Finances Rant!

[Skywalker]

Okay. There is no point to this thread other than for me to have a place to sound off. Feel free to sound off about your frustrations with finances if you want! I can certainly empathize!

Okay so my issue is that I do marketing from my computer for remote clients who I have payment agreements with. Two of them owe me money, $850 in total.

I also am single, pregnant, and currently unable to walk around. I rely on these online jobs, and I also have applied for a few state benefits. I know I know there's a really bad rep for welfare but the way I see it, I've been working since I was 14 years old and paying taxes. I need a little bit of help to get me through this tough transition and I legitimately qualify for these programs so I'm going to apply for them, by god!

ANYWAY... I applied for fuel assistance in the beginning of February. It's now the 4th of April. My application is still being processed and every single time I call to see if there's anything I can do to move it along, I get an answering machine. No one ever calls me back, despite me telling them I am pregnant and soon to go into labor. I applied for cash assistance and food stamps (because of my food allergies basically all I get from WIC is cereal, bread, peanut butter and beans, hardly enough for a meal) and THAT is still being processed. I feel like my applications get sent in and then dropped into a black hole.

This is HARD! I work really hard for my marketing clients and I create really good products and they KNOW me personally, know that I am single and pregnant and in my third trimester and STILL don't pay me. My rent was due 3 days ago and I can't pay it because these financial things I have been relying on to come in just keep not coming in. It's BEYOND stressful. I don't have a partner to help me out, it's ALLLLL me. I have terrible edema, feet like elephant hooves, bad contractions if I stand or walk too much and doctors told me to avoid doing either of those things since my contractions were getting regular... it's not like I can just go out and get a job and supplement the income, you know?

WHAT THE HECK DO I HAVE TO DO TO GET THESE PEOPLE TO PAY ME!?

I know, I know. It comes with the territory of working for yourself. But I also do my best to have complete applications for the state benefits with every single document that they could possibly need included, I call to follow-up, I even show up in person to follow-up. I just don't know what to do anymore!

I just pray and pray and pray that this money will come in. These people have the audacity to allow me to work for them and then not pay me. It really gets me upset.

 

[Nicole_E]

I work from home part time for a Collections Agency. What works best for me is just being relentless: keep up with the phone calls, they have to answer at some point. Good luck!

 

[mamaduke]

I work as an independent consultant in the web development and IT training realm, and I have had similar customers who weren't willing to pay. One was told to test his stuff in February and pay what was due. He tried playing "I'm a small business and can't afford this" even though he knew my rates ahead of time. Add to it that they're a small business of 5-7 people... I'm even smaller as an LLC of 1! So I had to remind them that I was smaller and had bills just like them.

I had warned him in November that work needed completed by March, as I was due in April and wouldn't be able to touch his site then - he had the gall to call me on the day I delivered my son (DS1) and demand changes, even though he had supposedly reviewed the site before paying me. He and his accounting person got nasty to the point where I refunded most of their money and told them to never contact me again.

This time around, I've had a string of health issues (asthma/respiratory) on top of my pregnancy. Thankfully, my primary client is in biomed and understands what I'm going through. And they know that I'm due at the beginning of May but could go early. These guys have been paying their invoices well - and these are startups smaller than the client that burned me last time! *sigh*

Some clients unfortunately turn out to be bad eggs. Hopefully, you can write off their bad debt and learn from the bad experience.

Thanks for giving us a thread to rant!

 

[Linnypops]

I had an issue with a client paying recently (for illustration work) and decided on a new policy. Whatever cost I am willing to accept if they never paid the full amount - I ask for that as the deposit. Then if they pay the rest it's great and if not - I can live with it. I might lose work sometimes because of that but i'd far rather spend my time getting clients who pay than chasing clients who i've already sunk time into. Hope you get paid soon! And I agree with others that being relentless is the key.

 

[petite ping]

Contrary to what most americans seem to believe, there is no shame in welfare.

I live in France, and I see welfare as a way to keep people from sinking too low when times are tough. There is no glory in finding yourself in the street if you cannot find or are unable to work. I won't deny that there are people who abuse the system but for many it's a lifeline when life throws you a wrench in the works.

As far as payment is concerned, do as the PP have said, you need to harrass them with calls and emails. It works with the company I work for, who are shitty payers

 

[the why bird]

Wow, that is scummy of them. Do you have any sort of leverage over them? I mean any outstanding products that you can withhold etc? Chances are they know it won't be worth it for you to take them to court over monies owed so they aren't in a rush to pay you.

I agree with the suggestion to be persistent. Phone every day, take the name of who you spoke to, and follow up in an email 'further to my phone call with Jim at 9.13am....'. Use read receipts. Send them an invoice in the mail or via fedex - some method they have to sign for receipt. I'm sure you are already doing these things but it just makes it watertight so no one can say they didn't know.

And like Petite Ping said - there is NO shame in welfare. You do what needs to be done to feed those children and stay healthy. That's what it's there for - as a safety net.