UPDATE! I got the job! (Any 1099 employees out there?)

[ha98ed14]

The good news is that the job is mine if I want it. It's in my field and there is room for advancement and increased pay. The downsides are that it is not full time, the employment arrangements are unfamiliar, and the pay is mediocre.

Here is the set up: It's a consulting firm, but no one is a salaried W-2 employee. Everyone is a 1099 self-employed and paid for their work hourly. No benefits, no sick time, no vacation. The no benefits stuff is not a problem for me because I get benefits through DH. But I've never been "self employed" and I have no idea how much to set aside for taxes. Does anyone here do contract work? What percentage do you set aside for taxes?

Another part of the set up is that I can do some of the work from home; however, I KNOW that I will not be able to work with DD under foot, so I will need some kind of child care and that will cut into my earnings, which aren't that great to start with. When I do have to commute, they pay my milage.

I make more per hour tutoring than I will doing this job, but I also don't market myself to build up a clientele of students. I just do word of mouth. And I only tutor when DH is home. So, I won't be making as much per hour, but I will be making more money just because there are more hours to be worked, and it will be more consistent.

DH and my BFF both think I should take the job because it's an in, an opportunity to meet people and learn the local landscape. (I've never worked in my field since moving to CA.) I know they are right on that front. It is an amazing opportunity that I would be crazy not to take. The issue is that I have to make enough to pay for child care so that I am not paying to work. It's going to be expensive this year because DD is not in school, so I have to pay out of pocket for any child care arrangements. Next year will be better because she will be in school and after care is cheaper (I think). My childcare costs won't always be this high, and I will probably get more hours as my time working there increases.

Has anyone ever had an opportunity like this? What kind of arrangements did you make to make it work without losing money?
___________________

UPDATE: I found a 9-12 preschool that has a flexible after care program. You pay for the extra hours you need and they are open til 5:30. I had signed her up for a different 9-12 preschool 3 days/ week, but they have no aftercare, so on the days I have to work, I would have to arrange for a sitter. This new school has after care and it is $3/hour! Much less than I would have to pay a sitter. I am stunned. I feel like God is smiling on me. It's all coming together. Even the dates work out perfectly. If I take the job, I start next week. The new school starts next week too. The previous one (without the aftercare) does not start until Sept 12th. I'm still waiting for a firm hourly rate. They gave me a general idea, but the difference of a couple dollars can make a difference.

Nicci, you asked if I really want the job. I do, but I was afraid to hope for too much because the pay is mediocre and child care is so expensive. It is SO HARD to find flexible child care where you can pay only for the hours you need. I was thinking I would be working to pay a sitter, but now that I have found this school, it fills two needs: 1) A consistent school environment for DD the year before K, and 2) flexible after care in the same place! No picking up at one place only to drop her off at another. I feel like God is smiling on me. I gotta find a way to pay it forward!

[TwinFoxes]

No advice, but a big congratulations! That's great. And even if you decide not to take it, what a nice ego boost. :)

[niccig]

:cheerleader1: :cheerleader1:

Someone else will chime in on the 1099 front.

Give yourself a few months to try it, and if it's not working out, for whatever reason, then give notice and finish up projects as much as you can.

It will be more expensive with childcare, so you may not bring home much, but it is only one year. If you like it and it works for you and you get more work or get to know more people, so get better work, then it's many years of work.

But the question you didn't answer is "do you want to do the work?"

[Globetrotter]

Wow, congrats on this opportunity! If you think of it as a chance to network and get back to work, then it may work out for you for now. Then perhaps you can look for something else if you decide it's not working out.

[crl]

Congratulations!

Catherine

[elektra]

Congratulations!

Did they ask you your weaknesses? :tongue5:

Oh and for the 1099, I have only done that once when I was freelancing for only a few months and I too was clueless and just saved half of my check each time because I had no clue what the reality would be at the end of the year. So hopefully someone who has some kind of system will chime in.

[craftysierra]

Yeah!

