I recently deferred the start of my graduate work from spring to summer. I wrote about this yesterday. I am satisfied with my decision, but I want to document additional considerations. Bringing in more income was a secondary consideration in whether “to school or not to school.” When I was at home for eighteen years, my involvement in home schooling included managing a Yahoo group, leading a support group, producing a newsletter, and participating in field trips and other school activities. I was better able to work on the tasks for our home business. Going to work made it a little more difficult. And when I started school, in fall 2009, after my son had completed his home schooling, I maintained only the highest priority items. Keeping up with daily bookkeeping and order wrap-ups was not possible. I tried to catch up with a day off here and there, but often ended up doing schoolwork. And then, income taxes. Filing our income tax had become more stressful when I returned to work, and I was not looking forward to the difficulty of getting my taxes done while taking a graduate-level class. Looking forward, I know I do not want to continue just getting by with life. I like to live with purpose.
We want to—finally—set up our business for taking credit cards. We had avoided it because of costs, but technology now offers new methods that might work for us. We have the information to get us started, but I need to compare it to what Sam’s Club offers. Now, maybe I can get that ball rolling. We also want to sell signs on our Web page and/or on eBay. Our ad is long overdue for revision, and our Web site needs to be made functional. I want to consider using a student from SEU to help me with that as an internship for the student. Ideas are brewing!
And I want to continue to sell on eBay and VegSource. Just in the past couple weeks I have brought in about $250. I can continue listing things we have around the house—clothing, schoolbooks and supplemental materials, games, and some collectibles. I also have ideas for things I can make and sell, perhaps also creating an Etsy shop. Three ideas: my personalized mugs, small watercolors, and the colored pencil/paint brush holder. I want to work with Bill on cleaning the garage, including looking for items to sell at our garage sale or on eBay or Craigslist. I have not been able to watercolor or cross-stitch or practice photography or look at my new-to-me camera (from my daughter). Further, I sit nearly all day—at my desk at work and home to my desk and computer at night for business and school. It’s potentially killing me—literally—because of my lack of physical activity, but I often have felt like I don’t dare to stop for a walk or bike ride because of so much to be done. I want to work on my health and fitness.
Several months ago, I was contacted about doing some editing, the very thing I would like to do. But I was unable even to consider the opportunity because of schoolwork. Having worked in publishing for fifteen years, I would love to be paid to edit.
I listen to the Dave Ramsey podcasts each day. Dave offers suggestions for books to help a person with career decisions. I want to read the books he recommends to help me construct a game plan for the future.
But most of these things cannot happen if I am in school.
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