I hired a new coach recently. This one - actually, these three - were hired to help me formulate a business plan and figure out how I’m going to launch my upcoming book. (PS - I have a book coming out in a few months.) We spent six hours talking about messaging, branding, strategy, marketing, and all sorts of uber professional type things. It was great.

And then, right at the end of our meeting, someone pulled out a calculator and we started to talk about actual dollars and cents. And I started to cry.
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You know what I love about Thanksgiving? The only thing anyone expects is food. And then comes Christmas.

My husband bought a newspaper on Thanksgiving and promptly pulled out the pages and pages of ads. "Look what a great deal on this TV!" he said while I pecked away at the keyboard on some work I wanted to get done before we began cooking.

"We have a TV," I reminded him.

"I’m just saying, it’s a good deal."

Five minutes later, as I saved the most recent changes to an invoice, he was gushing about the price of new laptops. "We have computers," I said.

"I didn’t say we had to get one. But maybe the kids…"

"No. No laptops for Christmas this year," I said. "We don’t have the budget for it."

And just like that, I both verbalized and passed on the holiday fears that had been creeping up in the back of my mind since the beginning of November. How are we going to buy all those presents this year?
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My friend J$ (no, that’s not his real name) taught me about the importance of a side hustle. What, you may ask, is a side hustle?

A side hustle is the stuff you do in addition to your real job to make extra money.

J$ says everyone should always have a side hustle. A side hustle can help you:

• Save more money
• Pay down debt faster
• Diversify your income
• Protect yourself from job loss or changes in the market
• Keep learning new tasks
• Expand your network

All good things, right?
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Last month, author Neil Gaiman spoke at the graduation ceremony for the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. As you might expect, his advice was geared towards people pursuing a career in the arts; a refrain of “make good art” was repeatedly met with applause. But the successful writer also offered a simple recipe for success that can be applied to any work life.
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It’s not uncommon to blame children for a couple’s inability to have nice things. My husband and I, however, have no one but ourselves to blame.

A year ago, my husband and I sold just about everything we owned - including our beautiful home and my beloved shoe collection - so that we could move into an RV and travel for a year with our kids. That year of travel has come to an end and we now have room to put stuff again, but we’re not running out to replace all of our stuff. Why? Because we don’t want to go back to real jobs.

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A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about what was more important to me than financial security. I shared that, for my family, the freedom to come and go as we please has become more valuable than a steady paycheck. The comments on that post surprised me.

I wasn’t surprised to read about different priorities, that was to be expected. What I hadn’t been prepared for, however, were the multiple ways financial security was described.

For some people, financial security means being able to cover major bills and health care expenses. For others, having a certain amount of money equates to security. One commenter mentioned the word self-reliance. I realized there is more than one way to interpret the concept of financial security. It made me take a closer look at my own ideas and examine whether any of them really meant what I thought, what I needed financial security to be.
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As a freelance writer and professional blogger, I have multiple clients. I also find myself being the client as I have to outsource many parts of my business. Recently, I’ve started worrying about what kind of client I am.

I had someone who worked for me end their relationship with me without a formal email or conversation. In fact, I wasn’t entirely sure that the relationship was over until I read a somewhat cryptic post on a personal blog. I immediately began to second guess my role as a client.
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One of the most amazing women I know recently returned to work after being at home with her two boys for eight years. The transition happened a little earlier than she and her family had anticipated, but the perfect opportunity came along and she decided to jump on it. I’m excited for her and proud of her.

And I was completely shocked to learn that her confidence isn’t what it used to be.

This is a woman my husband has met exactly once and instantly admired and respected. This is a woman who is smart, compassionate, and articulate. This is a woman that other women want to be like when they grow up.

And it turns out she struggles with some of the same nerves and doubts that may of the rest of us do.

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I am constantly amazed at what little respect employers and co-workers have for other people’s paychecks.

A morning phone call with my husband reminded me of how frequently this problem comes up in the workplace.  He is a subcontractor and bills for his work on a daily basis.  The person in charge of processing that billing is consistently dismissive about any problems that come up.

“Oh, it will probably be fine.”

“If there’s a problem, we’ll just resubmit the invoice and you’ll get paid for it next time.”

“What’s the big deal? It will get taken care of eventually.”

Statements like this make my normally mild mannered husband fume, and understandably so.  After all, the reason he shows up to work every day is to get paid. It’s kind of a big deal in our household.  And while his monthly bills aren’t his co-worker’s concern, presumably she has personal experience with the expectation of being paid properly and on time.

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The phrase “it must be nice” is one of my personal pet peeves.  Not that there is anything inherently wrong with the words themselves, but the apparent meaning they often come with drives me nuts.

You know the one.

It must be nice to have a great job.  It must be nice to have the money to buy (insert recent purchase here).  It must be nice to get to go on vacation.  It must be nice to be thin.

It must be nice.

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