Do you have someone do your taxes normally? I know the cpa we use has ran estimates for us.

Sierra

[ShayleighCarsensMom]

I set aside 25% of each paycheck. I have no idea if that is right, I've heard it's a good ballpark...

[MontrealMum]

Yay for you :cheerleader1::cheerleader1::cheerleader1:

I do contract work, but it's always through a university so they take care of the tax stuff for me as if I were a "regular" employee. Sorry I can't help you on that.

[niccig]

I've never worked 1099, but how if you work out how much child care will cost, then add 25% for taxes and that's how much you need to earn a week.

Can they give you guaranteed number of hours a week? If they can't, I would try to find an in-home day care that will let you do drop in. My SIL is a substitute teacher and she has an arrangement with a place that if she gets a call, they'll take her son, but only because their spaces aren't filled.

Or, can you work out set days you work and just keep work to those days? Say M, W, F.

When I worked from home for the university, I also worked evenings and some time on weekends as DH was home. Not fun to do that for a year, but I did.

[LBW]

I'm a freelancer, and the amount I owe always seems to vary based on how much I'm working and what I can deduct. I work from home nearly 100% of the time, so I can deduct portions of my utilities (internet, cell phone, electricity, oil, phone) and home improvements. You should look into whether this will be an option for you. It really helps. I also deduct all childcare costs and some healthcare costs.

The other two big variables that affect the amounts of my tax payments are my SEP IRA contributions and my business expenses. I try to max out my SEP IRA payments each year since I'd rather pay myself than the govt. The more I can put into my IRA, the less I pay in taxes. I don't have many business expenses, but I try to purchase things like computer software and printer ink before the end of December so that I can deduct them on that year's taxes. In recent years I've deducted my iPhone and MacBook since I wouldn't need either if I wasn't working.

Working as a contract employee is hard. You do get paid less (IME) and are always juggling childcare vs work. But, it's also fairly flexible. I can be home when my older boys leave for school and I'm here when they get home.

Congrats on the job and good luck with your decision!

[MSWR0319]

I worked as self employed for awhile. I didn't worry about taxes because I knew I had enough deductions to cover it. My dad also is self employed but he went to his accountant and he gave him a schedule and forms to send in his taxes quarterly. He still gets a little money back at tax time because he overlays a little. You also may want to talk to your accountant about what all can be deducted by working at home. As pp mentioned there are quite a few things to your advantage. We finished our bonus room and were able to deduct those expenses because that's where my office went.

[JTsMom]

No advice- just wanted to say congrats! :cheerleader1:

[ThreeofUs]

Fantastic! Great news.

[vludmilla]

Congratulations!

[happymomma]

Congrats!! I think you BFF and DH are right. It is a good start and once DD goes to school, your childcare expenses won't be that high. When I first started, I still had to pay for DD to go to preschool. So my net amount wasn't that high but now that both are in school, it is a lot better! I think it's a great opportunity!

[brittone2]

Congrats.

I can ask DH about the 1099. He did some consulting work part time while he was in grad school and I believe he filed under a 1099.

[mom2binsd]

I'd go see an accountant and they can specifically give you details for CA and the costs to file the 1099 and how much to set aside.

Is your DD old enough for preschool? Or if you need more time without her, is there some type of drop in daycare available, she might enjoy the time with other kids, esp if it's only some time and she's not away from you too much.

Are the hours flexible and could you work while your DH is in charger of the kids (and is your DH willing to do this...not all DH's are able to keep DC's out of mommy's way).

Sounds like a good opportunity!

[jenfromnj]

Congrats! I agree with the others, as long as you're not literally paying to work, it's probably a good opportunity to get your foot in the door, develop some local contacts and get back into the swing.

I am a 1099 now. The amount you'll have to deduct varies widely based upon how much you're making, what tax bracket you (for me, it's both myself and DH, since we file taxes jointly) are in, and what deductions you're able to take.

