The Daily Report

Last night I couldn’t sleep and vented some of my anxieties around money. This morning I felt much better for having done so, more emotionally secure though just as financially insecure as I was last night.

With some of the pressure released, I took a few moments to do some quick calculations. Now, how much money I’m making this month is a bit up in the air until the end of the month, but by my best estimation, at 40 hours/week, I’m going to finish June just north of $5 an hour.

That’s not a living wage. It’s not minimum wage. But you know what? It’s better than I thought. It’s not as well-off as I’ve ever been, but it’s a start.

One of the next thoughts that occurred to me is that I’ve made more money than this in the past, and at the point where I did, I had set a goal to reach that particular point and then hit it. And after that I floundered, because I didn’t have a goal beyond the nebulous “make more money?”, and that was a lot harder to focus on.

I talked yesterday in this space about how writing is a creative endeavor, which means there’s a psychological component to it. I suppose the same is true of every pursuit, to varying degrees, but I know from experience it’s easier to keep punching numbers into a database when you don’t have a higher purpose than it is for me to keep writing and creating without one.

So I’m setting my sights on a goal. I’m at or just above $5 an hour. The next goal is $10 an hour, at which point I’ll be able to contribute regularly to household expenses. But that’s an intermediate step. My actual goal right now, the prize on which my eyes are fixed, will be $15, the living wage. I see absolutely no reason why a writer with my talents, my experience, and my ability to draw people in and compel them couldn’t make a living wage at it, in this day and age, with these tools available.

After that? Well, I know lots of numbers above $15. But one thing at a time, right?

Financial Outlook

Still skating by, still a little consumed at thoughts of how thin the ice is. If enough people sign up for my online writing class (just announced dates and times, and opened sign-ups to non-patrons), that’ll do a lot to shore things up.

The State of the Me

I felt terrible all day yesterday. Achy, sore, tired. I probably would have been non-functional without the new A/C, but as it was, I wasn’t able to set in and write.

Today I feel better throughout most of my body, but I have what I’m sure is a sinus headache and a post-nasal drip. I think I’d rate my condition and physical feelings better overall, though? We’ll see how it goes.

Plans For Today

Going to be writing.