From the summer of 2008 until last year I'd been able to keep a mostly full-time schedule and earnings equivalent to a $35-40+k job working for freelancing and other websites. If you have a degree and/or writing, editing, programming, customer service, teaching, or design experience one can likely find at least something on the side for extra money without having to start an independent business or personal website. My child no longer needs daycare so I don't have to worry about that expense at least- maybe helpful for another's success if they're unaware of the substantial extent of work available online these days.