This post is about legit ways you can make money while on unpaid or partly paid maternity Leave.
Whether it's to help make ends meet or to save up for future expenses, the desire to make money on maternity leave is understandable and increasingly common. In most countries, maternity leave is typically unpaid or only partially paid, which can put a significant strain on a family's finances.
Additionally, the cost of raising a child can be substantial, and as a new mom you may still want to contribute to your family's income while still being able to stay home and care for their little ones.
The rise of the gig economy and online work has made it easier than ever for new moms to find flexible, work-from-home opportunities that allow them to earn money while still being present for their families.
From starting a side hustle to freelancing, there are countless ways for new moms to make money on maternity leave, and the internet has made it easier than ever to find and pursue these opportunities.
With a little creativity and effort, you can find ways to earn money from home working
The list below includes legit jobs that can fit around nap times, play time and feeding time. Some of these jobs can be done at night, whilst travelling, literally, from anywhere really. As long as you have a laptop/phone and good internet connection, you're good.
How to make money on Maternity Leave UK (also applies to other countries)
1. Start writing articles
If you have an interest in writing, writing articles for businesses or bloggers is definitely a great way to make money if you have few hours to spare at night, or over the weekend.
You'll get paid anywhere between $50 to upwards of $1000 per post/article you write - depending on your experience and the client.
This is a great site to find writing jobs.
If you'ld like to retain ownership of articles you write, start your own blog. You can make money blogging by allowing Ads on their blog, through affiliate marketing, and sponsorships.
You'll need to start your blog and build a decent audience before you can make money from it. So not a quick way to make money if your maternity leave has already started. But definitely a great thing to start if you are still months away or thinking long term.
Read all about how to start a blog here.
2. Online course creator
You can create and sell e-courses for virtually anything, so long as you are really good at it.
Need inspiration? Go to Udemy and check out the courses taken by thousands of students.
The great thing about course creation is, you only need the initial effort to create the course, for example, you can dedicate 1-2 hrs every night or during nap time to put your course together. Once its done and it starts selling, you make money with little to no further effort.
It's a really flexible (eventually passive) source of income.
Here are some great platforms to create and sell your online course.
Udemy
Teachable
Skill share
Coursera
You can sell directly on social media platforms using this really great plug-n-play dashboard called Koji. It's free, you only get charged a commission when you make a sale. Online other course hosts.
3. Freelance Writer
If you have a knack for writing, you can also become a freelance writer.
You can choose to write when you want.
You can also choose the type of content you want to write; whether blog posts, sales copy, newsletters, or client emails.
Here are some places to find flexible freelance writing jobs.
Fiverr
Upwork
Flexjobs
4. Virtual Assistant
If you can handle emails, meeting scheduling, creating content, social media and general admin tasks, consider working as a Virtual assistant.
There are so many services you can offer as a virtual assistant. From general admin tasks, to more more specialist tasks like website design and email marketing. What you choose to offer will depend on your skills.
You should be uber-organised and detailed oriented to become a virtual assistant. If this sounds like the perfect job for you and you want to know more you can check this out.
Here are some companies hiring virtual assistants.
Amazon
5. Proof reading and editing jobs
If you have a sharp eye for detail, a passion for reading, and you know the style manuals for writing (CMS, MLA, APA or AP),you can become a proof reader and spend a couple of hours a day around meal times or nap times proofreading.
Your main job is to ensure that written content is free of errors, both grammatical and typographical.
This can include anything from blog posts to academic papers to sales copy.
It's something you can do at any time you find most convenient.
We've summarised the best companies hiring proof-readers here.
If you are interested in reviewing books, Reedsy is actively recruiting and you can get your first job as a proof reader reviewing books for Reedsy Discovery.
6. Online tutoring
You can take a job as an online tutor for any subject you have expertise in.
It's a great mat leave opportunity because many tutoring platforms allow you set your own working hours and connect with thousands of potential students.
The most common tutoring jobs focus on Academic subjects (physics, chemistry, French, history, maths, coding, test preparation, etc.). There is also a huge demand for English teachers; I'll talk about this later.
Some of the best places to find online tutoring jobs include:
Lingoda
Indeed
Reed
7. Social media manager
You'll most likely be spending a lot of time scrolling through social media reading about all things new baby. If you are social media savvy you could use some of this time to work as a social media manager.
You can manage social media accounts for individuals or businesses. You don't necessarily have to work on all platforms (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or TikTok), you can choose to focus on platforms you are most familiar with.
You will need to define a package offering e.g.
3 Instagram posts, one Tiktok video a day X 15 days = £150
This is just an example, for more inspiration, check fiverr to see how similar roles are packaged.
Here are a few places to find social media manager jobs:
SimplyHired
SocialBee
Appen
Belay Solutions
Indeed
Fiverr - freelance
Upwork - freelance
8. Start selling online
Starting selling products you create or source from wholesalers.
Here are a few platforms in addition to amazon and ebay where you can set-up your online store, depending on what you intend to sell.
Shopify - any product ( monthly payment to use platform)
Ecwid - any product (free option is great)
Wix - any product
Woocommerce - any product
Etsy - crafts and hand made items (you pay a one-off $0.20 for every item you sell in your shop)
9. Work in Coaching
Online coaching involves helping people overcome a challenge or achieve a goal. You can be a coach in any area you're experienced in i.e. parenting, career change, personal growth, productivity, weight loss, relationships, the list is endless.
You can always fit clients in around your schedule.
To begin as an online coach, know exactly what you want to help people with. Choosing a coaching field that is in demand is key to success.
To learn more about starting coaching online, and how to identify a high demand niche check out this post:
10. Data Entry Specialist
Data entry jobs require inputting data into databases, spreadsheets, and other systems.
This is one of the best remote jobs for someone who is detail-oriented, organized, loves working in a bit of isolation and does not mind repetitive tasks.
It can easily be done, if you have a laptop and functioning internet. If this sounds like something you'ld love to try, here are some places to find data entry jobs:
Freelancer.com
Fiverr
PeoplePerHour
ClickWorker
Amazon Mechanical Turk
11. Translator jobs
Are you bilingual or multilingual? If yes, consider taking a job as a translator or interpreter.
It's a very flexible job that allows you work with companies or individuals to translate written or spoken content from one language to another.
To become a translator you need to be fluent in English and another language.
Check out this insightful page to learn more about the pay scale and job outlook for work from home translators.
12. Graphic designer
Many businesses need the help of graphic designers in various ways. From creating logos and website designs to social media graphics, contract bids and print materials.
This is a great if you have an eye for design and creativity. I find graphic designing jobs to be fun too as they don't require 100% laser focus.
You don't need to be a tech guru, you simply need to be good at using design software; at the very least Adobe, Canva, or VistaCreate.
You can find work as a graphic designer on so many freelance platforms, including:
Fiverr - freelance
Upwork - freelance
13. Transcriber
As long as you can understand what you hear and have a decent typing speed, you can work as a transcriptionist. This job involves converting audio or video recordings to a text file or document.
You can typically work as a general, medical or legal transcriber - only difference between the three is the nature of documents you need to transcribe.
Here are legit platforms to find transcribing jobs:
Rev
TranscribeMe,
Crowdsurf
Quicktate
Speakwrite
How I made £400 this month on Etsy
If you'ld like to know how I made £400 this month on Etsy, please follow on Pinterest or Facebook and stick around as i'll be sharing really soon.
How to make money during Maternity leave UK
It's a great thing to think about achieing financial freedom whilst on maternity leave. I found maternity leave to be so refreshing and a great time to think about money making ideas. I hope you find this article useful. Please remember to share and thanks for stopping by!