Last week was a dry week with no income, but I knew I would be making money this week. I just couldn’t have imagined that I would be making $1096.29 in one week!!! All of that money is from freelance writing, virtual assistant work and advertising. To be honest, I don’t expect another week like this in quite some time, but it is delightful to have a week like this! I can’t wait to see what the rest of August brings!
How did my income spike? I closed 3 advertising deals, and I have taken on additional jobs both as a freelance staff writer and a virtual assistant. I am now so busy that my husband needs to give me time on the weekends to go away for a few hours to do the work I couldn’t finish during the week during nap time and after the kids are in bed. This is good for my husband to spend more time with the kids, and it is good for our budget, but it takes some getting used to.
I would love to say that the extra money I make this month will go straight on our debt, but unfortunately that is not the case. Now that my husband is so close to finishing his degree, he has to begin doing the things in the academic world that will land him a full-time, tenure track position. That means he is busy doing lab work and writing articles for publication and that he must attend and present at conferences to get his name out there. The next conference he will attend is in Washington D.C. in September. We are expecting this conference to cost us $1200 to $1500! To do it without incurring extra debt is going to be tricky. The hotel alone is very expensive, and the registration fee for the conference is $300. After the Washington D.C. conference, he will attend a conference in Montreal, which will also cost a small fortune. It is going to be very difficult to come up with the money for two conferences back to back, so all the extra money beyond our regular budget that I can make during this time will be funneled towards this.
We now have $1096.29 saved for September expenses, which is an excellent start!
Check out my other updates from The Saved Quarter Challenge:
My Goals for The Saved Quarter Challenge
Update #3, saved $14 & bartered more
Update #16, No Progress This Week
Update #29, Earned $87.50, saved $16.05/month
Sorry, checked out your blog after seeing your comment at GRS and getting a little curious/concerned. Your husband shouldn’t be paying for conference expenses out of pocket–they should be paid off of the same grant or fellowship that is funding him (i.e., his mentor should be supporting him). Most schools have travel funds for grad students and postdocs to apply for. If he is going for TT, a major goal is usually for him to secure independent funding for a postdoc, and one usually starts applying before the defense. Also, he should remember that his starting postdoc salary is negotiable–NIH and NSF funding guidelines are just that.
Sorry for all the “shoulds.” Academia is not remotely easy, especially financially, and I’m trying to help both of you. I think too many postdocs don’t discuss frankly the financial issues with each other or their mentors.
p.s. Forgot to add that most conferences also have travel awards, but they’re often reserved for people from developing countries. If your husband’s PhD adviser has a R01 or similar, there’s no reason for the PhD adviser not to pay. I’ve never heard of a grad student paying for conference travel in the fields I’m familiar with–physics, biology, and biomedical engineering.
Congrats on the $1000 week. How exciting! When my husband was getting his Ph. d, his department would cover travel to conferences…
My husband’s department will only cover $300. 🙁
That’s so impressive! I think it’s great that your freelancing work is picking up. Congrats!
Awesome!! Congrats! 🙂
Congratulations on your great week! You’re doing the right things to earn a great income.
It won’t be long before your husband will have a great job too.
Thanks, Kay Lynn. I can’t wait until that day comes!
You really had a great week as far as income is concerned. I am sure that your husband’s department probably cut back on their funding of student travel because of the economy.
A few years ago, it was practically unlimited at my job (I handle finance for a large university’s graduate school of Social Work) until 2 years ago. Now, the students are limited to $1,000 worth of support each year.
He is only given $300 a year, which definitely doesn’t go far!