Take a look at how much money you make at your job per hour. Then subtract taxes. Now, deduct all your work expenses, just like a business. Gas, car maintenance, clothes, food or work supplies, special school or education. Now figure your hourly wage. Don't forget driving time and day care. Not a pretty picture is it?

Think about how your life would change if you didn't have to go to work anymore. What if you made all the money you needed from home. Figure up how much monthly expense would be saved. The whole list from above. Look at the numbers. To live and sustain a comfortable lifestyle for you. Add up the numbers and find your monthly living needs, your baseline monthly needs.

CUT COSTS AT WORK

If you must work away from home here's some tips to cut down on the cost.

1.Work closer to home

2.Work 4/10 hour days

3.Wear out work clothes before buying new

4.Work overtime the same day as opposed to extra days

Obviously, the best case scenario would be to make enough money from home to cover our expenses. There are many, many people doing just that with a home-based business. We already know how much you'd save by working from home. Let's look at a few more advantages to a home-based business.

The first advantage is money. Even if you still work full-time for someone else, imagine how much more quickly you could pay off all your debts if you bring in an extra $200-$600 a month. A part-time home-based business could easily make this much. And you could do something you're already good at and enjoy. Auto repair, home repair, babysitting, yard work, making crafts and selling them, garage sales and almost any hobby you have can be turned into a money-making endeavor.

How big your business grows is up to you. If you provide a product or service with mass appeal and market it well, you could be on your way to full-time home employment. But even if that's not your ambition, just making extra money from something you enjoy doing anyway can be very satisfying both emotionally and financially.

SOME HOME-BASED BUSINESS IDEAS

MLM ? Multi-Level Marketing or MLM is one of the most popular home-based business plans going. Its strength lies in the duplication of the sales plan and the creation of monthly income from past sales. If you like the idea of MLM make sure you pick a product and company you really believe in.

MAIL-ORDER ? This is a relatively easy and inexpensive business you can start from home. You can pick any field you know and like. Stick to your strengths. Writing a small book or manual on fly fishing and then maybe making some flies and selling them all through the mail is one idea. You can put together an entire product line based on your hobby or interest. A newsletter on bird watching with facts about different birds that you put out once a month. Give away free copies to entice them to subscribe. Follow that up with a book you write about bird watching. Only your imagination and your willingness to put some effort into it limit the fields.

Having a business of your own is one of the most gratifying feelings in the world. Especially when it's a field you love. You will put hours and hours of thought and work into it and it will seem like fun. Trust me, I know. And when you reap the benefits (financial and emotional) of your work you will truly feel like you've found your place in this world.

There is a big difference between making a living and creating a life. So many of us get caught up in our day to day living and we don't see the big picture. There is so much more to life and each one of us has a burning desire to do ?something?. It's there, it may be pushed way down inside but trust me it's there.

I can write until my arm falls off and it won't matter one bit to you until you do one thing. TAKE ACTION!! If you want more money, don't go looking for a better job, find a way to capitalize on your strengths on the things you already love to do. That will bring you the satisfaction you're looking for. Not tomorrow, not next month, the time is now. Put together a plan, think it through and go after it. If it fails, take what you learned, change your plan and go again. It takes just as much energy to live and not try to get what you want as it does to try to get everything you want. Life pays exactly what you ask of it. This journey may seem long but believe me, it will be a labor of love. So come on, get going.

GOOD LUCK!!