This is my first weekly update on the blog! Basically a short overview of relevant things that happened in my life this week; my hope is that putting these updates out will help me get into the habit of writing more consistently. Without further ado, I’ll start with the good news: starting a new side hustle.
New Side Hustle: I Have An Etsy Shop
Woohoo! I’m proud of this shop because it meshes really well with the vibe and goals of this blog. You’ll notice that what I have posted so far – digital and physical – focuses on improving wellbeing and helping with financial goals. I’m going to continue building out products, and if there’s anything you’d really like to see, let me know! Eventually, I’ll probably add hand-knitted cat toys because that totally goes with my blog vibe too. #catladyforlife
Check out my shop and let me know what you think!
REI Garage Sale
Last year, I became a co-op member of REI when they had an awesome deal where you could pay the $20 membership fee and then immediately get a $20 gift card, so the math seemed like a no-brainer. Being a member means that I have access to REI Garage Sales, which are the coolest thing ever. They collect things that have been returned for any reason and then sell them at a steep discount.
My Shopping Excuse:
I’ll be traveling to Peru next month and doing quite a bit of hiking. When I hiked in South Korea last month, I realized that my trusty stowable backpack was not up to any real intense activity, and I decided that I needed a real hiking backpack with hydration reservoir compatibility, load-bearing waist strap, and a rigid back. The problem is that a new backpack runs $150-200, and I wasn’t seeing any sale options that seemed like a good fit. The DC Flagship store had a Garage Sale on Saturday of this week, so I decided to go and see what I could find!
It was Overwhelming…
I wasn’t sure what I expected, but it was definitely an experience. It took me 10 minutes to find parking nearby (pro tip: it turns out they validate parking there…oops). There was a crowd of about 70 people waiting at the doors when they opened, and everyone rushed in at once. You could tell that there were pros in the group because they knew exactly where the Garage Sale tables and bins were, and they made a beeline for them.
I followed the crowd and found the section with backpacks! They had some great options, but it was overwhelming, and I wasn’t very strategic. Sale veterans were clearly strategic; they’d grab any backpack off the rack that seemed viable for what they wanted and then take those bags elsewhere and assess which was the best fit. Items are returned for any reason, so sometimes you have to decide if it’s worth dealing with issues/fixing defects. One woman had three that were all roughly what I had been looking for and were good brands. I awkwardly hovered in nearby racks for 20 minutes to see if she’d put any back, but no luck…
Success!
Luckily, I found a backpack that was the right size and a great brand. I was able to talk to one of the store employees about assessing proper fit, and I walked around with some weights in the bag for 10 minutes. I wanted to make sure I really liked it before pulling the trigger because Garage Sale purchases are finale sale. The bag is great! It had all the features I was looking for, and it’s a beautiful purple color. The person who originally bought it returned it because the fit wasn’t right, which means it doesn’t have any noted defects or damage. It retails for $140 and I got it for $70! I can’t wait to start using it.
Raising my Rover Rates and Determining What I’m Worth
I’ve had really great success with sitting through Rover over the past year, and so far in 2018, I’ve made $1700 in revenue (which is pretty good since I’m getting paid to hang out with cats). That success has definitely come from finding a niche in the app and specializing in cat care specifically—most other sitters treat cats as an afterthought instead of their main service.
That being said, Rover takes a significant fee from sitters, and doing significant work and scheduling for low profit was starting to stress me out. I was charging $18 for a 30-minute visit, which is a pretty standard price on Rover. But Rover also takes 20% of my earnings, so I make $14 for 30 minutes in reality. Considering that I typically travel at least 10 minutes each way for sitting, that’s $14 for 50 minutes in reality. And then I have to set aside part of that for taxes. It’s still not bad money, but I’ve built a pretty good list of repeat customers, so I’m not desperate for more bookings.
Owning My Worth
I decided this week to raise my rates on Rover to $22 so I take home $18. With some of my clients (the ones I really like!), I’m also planning on printing a cute postcard to leave at the end of my visit offering to give them a discount for booking with me directly instead of through Rover. I can’t use the Rover platform to advertise outside services, but it seems like leaving something during my visit is okay.
We’ll see if the increase in rates leads to a significant downturn in bookings, but that wouldn’t be the end of the world because being really busy with Rover can have a negative effect on my stress levels. I didn’t go into this planning on making a lot of extra money; I just wanted to cover the costs of my own pet-sitting from when I travel. I’m on track to do that, which is the piece that really matters right now.
Pets are Expensive (aka New Vet Bills)
My older cat, let’s dub her SunCat (because she is the biggest star; not to be confused with StarCat and StarDog. Also I want my pets to have their own alter egos), had her semi-annual check-up on Wednesday. For elderly animals, vets recommend two check-ups a year. She’s 14 years old and officially geriatric. Anyway, I had been worried about her white blood cell count at our last exam, so they did blood work again.
As a side note, she is literally the most affectionate cat I’ve ever met—she sleeps with me every night, and has the loudest purr you can imagine. She’s a sweetheart. At the vet? Not so much…she turns into 8 pounds of devil cat and starts growling as soon as the vet walks into the room. I guess when you’re an old lady, you don’t have to put up with that shit anymore.
The Bad News
Unfortunately, her white blood cell count was still elevated, and she had lost a little weight since our last visit. Now we start the super fun process of ruling things out. It could be something simple like an intestinal parasite, or it could be something a lot worse like some types of lymphoma. I’ll handle that if it comes.
If this had happened two years ago, I would have been a wreck. Not because it’s stressful to have a sick pet; that’s still the case. More because I wouldn’t know how to pay for prolonged testing or trial and error treatment (which is pretty frequently the best option for cats). Now? My budget category for pet medical bills covered the initial exam and testing and the deworming treatment. I’ll pad it more than usual with my next paycheck.
On top of that, I have pet insurance, so once I hit the $500 deductible for this issue, I’ll get 90% of eligible fees reimbursed. So I can focus on doing what’s best for SunCat’s health, and not worry about the financials. That feels amazing. She’s an integral part of my family, and I don’t ever want finances to dictate what I’m able to do to help her.
Okay, that’s it for my inaugural weekly update. If you have any advice on the above, I would love to hear it! And I hope that you had a purpose-filled week that brought you closer to your goals.
