My employment/payment status - a cause for cautious optimism
Since the last time I wrote about my job situation - and the ongoing issues with getting paid by the Niles Bugle - several things happened.
I heard back from my Bugle editor two days after I wrote my last post. She told me to redeposit the check - which I did later that day. I kept waiting for that redeposit to bounce again, but credit where credit is due, it didn't. And, on Saturday, I got a check for the March 13 invoice, which actually fell within two week period that I used to get them at back in 2015. Which is encouraging. Though part of me is still worried about that check bouncing. I suppose we'll see what happens after I deposit it tomorrow.
I have been getting paychecks for my work at the Cook COuntyChronicle fairly regularly, and, so far, there have been no delays or other issues. And the editor accepted another round of pitches, so I should have regular work from there until at least mid-May.
In March, I've done two articles for the Journal & Topics newspapers. I didn't get any assignments on the final week of March, and I haven't gotten any assignments for next week. We'll see what happens next. I submitted the invoice for the work I did do, and, apparently, I should be getting it with the next two weeks. We'll see. At least with the Journal & Topics, it would be much easier to ask them about checks in person. While Voyager Media headquarters are all the wall in Plainfield, where there is no public transit save for rush hour commuter shuttle, Journal & Topics is headquartered in downtown Des Plaines, a major transit hub. One of the buses even stops literally at their offices' front door.
What this all means is that, for the first time since October, I don't have to worry about whether I would be able to afford rent, Internet and food. Chronicle paycheck for the article I did this week and an article I would do next week should, combined, be enough to cover the student loan payments. Which is a good position to be.
Now, of course, the big question hanging over my head is how much I would have to pay in taxes. For those who are wondering, no, I haven't paid them yet, because, given my financial situation, the last thing I needed to worry about was another thing I had no idea how to pay. At least now, I would probably be able to cover some of that out of my own pocket. Then again, it would be interesting to see how much I do owe, since this was the first time I earned most of my money from a staff position, which means that some of the money was already deducted for state and federal taxes. Which also means that all of the expenses I can deduct from self-employment income will have a bigger impact. But that's something I am going to go over the weekend.
(And because I know my mom would inevitably ask why it's taking me so long, I must, once again, point out that, hey, what money was I supposed to pay taxes with? I couldn't even pay my rent for the past three months without your help.)
I suppose I'll need to do another post to talk about how that turns out.
I heard back from my Bugle editor two days after I wrote my last post. She told me to redeposit the check - which I did later that day. I kept waiting for that redeposit to bounce again, but credit where credit is due, it didn't. And, on Saturday, I got a check for the March 13 invoice, which actually fell within two week period that I used to get them at back in 2015. Which is encouraging. Though part of me is still worried about that check bouncing. I suppose we'll see what happens after I deposit it tomorrow.
I have been getting paychecks for my work at the Cook COuntyChronicle fairly regularly, and, so far, there have been no delays or other issues. And the editor accepted another round of pitches, so I should have regular work from there until at least mid-May.
In March, I've done two articles for the Journal & Topics newspapers. I didn't get any assignments on the final week of March, and I haven't gotten any assignments for next week. We'll see what happens next. I submitted the invoice for the work I did do, and, apparently, I should be getting it with the next two weeks. We'll see. At least with the Journal & Topics, it would be much easier to ask them about checks in person. While Voyager Media headquarters are all the wall in Plainfield, where there is no public transit save for rush hour commuter shuttle, Journal & Topics is headquartered in downtown Des Plaines, a major transit hub. One of the buses even stops literally at their offices' front door.
What this all means is that, for the first time since October, I don't have to worry about whether I would be able to afford rent, Internet and food. Chronicle paycheck for the article I did this week and an article I would do next week should, combined, be enough to cover the student loan payments. Which is a good position to be.
Now, of course, the big question hanging over my head is how much I would have to pay in taxes. For those who are wondering, no, I haven't paid them yet, because, given my financial situation, the last thing I needed to worry about was another thing I had no idea how to pay. At least now, I would probably be able to cover some of that out of my own pocket. Then again, it would be interesting to see how much I do owe, since this was the first time I earned most of my money from a staff position, which means that some of the money was already deducted for state and federal taxes. Which also means that all of the expenses I can deduct from self-employment income will have a bigger impact. But that's something I am going to go over the weekend.
(And because I know my mom would inevitably ask why it's taking me so long, I must, once again, point out that, hey, what money was I supposed to pay taxes with? I couldn't even pay my rent for the past three months without your help.)
I suppose I'll need to do another post to talk about how that turns out.