Are You a Beta Mom?

I recently came across a term that was wholly new to me, and unless I'm way behind the curve, it probably will be to you also. It's the recently coined name for moms who do the best they can with what they have, and feel that's good enough.

They're not perfect. They make mistakes. But they love their kids, and are doing the best they can at any given moment to raise them well. Think Julia Louis Dreyfus's character in the sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine. They're "Beta Moms."

There's a great article by Sharon Jayson at USAToday.com about this new "laid-back" brand of mom, along with some signs that you might be a Beta Mom. And to these, I'll add a few of my own.

You might be a Beta Mom if:

• You sometimes serve your kids pancakes, eggs, or some other food normally reserved for breakfast at dinner.

• You cannot now, nor will you ever be able to, eat off your kitchen floor.

• Your kids are not unfamiliar with the dollar menu at McDonald's and Wendy's.

• You don't cheerfully sign up for every school fundraiser, bazaar, or field trip.

• Your homemade cookies can be broken off in little squares and plopped right onto a cookie sheet.

• Your kids are happy to find two socks in the laundry basket that belong to the same color family.

Feel free to comment with your own additions to the list.

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The Hardest Word to Say

One of the hardest things about being a work at home mom is that people tend to think if you work from home, you've got more time than they have. So why don't you lead the class field trip, organize the church bazaar, or babysit the neighborhood kids when they're out on school holiday? And while it's nice to be more available to your kids - that's the main advantage of telecommuting, in my opinion - that doesn't automatically translate into having more time.

And that's why it's important to have boundaries, and to learn to say no. N-O, no! Sounds simple. But for most women, it isn't. And that's why I love OnlineOrganizing.com's 20 Ways to Say No by Ramona Creel. Study the list. Pick your favorites. And the next time someone puts you on the spot, you'll have an answer ready.

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Pay Yourself First

I've been thinking a lot lately about what's going to become of me in my old age. For many of you, that worry is years down the road. But I'm in my forties, so this subject is looming large in my mind. How can a single work at home mom with three kids to support hope to retire one day, when it seems there's never anything left over at the end of the month?

And that question, says author David Bach, demonstrates exactly where I've gone wrong. In his book The Automatic Millionaire: A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich, his number one mantra is: "Pay yourself first." He claims there are six ways to get rich. They are, and I quote: "win it, marry it, inherit it, sue for it, budget for it, or" - and this is the magic step - "pay yourself first."

The key to making this work, he says, is something that most people don't do, and the reason that many will fail. You must "make it automatic." That means having the 10% automatically deducted from your paycheck, or making arrangements to have the amount withdrawn from your checking account each month on a set date. Bach stresses the importance of putting the money in a retirement account, placing the power of pretax investing behind your wealth building plan. In this way, you pay yourself before you pay the government.

Those who begin saving in their twenties, he says, are at a great advantage thanks to the "miracle" of compounding. But it's never too late. Those in their forties or fifties can still build up a nice little nest egg. They just might have to up the percentage that's automatically put aside each month. The main thing, he stresses, is taking action now.

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Cool Site O' the Day

Just ran across this neat site. You can fax anywhere in the U.S. and Canada for free. All you need to have are a computer with Internet access and an email address. It's faxZERO.com. You can send a .PDF, a Microsoft Word document (.DOC), or an Excel spreadsheet (.XLS). They state in their FAQ that they hate junk email and junk faxes, and will "absolutely not" send any junk email or faxes.

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Cool Job: Work From Home as a Freelance Writer

Whether it's writing articles for online content, blogging, writing ad copy, or writing a book, many work at home mom's have found freelance writing to be a fulfilling and flexible career choice. With submission sites like Associated Content and Constant Content, and informative sites like FreelanceWriting.com, where writing gigs are regularly posted, a new world of opportunity has opened up for writers who want to work from home.

WritersWrite.com posts a paying markets list that currently boasts 677 magazines, ezines, reviews, journals, and online sites that are open to freelancers. On Freelance Writing Jobs, freelance writer Deborah Ng posts freelance leads daily.

If blogging is your thing, I've heard good things about PayPerPost and Blogsvertise. Bloggers get paid to post about certain topics, and mention the advertiser within the post. There are also sites like ReviewMe.com, where bloggers earn by reviewing an advertiser's site. You won't get rich overnight blogging. But over time, you might build a large enough audience, that advertisers are willing to pay you for space on your blog.

Whatever type of writing you decide on, a great resource is Writing.com. There you'll find a place to network with other writers, share your work, and find useful writing tools. It's free. It's available to everyone. And with your free membership, you have the opportunity to create an online writing portfolio.

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