Evolving Personal Finance » income
My First Self-Employment Paycheck
I have decided to start paying myself every single month. I’m going to get a paycheck! Well, not a paycheck, an auto-transfer from my business account to our personal accounts. But still. Regular money coming in. Here’s how things have been running so far: I let my business income build up in my business account and sporadically take distributions from it as needed (e.g., when we incur childcare expenses so I can work) or if December … Read entire article »
Filed under: income, self-employment
Why I Still Side Hustle Even though I’m Self-Employed
I’m a solopreneur; I inspire and empower stipend-receiving grad students and postdocs to make the most of their money through speaking engagements at universities, online resources, and (coming soon!) coaching services. This is my passion business that grew out of my own experiences with personal finance while I was in graduate school. But I also have a side hustle: I’m a contractor for a scientific services company. I accept short assignments that have a fixed amount … Read entire article »
Filed under: income, self-employment, side income
What to Do with Side Income
Admonitions to ‘earn more’ are fairly rampant in the PF blogosphere (of course, balanced by the ‘spend less’ mindset). I read all the time about bloggers’ and commenters’ side hustles and what they do with their extra money. We have not been immune to this trend, either – a few years ago, Kyle started earning a small side income from a hobby job, and when I stopped working full-time last August, I developed a variable … Read entire article »
Looking on the Bright Side of a Tough Financial Situation
After my Eeyore post from Wednesday on the reasons I’m experiencing financial ennui, I thought it would be nice to kind of give myself a kick in the butt to try to re-energize about our finances in a minor way while we’re still here in Durham. In this post, I’m going to list the positive things we have done in our finances since our defenses last summer, however small they may be, and some tiny goals. Good … Read entire article »
Filed under: budgeting, frugality, goals, income, side income
Financial Ennui
I’m finding it difficult to care much about our personal finances these days, easily noted by the infrequent posting here. I actually find it very weird that I am not more engaged with our money, as I used to enjoy that so much. (Part of this is that I’m putting a lot of energy into thinking about other people’s finances for my business so there is less left for our own.) I know exactly when … Read entire article »
Filed under: budgeting, goals, income, psychology
As a Contractor, It’s Up to Me to Protect My Time
Since my defense last summer, I’ve been contracting with a company that provides scientific services. This job has been my main source of income outside of my fellowship from this past spring. I’ve stuck with this job even though most people I know who have done it have quit after a short time, and I think the difference is that I’ve decided to fiercely protect my time. I am a perfectionist, as are many scientists. I … Read entire article »
Filed under: income
Big Wins, Small Wins, and the Payoff-to-Energy Ratio
What matters more for your net worth, big wins or (lots of) small wins? Big wins are those singular decisions or actions we can take that have a large impact on our net worth. They can even be the reason that we have a positive net worth at all! Big wins can come on the income side of the net worth equation for sure, like consistently negotiating raises and changing jobs for better opportunities. They can come … Read entire article »
Make Hay While the Sun Shines
In my funemployment, I have two desired approaches to my work, which have been in conflict in the last few weeks. Approach 1: I work best in slow and steady increments. (I learned this while writing my preliminary exam document and confirmed it while writing my dissertation.) When I have a big project that feels overwhelming, it’s best for me to work on it a bit every day and get small pieces finished at a time. … Read entire article »
How I Developed an Interest in Personal Finance
I’ve received a bunch of awesome emails from readers in response to the introductory email that I’ve sent to everyone who signs up for EPF’s mailing list (top right sidebar! do it!). There are a LOT of awesome people in EPF’s readership who don’t even comment (and many who do)! Anyway, these emails have given me many new post ideas for EPF and for Grad Student Finances. The reader question that I’d like to address … Read entire article »
Filed under: income
We’re Evolving!: Our Next Transition
When we founded EPF in 2011, a major component of is purpose was to keep us financially honest during our several anticipated life transitions. Well, it took until 2014 for the first one to occur, but now we seem to be on a roll. Transition #1: Kyle defended and became a postdoc in the same lab he did his PhD in. Essentially the only change was a salary bump. Transition #2: I defended and became funemployed. The major change … Read entire article »
Filed under: budgeting, career, funemployment, housing, income
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