SAHM Can Work

A salon or fitness center will not hire you to do massage if you are not licensed. Their insurance would not permit this. What are your skills or qualifications to tutor, and where will your son be during that time? Here where I live, most tutors are certified teachers or for a cheaper version, high school honors students. You can offer to babysit by having people drop their kids at your house, but it's not typical to show up at someone else's home for a babysitting job with your own child. Most of these ideas may bring in a little money but are not a full salary, unless of course you provide daycare in your home for a few babies/tots.
Good luck

Home-based businesses are the fastest growing segment of the economy. I have a lot of friends in AZ who do this so it's not regional at all. You have to have a service or product that is in high demand and that people will buy in a tough economy and which they need every month. For example, giftware and jewelry are one-time, occasional sales and not things that people need every month, and they require a big expenditure up front for inventory. When I was looking for a business, I really reviewed all of that and found people were spending more than they were making. There are ways to evaluate a company (credentials, retention rates, types of compensation plans, etc.) and I can give you more info if you want. I found something with great integrity and quality, and believe me, it's worth it to do your homework.

I agree you cannot do massage in a salon or gym without a license. Wherever you received your training should be able to provide you with a few extra hours to qualify for licensure. You also cannot do it in your home without insurance and credentials - too risky.

Schools around here usually refer students only to tutors who are certified teachers, but sometimes parents are looking for someone during the summer to provide extra help. You could put flyers up in supermarkets, the library, some coffee shops, anyplace with a public bulletin board. Ask friends what they are paying or call other tutors to inquire. You'll want to evaluate your skills and be sure you are qualified in those areas - don't try to present yourself as someone who can do it all. What age kids are you most qualified for or have the most experience in? What teaching materials do you already have on hand? What knowledge do you already have of the school curriculum so that you can tie in your tutoring to those areas? Those are some of the questions to ask yourself before you try to market your abilities. You don't want to spread yourself so thin that you have a whole bunch of students in different subject areas - the prep time is too much. For every hour of teaching, you need to figure about a half hour of prep time - so having 10 students in the same subject area really cuts the planning time.

I go to a masseuse who works out of her house and does women only. To me it doesn't matter if she is certified as she does an amazing job-and if she didn't I would simply not go back. I am not sure what her deal is legally or if she has a license or not. She charges $40 and I heard about her from friends. This might be a hard job to do with a kid around though as nothing would wreck the relaxation like a kid running around and who would watch your child during a session?
I would not put my kids in a language or reading program with anyone who was not credentialed and was just looking to start a business doing this. If you are nnot experienced in these I would not start these as your business.
Babysitting could be a good idea. There are many working parents who could use before/after care and someone during the summer.

Do you play an instrument at all? People tend to pay more for their child to learn an instrument. I believe (correct me if I'm wrong mamas), you would technically need a business license no matter what you do (?). Yes, it means you have to pay taxes, but it also means you can deduct business related expenses, etc. I just know that I needed one when I taught piano, even tho' I only had a few students that I taught out of my home and really did not make any significant amount of money. I know here in Utah there is a "Department of Workforce Services" - they help people with job skills as wells finding jobs. When my husband was out of work after heart surgery he went to various meetings and actually learned a lot as far as resumes, contacting people, etc. I don't know if Arizona has something similar? I know you guys are an international student family...I don't know how things would differ. I've been in so much pain this pregnancy, I would LOVE a deep tissue massage and acupressure facial! I think that would be your best bet. However, you would probably want to check the legal ramifications if somebody came back and said you had done something that made a physical condition of theirs worse...and wanted to sue. I don't know if all places are as 'sue-happy' as America...but geesh...it sure seems like people here sometimes are constantly looking for easy money by suing other people!

Also...if you are in the market for a car...be very careful about cheap cars. I would go through a dealer if at all possible (even for a used car)...at least than you are generally protected by 'lemon laws' (meaning, if something goes really wrong because of something that they should have told you...you have a better chance of being able to do something about it...I think :p). All I know is that we bought a car once through a private seller...within two days the transmission died (we were told it had just been replaced and was like new), I filled it up with gas and it was literally gushing out the bottom of the car, and I could go on and on! It had so many problems! There was nothing we could do about it - we just lost the money and sold the car for a couple hundred dollars as parts. Even something not that extreme can be a problem if you or your husband can't do the mechanical work on a used vehicle. Does Arizona have a good bus system? By the time you figure in registration and insurance, It may be cheaper to get monthly bus passes. Sometimes you can get significantly discounted bus passes through college/universities. Often children under 5 or 6 ride free.

Good luck! I know financial struggles can be so hard!!

ETA: You will get more accurate information if you ask around where you live to find out what the going rate is for the services you are considering offering. Somebody in certain parts of New York or California would probably be able to charge more for babysitting or tutoring services than somebody here in Utah :p. You can list services on Craigslist.com...but I get nervous having people in my home or going to other peoples homes when I know nothing about them. I personally would start with friends and acquaintances. Some people have a problem with a babysitter bringing another child - some do not.

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My mother lives in Shanghai and I have had tons of massages from people I'm sure had no licenses. My mother married her massage therapist who used this job as a way to make money in the "big city" so he left his villiage and picked up the trade. He was great but it is very regulated here in the United States.

The tutors I have used for my daughter were usually graduate students or a certified teacher that had moved to tutoring - I paid very good money, $50/hour. Is your husband at the U of A? There might be a lot of competition.

I think daycare for children in your home sounds great for you.

E., your English is a little bit choppy for tutoring, depending on the type of tutoring you are doing.
Babysitting is a good idea, probably in your house since you'll have your son there. I'm sure you can do this and make some good money.