How to Support 10 Kids? Write 55 Books

Summary

Podcast Summary: What We Spend – "How to Support 10 Kids? Write 55 Books"

Episode Overview

In the June 11, 2025 episode of What We Spend, hosted by Courtney Harrell and produced by Audacy, listeners are introduced to Angela, a 40-year-old single mother from Iowa who supports her family of ten through her prolific writing career. The episode delves deep into Angela's life, exploring how she manages her finances, balances family responsibilities, and sustains herself by authoring 55 books across various genres. This comprehensive summary captures the key discussions, insights, and conclusions drawn throughout the episode.

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1. Introduction to Angela

The episode opens with Angela, a single mother juggling the demands of raising ten children. Courtney sets the stage by highlighting Angela's unconventional method of financial support—her writing career.

Notable Quote:

Angela [02:07]: "It's just life I guess."

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2. Angela's Personal Background

Angela reveals her family dynamics, mentioning that one of her sons serves in the Marines, while the remaining nine children, aged between six and twenty, live at home. Her husband, a truck driver, occasionally contributes financially, but Angela primarily shoulders the responsibility of providing for the family.

Notable Quote:

Narrator [02:07]: "This is Angela. She lives in Iowa and she's a 40-year-old single mother of 10."

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3. The Turning Point: From Adversity to Entrepreneurship

A pivotal moment in Angela's life occurred when her home was devastated by a fire on her oldest son's 12th birthday. This tragedy forced her to reevaluate her finances and career path, leading her to embrace writing as a means of financial independence. She sought assistance from Dress for Success, which not only provided her with professional attire but also introduced her to financial education and her passion for writing.

Notable Quote:

Angela [15:38]: "It was almost like the fire just completely woke me up and changed my entire life."

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4. Building a Writing Career: Strategy and Execution

Angela discusses her disciplined approach to writing, often working from the early hours of the morning and during her children's school hours. She emphasizes the importance of productivity and creativity during these times, allowing her to produce multiple chapters daily.

Notable Quote:

Angela [03:49]: "I get up at 4 in the morning... I was actually at my most highly productive and creative."

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5. Navigating the Publishing Landscape: Indie vs. Traditional Publishing

Choosing to self-publish, Angela explains that being an independent author offers her greater control over her work. She utilizes multiple pen names to cater to different genres, thereby diversifying her market and maximizing her income potential.

Notable Quote:

Angela [04:48]: "I'm an indie. Yep. By choice... it's mainly we like control of our work is the main reason."

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6. Financial Management: Income and Expense Breakdown

Angela provides a transparent look into her financials, revealing an annual income ranging between $120,000 to $150,000 from her books. She outlines her monthly expenses for her large household, which include housing, utilities, insurance, groceries, and other essentials. Her meticulous budgeting enables her to support her family efficiently.

Monthly Expenses Overview:

• Mortgage: $1,600
• Utilities: $320
• Cell Phones: $350
• Car Insurance: $140
• Gas: $300
• Health Insurance: $1,500
• Groceries and Household Items: $1,500 - $2,000
• Student Loans: $200
• Family Fun Budget: $500

Notable Quote:

Angela [09:46]: "It's living off the $120 to $150,000 from my books."

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7. A Week in the Life: Detailed Expense Diary

The episode features an in-depth account of Angela's weekly expenditures, illustrating how she meticulously plans and manages her finances to accommodate her family's needs and her writing business.

• Day 1: Royalty payments received, investment in audiobook production ($185 for narrator, $40 for voiceover rights), and shipping supplies ($22.87). Total: $661.95.

• Day 2: Book promotion expenses ($360 for advanced reader copies), lunch orders ($18.79), and household purchases on Amazon ($15.95). Total: $2,471.74.

• Day 3: Gas ($32.54), meal planning, and inventory management. Minimal spending with essential purchases.

• Day 4: Bulk grocery shopping with a strict meal plan, resulting in significant savings and efficient budget adherence.

• Day 5: Personal treats ($19.75 for a protein drink), continued business development, and additional groceries ($83.22).

• Day 6: Household item purchases ($81.22) and business-related expenses like Amazon ad spend ($200). Total: $113.65.

• Day 7: Focused on business growth, including researching Kickstarter campaigns and grappling with increased shipping costs due to tariffs. No immediate expenditures recorded.

Notable Quote:

Angela [28:33]: "We used to do Sam's club runs, and we'd have four carts. It was quite an ordeal."

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8. Overcoming Challenges: Tariffs and Market Adaptation

Angela confronts the rising costs of producing special edition books due to international tariffs. This economic shift poses a threat to her publishing strategy, as increased expenses may necessitate raising book prices, potentially impacting sales. Despite these hurdles, Angela remains resilient, emphasizing adaptability and a positive mindset.

Notable Quote:

Angela [42:18]: "You hit a roadblock, you figure out a way through it or around it, because you have to keep going."

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9. Personal Reflections and Financial Philosophy

Angela shares her evolving relationship with money, highlighting a transition from financial stress to a more balanced and organized approach. Her past experiences of poverty and adversity have instilled in her a determination to provide her children with stability and opportunities she lacked in her upbringing.

