by Hope
I had great intentions of posting so much last month. And then, well work!
Here’s a glimpse, a partial glimpse of how my month went work-wise.
Client #1
And this is invoicing to one client. Ignore the Overdue note, that is a payment plan for a website. He’s paid 50% down, but the other two payments are due as milestones are hit. I should receive the remainder by the end of August.
This is my newest client. He’s also my lowest paying client right now. (Well, since client #3 gave me a raise last week.) But makes up for that in volume. He’s been with me since March.
Client #2
I actually got to meet this client in person during a long weekend trip to Chicago. Don’t worry, the whole trip cost me less than $70. I used points for the flight, paid for one meal for Princess and I, and staying with her in her hotel that her new job is paying for.
My client paid for all my other meals outside of breakfast which was included with the hotel. And he drove me to and from the office. Win-win!
This client has been with me since February. Some week’s are great. And some are silent. He pays me $60 per hour these days.
Client #3
I actually got a raise this past month, but won’t see it in my income until this month. But went from $20/hr to $40/hr – woot, woot! I only work between 2-7 hours per week for this client. But it’s been steady since either February or March. And I genuinely enjoy the work. And the people. (I really enjoy all my work and all the people with few exceptions.)
Other Clients
I’ve got 1/2 dozen or so other clients that are hit and miss every month for hours or projects. But these three above have been with me since this past spring. And they are all growing in hours, responsibility, and money. But phew, this has been a busy month.
Income Overall
Hopefully this gives you some insight into my income. For July, I received the amounts listed for clients #2 and #3, for client #1, I received a $2,500 deposit for a web project and just at $3,000 for June work.
About a 1/3 of all income goes to the government in one form or fashion. And the rest to budgeted items. I’ll get an update for my savings and debt out this week. *crossing fingers that I have a moment to breathe.
And I’ll finish that series on where the house money went too. Promise I’ve just been slammed with work! A good thing that I am so grateful for.
Hope is a resourceful and solutions-driven business manager who has spent nearly two decades helping clients streamline their operations and grow their businesses through project management, digital marketing, and tech expertise. Recently transitioning from her role as a single mom of five foster/adoptive children to an empty nester, Hope is navigating the emotional and practical challenges of redefining her life while maintaining her determination to regain financial control and eliminate debt.
Living in a cozy small town in northeast Georgia with her three dogs, Hope cherishes the serenity of the mountains over the bustle of the beach. Though her kids are now finding their footing in the world—pursuing education, careers, and independence—she remains deeply committed to supporting them in this next chapter, even as she faces the bittersweet tug of letting go.
Since joining the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015, Hope has candidly shared her journey of financial ups and downs. Now, with a renewed focus and a clear path ahead, she’s ready to tackle her finances with the same passion and perseverance that she’s brought to her life and career. Through her writing, she continues to inspire others to confront their own financial challenges and strive for a brighter future.
Chicago is my favorite city! Hope, how do you always have so many points to pay for everything, especially since you closed some of your cards? How do you earn points and what is the redemption value? How do you book the flights?
I’ve been accumulating points for as long as I can remember. And when all the kids were around, I couldn’t afford to fly. So they stacked up.
I just spent my last 30,000 points booking the twins’ Christmas flights to Texas. So now I will be starting over. And you are right, without CC, not sure what that will look like.
I do have about 15,000 in hotel points still, so that’s about 3 nights.
I typically book direct with whomever I am traveling or staying with, but I use alot of search tools and try to be as flexible as I can with dates.
Oh boy, now for the questions that we hopefully get answers to:
1) What about the Color Purple play you mentioned seeing with Princess in Chicago? Is that included in the $70? A quick search says tickets start at $60 for balcony seats.
2) Are the indoor sports games and stuff you posted about doing in Chicago also included in the $70?
3) How you are earning so many points and how high are the redemption values? Now that you’re closing cards are you planning on having less points to rely on? Are you budgeting money for the perks that points used to cover?
