I failed two ventures before I decided to be a stay-at-home dad. As an entrepreneur, I never imagined making more money at home than in business full-time.
On average, a stay-at-home dad has the potential to make $33,281.34 a year with about 4 hours of work daily. Most earnings came from internet marketing, eCommerce, and property rentals.
This post does not intend to present global statistics on how much money stay-at-home dads make. The information above is based on my actual numbers since 2017. My goal is to provide a yardstick of what kind of income fathers can expect from staying home.
| Year | Annual Income (Gross) |
| 2017 | $46,500.77 |
| 2018 | $25,174.02 |
| 2019 | $27,270.96 |
| 2020 | $34,179.59 |
| 2021 | $23,595.06 |
| 2022 | $32,123.64 |
Is this enough?
A survey by Salary.com in 2014 showed that stay-at-home dads have an average income of $71,463 per year. How I wish I was at that level. Unfortunately, the amount presented on the survey was IF dads were paid for their chores.
RELATED: A Stay-At-Home Dad Schedule: What Do We Exactly Do All Day?
I searched around the web and did not find any legit stats on how much money stay-at-home fathers make. With all the opportunities online, I am sure my annual income is nothing compared to other dads at home.
How do stay-at-home dads make money?
I probably would never afford to stay at home if I became a dad ten years ago. The internet was too limited and unsafe to build a reliable business during those times.
But what we presently have is a whole new story. According to NASDAQ, a study estimates 95% of purchases will be made over the internet by 2040.
We are in the ripe season of internet marketing. It is a glorious time to take advantage of the opportunities the web has to offer.
Here is a list of activities you can do to make money at home:
- Sell stuff you no longer need.
- Be an internet middleman.
- Rent out unused spaces.
- Make your money earn interest.
- Invest in other businesses.
- Do an online buy and sell.
- Create a blog, a vlog, or a podcast.
Sell stuff you no longer need.
I was broke with a pile of debts when I decided to start over again at home. My initial thought was, of course: what can I do to make money? For some reason, a verse in Exodus spoke to me. It was when God asked Moses, “What is in your hand?”
I sifted through my stuff and found a bunch of things I no longer need. I joined an online marketplace and got rid of my MacBook, basketball shoes, and golf clubs.
They said an average person owns 300,000 items. I am sure there is lots of stuff there you can turn into cash.
Estimated earnings per year: $0. — The truth is we are selling at a loss. We are doing this to raise money to start something.
Read: How to become a stay-at-home dad: To-do list
Be an internet middleman.
A middleman is a person who earns a commission or a mark-up by bridging the supplier and the customer.
One of the early ways I made money at home is through being an internet middleman. I post ads about vans and buses for rent even though I do not own a fleet of vehicles. What I would do when I receive inquiries is request a quote from a transportation company. I will then forward the rate to the prospect with my mark-up.
I did this for two years without meeting the supplier and the customer in person. It is kind of awesome when you think about it. Yet, of course, this is easier than done. There will be trial and error until you devise a system that will work for you, the supplier, and the customer.
Estimated earnings per year: $4,800
Rent out unused spaces.
Observe if you have any unused spaces you are willing to lease out. Property rental is for sure my favorite way to earn income at home. It will only take a week or two to set up your space. Then after that, you can enjoy years worth of passive income.
If you are planning to rent out your property, I recommend you to host it with Airbnb. You will get more visibility, plus it will save you a lot of headaches. You can use my referral link to get an additional $10 after you complete your first reservation.
Estimated earnings per year: $16,080
RELATED: 7 Common Stay-At-Home Dad Problems You May Face
Make your money earn interest.
We can only do so much as a person. Our time, energy, and strength are all limited. It is why it is always clever to make our money work. Let us make them earn interest!
Two of the safest ways to make our money earn interest:
- Invest in the money market fund
- Keep your cash in a high-interest savings account
I now maintain only two regular savings accounts to accept online payments. The rest of the funds go to where they will earn interest.
I wrote an article about this. Follow the link if you wish to read further: Why is it smart to save with GCash today?
Estimated earnings per year: $120
Invest in other businesses.
Another way to make our money earn interest is to invest it in another person’s business. Of course, we have to do our due diligence of asking, researching, and praying. It is crucial to make a study of the company before we dive in.
My first venture on this type of income is with one of my wife’s suppliers. It has been two years, and so far, so good. I am earning around 2% a month from my invested amount.
Estimated earnings per year: $240
RELATED: How do you earn in Ginvest? (Simplified, tips, stats)
Do an online buy and sell.
When it was time to buy myself a new laptop, I did not find my preferred variant locally. I searched online and only saw a few options – worse, all of them are overseas.
It took me a couple of weeks before I found a way to get the computer I wanted. I researched and researched. As soon as I figured out how to procure the laptop, I decided to buy not one but two machines. — One for me and another one to test if I can sell it online.
Praise God I sold the unit within a week. You probably know what I did next. I bought another one and sold it again. I rinsed and repeat.
It’s been almost three years since I got those laptops. We now have opened an eCommerce site for it. All glory to God.
If you have enough money saved, you can take a look at online buying and selling. But proceed with caution as this route is a bit risky. Be sure to use the money you are willing to let go.
Estimated earnings per year: $7,200
Create a blog, a vlog, or a podcast.
With blogging, vlogging, and podcasting, we can now get paid doing what we love. Passionate about pets? Write about it. Good at cooking? Teach your recipes on YouTube. Love to tell jokes? Tell it in a podcast episode.
We are now in a generation when we can monetize our passions.
How do we earn through blogging, vlogging, and podcasting?
They all earn similarly: through ads, affiliate marketing, and sponsorships.
Ads are the little banners you see floating on a website. On average, a website owner can earn $1-$3 for every 1,000 people who saw the ad. If you want to start putting ads on your blog today, check out Ezoic.
Affiliate marketing is recommending products and services for a commission. It is like being an internet middleman. You will receive a unique link from a merchant for you to promote to your audience. Whenever a person buys a product through your link, you will get a commission.
The average affiliate commission is 5% to 30%.
Sponsorship is when you offer advertisement packages on your website or channel. It can be a banner on your blog, a product sampling in your videos, or a brand mention in your podcast. Your creativity is your limit when crafting excellent sponsorship packages.
Pro-tip: You will want to reach out to brands that are related to your content.
Based on an average, a blog can earn $29.08 per 1,000 page views. Vlogs are $1-$5 per 1,000 video views, and podcasts $5-$9 per 1,000 episode downloads.
If you intend to start a blogging or a vlogging business, I highly recommend you to check out Income School. They’ll teach you step by step how to do it properly.
Estimated earnings per year: $ ??? — I do not have actual numbers since I have not monetized this blog yet.
Read: 8 Financial Benefits You Can Enjoy As A Stay-At-Home Dad
Bonus: Sell info products
On top of your blogs, vlogs, and podcasts, you can also sell info products. Examples of info products are ebooks, online courses, and premium email newsletters. To start writing and publishing your own ebooks, head to Designrr.
You see, there are a lot of creative ways to make money as a stay-at-home dad. I hope this list has helped you in some way.
Closing Thoughts: Credits to my wife
Imagine you are my wife. I came home broke one day and told you my ingenious plan is to stay at home. How will you react?
Crazy, right?
But my wife trusted me. She embraced my decision and supported me all the way.
Today, we both enjoy being stay-at-home parents while running our businesses online. We will never be able to do it without complete trust and teamwork.
If you want to know what made us decide to stay at home, you can read it here.
