This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Lana Ng, a 35-year-old stay-at-home mother based in Houston. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I used to work as a marketing coordinator at a local hospital in Houston. I worked in a hybrid role, spending three days working from home and two days in the office, earning about $70,000 a year, and I enjoyed it. That’s until I got pregnant with my son.
I was so happy; my husband and I had been trying to get pregnant for months. I didn’t really think about what would happen once he was born, as I just thought I’d go back to work.
But the day before my maternity leave ended, my boss called me and said he was taking away my flexibility to work from home, and he wanted me in the office 40 hours a week.
I was in a state of shock, but the choice was clear. I handed in my resignation letter almost immediately and became a stay-at-home mom in 2023.
Working on 4 side hustles at once
We were living on one income from 2023 to the beginning of 2026, during which we had our second child, a girl.
When I gave up my salary, half of my husband’s take-home pay went toward our mortgage, so the money was starting to feel a little tight.
I started wishing I could bring in an extra couple of hundred dollars a month to help us cover our groceries. I saw all these women online making money through content creation and side hustles, which inspired me to try it too.
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So in January, I made a video on Instagram sharing how much debt my husband and I had in total and how much I planned to pay off this year, which was $18,000. This was everything except our mortgage, including our student loans, medical debt from having our kids, and some credit card debt.
Over the last six months, I’ve dabbled in mystery shopping, creating user-generated content (UGC) for brands on social media, doing brand deals, and freelance graphic design work. I’ve also experimented with print-on-demand products sold through Etsy.
UGC takes up most of my time, about 10 hours a week, which involves scripting, filming, and editing videos.
Over the last few months, my earnings from side gigs have helped me reduce our debt from $18,000 to $13,100.
Balancing side gigs and motherhood
During the day, I work while my son and daughter nap. When they’re both asleep at the same time, I usually have an hour or two during the day when I can work. That’s really not a lot of time.
But in the evening, from about 7 p.m. to midnight, I have time to do uninterrupted work because my husband comes home, looks after the kids, and handles their bedtime.
My side hustles have affected the time I spend with my husband. It’s either work or time with the kids, because we don’t have house help. I’m thinking about having at least one day a week when I don’t use social media at all so that I can focus on my marriage and family.
What I love about working side gigs is that I don’t have to answer to anyone, unlike in my previous job. If I wanted to take a day off because my kids are sick or to spend more time with my kids, I don’t have to ask anybody.
Feeling like myself again
When I had my kids, I gave all of myself and my energy to them and lost myself in motherhood. I’d realize that at the end of the day, I didn’t really do anything for myself.
I also didn’t love giving up my salary and living off one income. I understand we’re a married couple and it’s our money, but I wanted to bring in my own money so I could buy things for myself, and not have to rely on my husband.
We budget hard, so every dollar has a job. At the beginning of the month, all the money is automatically assigned to something, like the mortgage, bills, groceries, or diapers.
There’s not much left over, and if we spend money on something for me, I start to feel really guilty. So I think the biggest achievement for me is that I can bring in some money, for myself and for my family.
Content creation has been such a creative outlet for me, and I’ve always been a creative person, so it feels like my skills aren’t going to waste. It’s given me a little bit of my spark back.
