Okay, I’m guilty. At one point I did enter those networking organizations. But to clarify, it doesn’t mean I am for easy money or anything like that. I still personally prefer hard-earned money because I believe we all value it better and we invest it more wisely. To defend myself (not that anyone is judging; well, if you are), I only entered two in my lifetime.

In some of those networking invitations I received, I remember how a friend would invite me out for lunch or dinner. Here I am thinking how thoughtful this friend was for contacting me all of a sudden to catch up. How wrong I was. It turns out to be a “business opportunity” that I was not informed about. So then, I am trapped for one to two hours listening to testimonies of the “millionaires” and how this so and so networking helped them achieve their dreams and gave them financial freedom they have been aiming for. They would even discuss the “strategy” of how they made it to convince you that getting your first million is easy when you join their network.

Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that networking is bad nor am I discrediting the networking companies. That’s not my point here. I actually earned some from those that I joined and I am grateful for how it has blessed me financially. I have great respects for the people who introduced me to those networks I am part of and I admire the stewardship they have for investing the money they earned. They are credible companies who does not just promise you millions but teach you how to be good stewards of it. And I joined them not for the money I will earn but for the product they were endorsing which I personally use and advocate. Therefore, networking may actually help us have a quality of life.

Now that I am a wife and a mother, I am faced with real financial obligations regularly. It’s easy to fall into the mindset that I can do networking and earn a lot. Although sales was never an easy feat for me; I appreciate those people who work in that department—hats off! Yet in networking, you can earn without aggressively selling—if you’ve been part of a networking company, you know how the system works. So if I am a homemaker and I want to earn an extra, networking could work. But I choose otherwise. I want to invest in a steadier system that would enhance my knowledge in handling finances and grant me an avenue to be creative and flexible. It may not be an instant ROI but the experience that goes with it will provide me wisdom in the next steps I will take. I’d just have to be patient and be more inventive in where I will invest my earned money. Eventually God would return the hard work that I put into growing the little “talent” I was entrusted with. It won’t be easy but it’s possible and attainable.

I don’t know how my networks are doing now. I’d want to check back on them but all of this would just defeat its purpose. I may not be able to get back the money I invested there but instead of moping about it, I will think of other opportunities that would help me be more money-wise and business-smart. That way, I can support my husband in managing household responsibilities and teach my children how to put worth in earning their own through hard work.

*Long sigh*

Yes, it seems being a homemaker makes you ponder even on trivial things like networking.