4) The Chicago client: was it a business trip? If so, why didn’t they pay for your travel and accommodation expenses? If it wasn’t a business trip then why did they pay for all of your meals?
I see you are on my social media…
1. Show tickets were comped by a friend. I lived in Chicago just over 20 years ago, it’s where I met my ex-husband – Princess and Gymnast dad. And I’ve visited if not frequently, regularly. Still have a large friend group there.
2. The indoor sports, etc. is my client so yes, all free or actually paid to be onsite as I was running production on video and photography shoot with professional athletes.
3. Funny you should ask, I just spent my last 30,000 points booking the twins’ flights to Texas for Christmas. My stash is depleted for now. I haven’t decided what I’ll do now, it’s under consideration.
4. The Chicago trip was planned as just a long weekend with Princess. It’s a city we’ve been to before, where her dad’s family lives, and my absolute fav place to visit. When my client found out I was coming, he asked me to work…I had two days that princess would be working so I just picked up and worked onsite for him. (If I hadn’t done that, I would have just found a coffee shop or worked from the hotel room.)
To summarize my understanding:
1. In June you earned $3000 from client 1, for which you received payment in July.
2. In July, you earned $2430 net from client 2, for ~45 hours of work. You also earned $213 net from client 3, for ~20 hours of work.
2b. You may have earned another $4300 for July from client 1, which isn’t received yet, or a $2500 deposit, or $5000. The amounts and relationships between them are not explained clearly. But potentially July was better, although a deposit isn’t earned until the work is performed so it should not be counted as income yet.
Given 1/3 goes to taxes, you had around $2000 of cash available in June and July, and maybe a little more in August for July work. Does $2000 cover your basic budgeted expenses, or did you dip into your windfall money? And if you did, you seriously ought to replenish savings with any extra earned in July/received August.
I am glad you are working and growing your business. However, I feel the update is a lot of smoke and mirrors. I think all we need to see here is what you actually took in over a time period (monthly, bi-weekly, etc). Just keep the time period the same for each time you report it. You can leave a spot for open AR but as everyone know, those can be paid super late or even not at all. So your true income is what has hit your bank at the time. Maybe the last day of the month, anything that has hit your account by that day is your “income” for that month. I would like to see an actual month-what you received and what you paid out. ALL of it. Not skipping over amounts you put away for taxes or business expenses, etc. Those COUNT because they do against what you take in. INCOME with source (ie-regular clients 1, 2, 3, 4 and one off client 5, pay out for a survey done, etc). Then every dime that left your account, no matter the reason. This will help you see where it goes and how you wind up continually behind and help your readers better understand your finances and help you out with more personalized advice.
There really isn’t insight into your income here. You are showing us your business’ recent activity collecting revenue, and add a brief mention that as those funds flow to you a chunk is reserved for your taxes. We also know from previous posts that you have business expenses which need to be paid from these revenues before we can gain insight into what’s available to be personal income.
Where you want to be is to have a working process on the business side that handles that flow from raw revenue to net personal income. You should be able to show for a given time period: I got a revenue, I paid b business expenses, I paid myself c, withheld d for taxes, and e is my net personal income.
This is really confusing. Maybe its different when you are working projects, but how much Income did you actually earn for each month (June, July, etc).
Hope, all the holes in your financial accounting aside, I have to say I’m more concerned about Princess.
The world she is in is about first impressions and I can’t fathom, if I were her boss, being ok with her mom showing up. She should be out networking without her mother. Let her start her career in peace and independently. Totally inappropriate.
I hope the breakfast was really free and that her company didn’t pay for it.
Let her adult. Don’t make her explain why her mother can’t afford her own hotel room or why you are there are all.
THIS! Starting a career in the financial world is very stressful. Finance is still very old school and no room for error. Please don’t join her on any business trips and post about it online. This is her turn to shine and her turn to grow and learn and make new friends and connections. She does not need her mother there, even if just at night in the hotel. Let her adult and forge a path. You could ruin this for her with any small miss step.