Notable Quote:

Angela [27:53]: "We used to do Sam's club runs, and we'd have four carts. It was quite an ordeal."

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10. Conclusion: Balancing Family, Finances, and Passion

The episode concludes with Angela reflecting on her journey of balancing a large family, financial responsibilities, and a demanding writing career. Her story serves as an inspiring testament to resilience, strategic planning, and the pursuit of passion as a means of overcoming life’s challenges.

Notable Quote:

Angela [43:22]: "It's not just finances. It's on every area of life. I'm like, hey, this is what I wish I had known when I was your age."

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Key Takeaways

• Resilience and Adaptability: Angela’s ability to pivot her career in the face of adversity showcases the importance of adaptability in overcoming personal and financial challenges.

• Strategic Financial Management: Meticulous budgeting and proactive financial planning are crucial for managing large households and sustaining a writing career.

• Passion as a Sustaining Force: Angela’s dedication to writing, despite initial challenges, underscores how following one’s passion can lead to both personal fulfillment and financial stability.

• Importance of Support Systems: Organizations like Dress for Success play a vital role in empowering individuals to take control of their financial futures and pursue their dreams.

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Final Thoughts

Angela's narrative is a powerful example of how determination, strategic planning, and embracing one’s passions can transform lives. Her ability to support a large family through self-publishing not only provides practical insights into managing finances under pressure but also offers inspiration to others facing similar challenges. What We Spend successfully highlights the intricate balance between personal responsibilities and professional ambitions, making Angela’s story both relatable and motivating for listeners.

Transcript

[Angela]

Just got a new puppy or kitten.

[Courtney]

Congrats. But also yikes. Between crates, beds, toys, treats and those.

[Narrator]

First few vet visits, you've probably already.

[Courtney]

Dropped a small fortune.

[Angela]

Which is where Lemonade Pet Insurance comes in.

[Courtney]

It helps cover vet costs so you can focus on what's best for your new pet.

[Angela]

The coverage is customizable, sign up is.

[Courtney]

Quick and easy, and your claims are handled in as little as three seconds. Lemonade offers a package specifically for puppies and kittens. Get a'llemonade.com pet your future self will thank you. Your pet won't. They don't know what insurance is.

[Angela]

In case you haven't heard, it's officially an Abercrombie Summer. The A and F Vacation Shop has.

[Courtney]

Everything on your packing mood board. I desperately need their new one piece, the A and F Marina. It's strapless, so flattering and paired with.

[Angela]

Denim shorts will be my go to.

[Courtney]

Beach outfit this summer. Finally, your suitcase isn't complete without finding that dress.

[Angela]

You know, the one for the photo shoot.

[Courtney]

Abercrombie's boho dresses have that perfect beachy romantic look.

[Angela]

Make it an Abercrombie Summer shot their newest arrivals in store, online and in the app A heads up before you listen this podcast is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only.

[Narrator]

We are not financial advisors.

[Angela]

You should always do your own research and consult your own financial advisor before spending or investing your money. Please note that all income, financial information and expenses in what we spend are self reported.

[Narrator]

Can you just tell me what goes into running a household with 10 children?

[Angela]

So a lot. Just being very organized but also being flexible. Because with kids you can't always predict somebody's gonna have some disaster or somebody's gonna forget some project or something. So you have to be flexible. But other than that, my time is very blocked out. Like okay, I'm doing this, this, this and this.

[Courtney]

I tell everyone.

[Angela]

It's not like everyone's like, wow, that's a lot. I don't know. I got used to them. I didn't have any twins or anything so I got used to them one at a time. So it's like it's just life I guess.

[Narrator]

This is Angela. She lives in Iowa and she's a 40 year old single mother of 10. And how old are each of your kids?

[Angela]

20, 18, 17, 15, 14, 12, 10, 9, 8 and 6.

[Narrator]

One of her sons is away with the Marines, but his wife and her nine other kids live at home and she pays for everyone by doing something that's not known for being super Lucrative. She's a writer. What kind of books do you write?

[Angela]

I write all over the place. So I write science fiction, fantasy, romance and then I want to get into mystery thrillers. But they intimidate me a little bit because of all the twists you have to take with them.

[Narrator]

Angela has been a full time writer for about seven years. She writes under three different pen Andy J. Farron, Danny K. West and Alaia Crow. I thought pen names were to hide your identity, but for Angela it's actually more of a business decision. With different pen names she can jump around and write books in different genres and her readers will always know what to expect. That market diversity also gives Angela an opportunity to make more money for her family. This week we'll follow along as Angela balances all the cooking and list making and errands that come with a house full of kids with life as a full time author. I'm Courtney Harrell and this is what we spe. When do you get your writing done?

[Angela]

I get up at 4 in the morning, so and it's, it's. I used to not be a morning person at all. But your brain is in a different state of mind when you first wake up. So you're actually at your most highly productive and creative. And So I get 1, 2, 3 chapters done before the kids get up. Then when they go to school, if I don't have any other appointments or anything going on and I clean up the house a little bit and then I start writing again until they get home and then once they're in bed I write a little bit more and then go to bed. So it's like I'm whenever or if I'm at appointment in the waiting room, I'm writing then on my phone.