I also think the childcare thing will depend based on what field you're in. I do freelance work, but in my field it's manageable (sort of) to arrange a sitter part-time 1 or 2 partial days per week. On one of those days, I'd go into the office and take care of the client-facing things, meet with my boss, and get any heavy copying/printing done, etc. I was/am able to get a lot of work done after bedtime and on weekends when DH is around, but that's the nature of my work (lots of document drafting, for instance). I realize other fields may not work that way.

My biggest challenge with my freelance arrangement so far has been the irregularity of the hours. Some weeks I'd only work a few hours, and other weeks I'd have 30+ hours of work to tackle. Again, though, that's the nature of my work (you often can't tell how complicated a given project will be, or how high-maintenance a given client will be, until you're in the midst of it), so YMMV. It's just harder to plan childcare that way--some weeks I'd be up til 3 or 4 am every night to finish things (hard to find last-minute babysitting), those weeks were rough. If you have family nearby willing/able to help in a pinch, or even a good drop-in daycare, that would help a lot.

Overall, I think freelancing is a good opportunity to wade back into working after being out of the working world for awhile. If you can talk to an accountant about the estimated taxes and deductions, and find a childcare arrangement with some flexibility that won't kill your budget, I think it's worth trying. As others have said, you can always give it a few months, and if it's not working out, at least you tried it and maybe made a contact or 2 along the way. Good luck!

[sste]

TAKE IT! To put this in perspective people, including people well past "typical" student age, volunteer for no pay all the time in order to build up their resume, gain experience or re-enter a field, and build contacts. Plus, I really think you in particular need to get out of the house/break from the DC for part of your week. This is a stepping stone.

On the taxes there are various things you can "write off" or deduct when you are an indep. contractor so see an accountant.

On the childcare, can you look into a home daycare? Call your childcare action network to get listings. Also, every daycare and preschool we have ever been at has scholarships and financial aid, including the (great) local Y program my son did this summer. You may be surprised at what you will qualify for in a high COL area like California.

Also if you aren't aware your DH should be able to put 5k in a dep. care account and pay childcare from that so he is paying it with "pre-tax" work money so saving 15, 20% whatever your tax bracket.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Take the job! You can always keep looking but it'll be great to get paid during that time. :) Congrats!!

Beth

[larig]

:jammin: congrats!!

[ha98ed14]

UPDATE in OP RE: Child care

[amldaley]

Congrats on scoring the job, hope you can make it work for you!

[YouAreTheFocus]

Just read your update, and all I can say is WOW, this is obviously meant to be! Congratulations! So happy that everything is coming together perfectly for you :)

[AnnieW625]

YAY! My dad has been working 1099 for the last 2 yrs. and my mom is a numbers whizz who does their taxes usually, although this year they used H&R Block (my dad's friend works there) and so far so good.

So glad that you found flexible after school care. When I had briefly looked prior to the last school year full day 7:30 to 5:30 care including pre k was only $600 a month at a couple of different places (a church based daycare center, and a Reggio Emilia preschool) so it's a much cheaper option than a nanny.

[smiles33]

Just saw your update: HOORAY! This is like all the stars lining up for you. Now you have the freedom to see if this is the type of work you like and a great transition year for your DD, too!

[JustMe]

Congratulations on the doubly good news!

[StantonHyde]

Late to this post--but congrats big time!!

[niccig]

This is meant to be. You just scored the child care dream of flexible after care. On the days you don't need it, you can pick her up and the days you're working, she can stay and have fun. Woo Hoo.

The transition to SAHM to working can be a little rocky, so give time for everyone to get used to the new schedule. You may also need DH to pitch a little more with the house stuff you used to do.

I say give it a few months and see how you're feeling about it. It's a great way to get back into your field, meet contacts here in SoCal and you've got some time to then decide where you want to go. So happy for you :love5:

Hey, I hope you didn't do your cleaning day at the other preschool!!

[Globetrotter]

:cheerleader1:

It's meant to be! I'm so thrilled for you :)

[mommyp]

Congratulations, it all sounds great!