Where does it say she met Princess:s boss or fellow staff members? I thought it just says she spent the night at her hotel. Am I missing something?
Thank you. Those were my thoughts exactly.
I definitely did not go to her job, meet her boss, or at any way interfere with her job.
I spent a Saturday with her showing her the city where I met her dad, where I lived right after college (same age as she is now), and enjoying my daughter.
Why would explaining that her mother came to visit her for a weekend be an issue for her job?
She did not take any time off or change her schedule at all?
I do not understand what the issue is with this at all.
You all act like I literally showed up at her job, introduced myself, etc. That would be weird.
To me, this was similar to a spouse visiting or travelling with…not weird.
And if I had to guess, based on just seeing the people coming in and out of a very large hotel, there were lots of moms/parents there that weekend.
I completely understand this because my husband travels all the time for business and since I am a homemaker I almost always travel with him. My only expense is my ticket when I run out of points and since we often stay in hotels that serve free breakfast and dinner, very little food money. I have toured cities all over the world this way, it’s super fun! When I go to appointments with him he makes a point of parking a block or so away and I have never gone into an appointment with him. I have rarely met anyone he works with. It’s a great life. So traveling to stay in an already paid for hotel room is a money saver. All his meals are paid for so we normally order one meal and split it down the middle, it’s usually plenty of food and this makes for a lot of free vacations. In the evenings we explore the surrounding areas. Hope, it was a smart time to visit Chicago, when you didn’t have to pay for lodging.
Thank you. I don’t understand why this has been such an issue.
I would think the free breakfast is for your husband? You split a meal that the company paid for? Are you a friend of Hope’s?
my husband always books one room for two people and makes sure there is not an extra charge. I haven’t collected free meals yet, I never insinuated that.
This doesn’t provide much clarity. Instead of breaking it down by client, can you just show us gross & net? What you actually made, not invoices or are expecting or was a deposit. Keep it simple, please.
Aside from all the financial questions here, you really need to not do this to Princess again. It is really inappropriate for a parent to come and stay at the hotel with their child while they are in draining for a professional job. I’m guessing based on what info you’ve shared what kind of job she has and I have worked in the same field. Trust me, her colleagues think it is VERY WEIRD that her mom did this. It sounds like she has done a great job in school and landing a professional, career-oriented first job. Please don’t tank this for her.
And I want to add… please don’t say “No one said anything and were quite nice.” In that world, people may or may not tell you something is inappropriate and be polite anyway. There are social cues you may not notice, but trust us, they will be talking amongst themselves.
To an employer, having her mom there shows a lack of boundaries at best and is very very weird at worst. It’s her first impression time and this is not a good one.
How in the world would her employer know I was there unless they are literally watching her hotel room after hours? Which would be a HUGE cause for concern.
Spouses travel with each other all the time and stay in corporately provided hotel rooms. I’ve never heard someone say, don’t do that, it would look back for your job.
How would they know? You posted about it on a blog.
So what you are saying is that you believe my barely out of college daughter’s employer is tracking her mother on the web and will be upset that she spent a Saturday hanging out with her daughter? Interesting.
If for one moment, I believed that was the case, I would highly recommend my daughter not work for that company.
Or that they actually would care that her mother came to the city where my daughter was working and spent the night in the same hotel room with her? Planned months in advance.
Is this how you react if someone goes on a business trip and their spouse goes with them? I absolutely do not agree there are any issues with this.
Prior to kids and consulting, I worked in the corporate world and travelled ALL the time. I often had friends or significant others join me. As long as I did my job, didn’t charge things to my company card, I have never had an issue with that.
I can’t imagine any company would have an issue with parents visiting their child for a weekend.
I would presume she’s not the only one in training and at this hote if her company is putting her up there? Then she ha colleagues there. I would also guess she isn’t sitting in her room by herself all the time and is getting together with colleagues, doing tram building stuff, etc if these are like any of the trainings I attend. Trust me, the colleagues know.
