


Thanks for the update! Glad to hear you're at least taking some baby steps towards making something happen. DH will feel better as you get some history behind you and he can see how it goes.


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