cheyenne barton
patreon
life update: the packing begins...
🕑 Added 2019-02-20 19:35:38 +0000 UTChi friends!! i wanted to type a small life update cause this is a HUGE time of change/stress in my life and i wanted to let y'all know what's up x
i've slowly started cleaning out my apartment to get ready for the move — i've taken like 6 bags of clothes and kitchen stuff to goodwill, and i'm going to go to a place called "crossroads" to try and sell some of my nicer stuff to make a bit of change for it. whatever they don't take i'll take across the street to another local thrift shop! next up, i need to finish cleaning out my closet cause it's basically my storage unit — need to clear out all the random stuff on the top shelf and my cosmetics that i never touch anymore
i also have a whole storage unit in the basement of my building i need to clear out — luckily that's not too full!! just a few boxes of seasonal things which i'm gonna keep, but i have a lot of books down there i wanna get rid of. i have..SO MANY BOOKS that i never read!! i'm planning on sending some of them to a "books for prisoners" program, and gonna look around for second hand bookstores in the area to send the rest to — if all else fails, there is goodwill thankfully! i could also potentially send them to powell's (connor used to work there when he lived in portland, fun fact!) and then i also need to go through my art/shop supplies and get rid of weird random things i've kept for no reason lolol cause that stuff piles up without me noticing!
my mother is coming up next week to help me pack/shop for ikea necessities and i'm v thankful haha — she's an interior designer and has moved households across oceans multiple times so she is an absolute Pro at all this stuff. my parents have both been very supportive in this whole moving endeavor and i am so thankful to them both x
i stayed up late doing my taxes last night, cause i got very scared that i was going to owe a shitload of money — self-employment taxes are wild, and i don't charge sales tax on my shop (i technically don't need to, since i don't have a brick and mortar store, but since i have an office in washington, i should charge sales tax in this state, but that means i have to register my business with the state department of revenue and get my tax license. god just typing all that out gave me a small headache)
BUT ANYWAY i started doing my taxes last night and i entered my income (which was $42k across all my different revenue streams which is WILD to think about tbh) and i suddenly owed $9.5k to the IRS, and i absolutely had a small quiet panic attack while connor was sleeping behind me. but then i slowly started to add in all my expenses, and that number has slowly gone down, and i've been able to whittle it down to $1,600, which is far more manageable.
and do you know why that number isn't so scary? it's cause of y'all!!! this month's patreon pledges are gonna go towards helping me pay taxes which means i get to keep doing what i do without a terrifying, unplanned hit to my bank account (which, tbh, was poor planning on my part, but i've got systems in place now to make sure i don't get surprised next year) and i want to take this moment to reiterate how overwhelmingly thankful i am for your support. your monthly patronage means i get to keep making art full time and navigate financial worries like this with significantly more ease and i JUST! I LOVE YOU A LOT!
i'm so excited for connor and i to move into our new place in 9 days (!!!!!!!) and i can't wait to show y'all the space once i get a tiny bit settled in. also here's a picture of sophie from like an hour ago when we were cuddling in bed and ALSO our new kettle/my cool new teapot warmer that's keeping this pretty teapot i thrifted nice and toasty
i was in desperate need of a new kettle and i knew it was something i wanted to invest in so i found this temp control kitchenaid one on SALE and it's so so so good. connor made his coffee this morning with 194˚F water, instead of straight up boiling water, and he said it made his coffee taste so much smoother — so it's a thumbs up from the lad! and this cast iron teapot warmer ($10 on amazon!) means i can make a full pot of tea now and not worry about it getting cold, thank god
tl;dr — you're amazing, i love you, you literally make my dreams come true, and i hope you're well and happy xx
talk soon my love!
xoxo chey
Comments
Esmee Heebing
I love that you are sharing these numbers with us! Everybody is always so secretive about their income and earnings and i thing this is part of the reason why a lot of people are not good with managing money or things like taxes. Because it is not ok to talk about money for some reason?? It is so important te learn about these things and we can learn so much from eachother. I am slowly making a little bit of money with youtube and graphic design work for businesses. I have a normal engineering job at an office that pays around 30K euros a year. But it is not what I love to do. So the goal for 2019 is to also start freelancing, register my business, getting more inquires. So it hopefully can slowly start replacing my engineering job in the coming years. So now I am starting with figuring out how all of this works, making a business plan (using the canva method you showed in your videos) and building my portfolio (and website). It has always been a dream of mine to work for myself so hope we can make this reality! Good luck with the move!!
Esmee Heebing
I love that you are building a tiny house! SO COOL. Good luck on starting freelancing!!
Beth
I know that it isn't really my place to be, but I'm so proud of you :) your income is wonderful, but even if it had been a lower number or nothing at all, you are doing something that you enjoy, you're keeping a gorgeous kitty alive and surviving every day 💕 I also need to find a teapot warmer now.
cheyenne 🌠
ahhh thank you so much! money is always such a stressor but i'm hoping i can have a slightly better handle on it this year <3
cheyenne 🌠
ALSO CONGRATS ON UR MARRIAGE and best of luck on your tiny house journey!
cheyenne 🌠
i absolutely had a small panic attack rip — i think a safe bet is just save 15% of all your freelancing income and put it away for tax season! i use the app qapital, and they have this thing called the "freelancer rule" so everytime i have a deposit of more than $100 in my business account, it automatically takes 15% and stores it in the app. so it's money i never even see!
Klarisse Gepilano
I love this post! Love that you are getting the handle on your taxes and income and all of that. So proud of your transparency here and how much you’ve earned from just doing what you love! Yay! 💕
Lauren Taylor
Eek! This is so exciting! I’m about to be going through the same thing soon — I’m getting married in August and immediately following the wedding the husband and I are moving from California to Florida for 6-9 months in order to build a tiny house 😬👀. I’m not looking forward to going through stuff and selling/getting rid of it all 😩. And I start freelancing next March so I’m going to take a cue from you and figure out what I’ll owe the IRS before tax season, so thank you for that...seriously. I can’t imagine how stressed you must’ve been seeing that number 🧾🤯
cheyenne 🌠
i dooo wanna have a little teapot collection, especially since we have so much open shelving in the new kitchen! and i'm so proud of YOU! it's so thrilling <3
Wanda the Brave
Good luck with the move! <3 The kettles are adorable. Does it make you want to collect more of them? :D Self employment taxes are no joke but you took that step working on them and I think that in and of itself is worth being proud of. alsooo congrats on that first year of earnings! I'm in year three of freelancing and this is the first year my income may actually be livable. So proud of you!!
cheyenne 🌠
honestly i was super shocked — i had no idea!! and thank youuuu so much, i'm thinking it'll go smoothly!
Cecile Lu
so so so so excited for you both and your move!! i hope it all goes super smoothly for you 💕 also sidenote wow at your income!!! i am so happy for you and i hope that i can get there some day 😳😍🤗