You weren’t just there for a Saturday…you stayed and then claim to be working on your own while at her hotel. This is just beyond overstepping. (Besides, if your client really wanted you there wouldn’t they be picking up your expenses?)
If she has the kind of job I assume from your posts, let me tell you-/it is hard to jump into that tyoe of professional environment when you didn’t grow up exposed to it and your family lives differently from many at the company. It is definitely a time of growth and figuring out how to navigate those waters in a white collar job. She doesn’t need her mom there to hold her hand and make a bad impression on her colleagues. Just because she’s too nice to say it doesn’t mean it isn’t true.
Again, I ask, what is weird about it?
And for the record, I did not meet her boss, her colleagues, anyone. I spent a Saturday tool around the city with her and left early Sunday morning.
How would her mom visiting for the weekend “tank this for her.”
You said in a reply above that it was a long weekend and there were 2 days where Princess was working, so it sounded like this was more than Saturday and Sunday with her.
People think it’s weird because these trainings/internships tend to be perceived as intensive experiences where the trainees are in a pressure cooker of sorts. Everyone is in everyone else’s business because you’re all put up in the hotel and you’re working together in the same program the whole time. People are also familiar from your social media with the industry she is doing this training in. It has a reputation for being a more traditional corporate culture, and people from wealthy, perhaps we could say snooty, backgrounds are overrepresented in that culture. I definitely believe that her cohorts had family come visit on the weekend, but I think actually staying in the company-paid room would be rare and could be whispered about. Not saying I agree but it is the type of thing I have observed.
Do verify that your breakfasts did not end up being charged to the company on the back end. That could be a serious issue.
Absolutely an intensive training. And all the more reason to have some stress free down time. A weekend day.
The only time anyone would have seen us together was Saturday. I left before her during work days and came in after her. So outside of someone literally watching her room door, well…I just truly don’t get it. And I’ve never ever had a company say “hey, no one else can stay in your hotel room” and I’ve worked for really big, conservative companies.
And a reminder that I’ve worked in the corporate culture for 30+ years including a VERY large accounting firm.
The BAD’s commununity reaction to this has been so foreign to me.
No, it’s not helpful. How much money hit your bank account in July? How much did you have left for your personal expenses after paying taxes and other business expenses? What you invoiced or what might come due if you reach a certain target are like IOUs and you can’t pay your bills with those (unless you plan to run up your credit cards). What if you don’t reach the target? What if a customer doesn’t pay? You’ve been doing this long enough to know that both are very real possibilities.
A basic accounting of income and expenses shouldn’t be difficult, especially this many years into owning your own business and writing for a blog about blogging away debt. Even a simple spreadsheet could work. Your unwillingness or inability to succinctly state how much money you received last month or where the house proceeds went is troubling. You said recently that you blog here for accountability, but you refuse to provide information in a way that allows the community to hold you accountable or provide meaningful feedback.
At the end of the day, PLEASE listen to the comments about Princess’ job/career.
I’m in the minority, but if you were only there on the weekend and didn’t interact with her boss or coworkers, I don’t think it was a big deal you visited Princess. I wouldn’t advertise you had the free breakfast though. You weren’t technically a hotel guest, she was.
I actually was on her reservation. And the hotel offers free breakfast to all guests. There’s no check in at breakfast or asking for room number.
It’s buffet style and you just walk in and serve yourself.
This wasn’t a Hyatt, but I’ve always chosen Hyatt Places for that reason…free breakfast. When you are traveling with a family, that’s a huge savings.
This hotel also included it.
Hope, I know you have worked in big corporate firms previously, but you don’t anymore. And frankly, you had to be spoken to at your fast food (entry level) job about being appropriate and wearing correct clothing, so I think it’s fair to say your idea of what is acceptable and not acceptable in the workplace may not be in tune with current expectations. Instead of arguing with people telling you that what you did put your daughter’s career at risk, why not listen and reflect? You’re in this debt mess because you have poor decision making. Commenters are trying to steer you in the right direction. I suggest you take heed.