Im a mother of two beautiful children, one being an infant. He is six weeks old, and just as cute as can be! Ive been off work now since mid April on maternity leave. I had no idea that maternity leave meant your going to be broke while enjoying your newborn. I don't want to complain, because I am blessed, and it can always be worse, but the maternity leave benefit seems as though it is designed to get you back to work ASAP. Who can live off of 50-70% of their income, I cant. Have you seen the price of gas??? Needless to say I want to enjoy my newborn without going bankrupt, so I put my hustle hat on, and ive come up with a few ways to make some extra cash, this site being one of them, lets start with what lead me to this site. Craigslist, good ole craigslist. If you haven't heard of craigslist, im not sure why you haven't. Its a great tool, and best of all, its free!!! Its broken down my geographical areas, and you can find all kinds of classified ads, from cars, to jobs, to yard sales, pretty much anything you are looking for in your area or others. I love to write, so to my surprise I found several freelance writing opportunities under jobs/writing, pay ranging anywhere from 50.00-500.00, for editing, and writing articles. All things you can do from home. www.craigslist.com, check it out!

• Next we have paid surveys/focus groups, now honestly I haven't had much luck with paid surveys. They are time consuming, you have to qualify to take the survey (I haven't qualified for one yet), and some pay as little as 1.00. Not really worth it in my opinion. Focus groups seem to be much more profitable, pay for your opinion ranging anywhere from 75.00-500.00, these focus groups can also be found on craigslist, or simply by goggling focus groups. The problems ive been running into is that they are not in the area where I reside. Most focus groups are done in person, at a market research company. If you live in the bay /san Francisco area you have a great chance, there are tons of market research opportunities in this area.

• Yard sales yes yard sales! Summer time is here, and I know there are things in your garage, in your home, and closet that others would want to purchase. One mans trash, is another's treasure. P.S. you can advertise your yard sale on craigslist!

• Trading companies like crossroads will buy and sell your gently used clothing, shoes, and accessories, and give you 35% of the retail value. If you are like me, you have a closet full of clothes and shoes, some with high-end labels, and some not so much. Crossroads loves labels! So if you have some good pieces you are willing to part with for cash, crossroads is the place!

• Next we have Ebay, ive been a part of the ebay community for a long time, and its just not what it use to be, however it still has money making potential. Again you can look right around your home, and in that garage for items. I found tech items sell great, an extra printer you don't need, a camera you aren't using, and old cell phones. Ive sold two of my cells phones, I tend to upgrade every year or so, but others will buy that older model.

• Even if not staying at home like myself, implementing at least one of these moneymaking ideas can help, especially in this economy, everyone needs a little extra cash!