[Courtney]

Yeah.

[Angela]

So yeah, it's just any time I can find.

[Narrator]

How many books have you written now?

[Angela]

I'm up to like 55.

[Narrator]

55?

[Angela]

Yes. I just write all the time.

[Narrator]

Oh my God.

[Angela]

I tell everyone the first book is the hardest. I took forever on the first book and then the more you write the faster you get and it just flows out at that point and becomes a lot easier.

[Narrator]

So you self, self publish, is that.

[Angela]

Yes, I'm an indie. Yep. By choice. So everyone always assumes if you're an indie that you just couldn't get traditionally published. But a lot of the indies I know we do it on purpose and it's mainly we like control of our work is the main reason and that's why I do it. And I researched both ways and I even talked to A literary agent. But I decided that I wanted to be an indie and publish myself. And it's pretty much the same. You just have to pay for everything yourself.

[Narrator]

As an indie author, there are a few different ways that Angela can make money with her writing. The first is royalties for her. A lot of those come from having her book on Kindle Unlimited, where readers pay a subscription to Read Unlimited books every month and authors are paid for every page someone reads. The second is selling books directly to customers that could be on your website or through a Kickstarter campaign, or at in person shows and literary events. And then third, there's audiobooks. Angela is just starting to get into that. But before she gets to any of that income, Angela has to pay all the costs up front. So ballpark for me. When you're like, I just finished a book, what are the total cost that you expect to put into one book?

[Angela]

It varies, but probably five to six grand.

[Narrator]

That's before she pays to print any books. But she only does that once she has orders for physical copies or is stocking up for a show. That five to six grand is money to pay for an editor, professional beta readers, and an artist for the book cover.

[Angela]

I think the most I've ever paid for a book cover was $600, but it was for my science fiction series and they took the aliens out of my head and custom made them so my aliens aren't like anywhere else on the book cover. So it was well worth the money.

[Narrator]

Amazing.

[Angela]

So anywhere from $35 to $600.

[Narrator]

And how much do you generally expect to make from each book?

[Angela]

Well, it's ongoing. So in my first series, I spent about six grand and I made about 25 grand. That was my very first. And now with Aleyah, it's still going up. So I don't know, it's kind of hard to say what I'll make total, but in a year, I end up making about 120, 150k. I have a friend who has been mentoring me and she makes 50 to 100k a month on her books. And I'm not.

[Narrator]

Oh my God.

[Angela]

Yeah, I'm not anywhere near that. But she's telling me what to do. And so I'm hopeful that maybe I can at least, maybe even get half of that.

[Courtney]

Would be happy.

[Narrator]

How? How do you do that? That's just tons of marketing.

[Angela]

Just lots of marketing. So it's learning Amazon ads and then eventually Facebook ads. And I'm in a book called 20 books to 50k. And the idea is you put 22 market books out and you'll make 50k a month.

[Narrator]

What is a market book?

[Angela]

So it's a book that not necessarily is what you would necessarily write on your own, but you study the market, what readers actually want in that genre. So it's the tropes and everyone's like, oh, I want original books. I want. No you don't. The market lies. The market says otherwise. You don't want original, you want the same thing that's familiar to you.

[Narrator]

Yeah.

[Angela]

And so it's writing the story in a way that like you infused something into it that made them have to keep turning the page.

[Narrator]

Angela says one thing that kind of without fail keeps readers turning the page is writing something called universal fantasies. Basically they're these deep fundamental desires that everyone can at least relate to.

[Angela]

Like everybody likes the Beauty and the beast theme or wealth. Wealth is one of the universal fantasies. The grumpy sunshine. So the guy hates everybody but you. That's a universal fantasy. And so you, if you infuse those just right and you do the story structure just right, that it meets readers expectations while also seeming different enough that they don't realize this. That's a two market book.

[Narrator]

Yeah. Have you written any wealth fantasy books?

[Angela]

I've written. So in my fantasy I've written a lot of like kings, royalty, where you get to get a step inside the wealth of it, where the main character gets to step into this wealth and stuff and that that kind of addicts people to it. And so with my last book, I actually put a universal fantasy in every single chapter. And it's my book that's actually doing the best because I was like, I'm gonna experiment and see if this actually works. And it seems like it did.

[Narrator]

Let's get into Angela's numbers. Angela has been supporting the nine kids at home pretty much on her own for the last two and a half years. She doesn't have an official child support agreement with her ex husband. They decided to sort it out on their own without the courts. And for now she's in a better position to support the kids. But he does help out when things get tight. Angela also occasionally drives for doordash when she needs extra money and her oldest kid contributes $500 a month. But overall, Angela would rather her kids save for their future. So for the most part, they're living off the 120 to $150,000 from her books. For context, that's about twice the median household income. Where Angela lives in Iowa In a.

[Angela]

Big six bedroom house Iowa's cheap living expenses. So it's 5,000 square feet. And then it has a finished basement, so that's helpful too. And then we have a big backyard with like a play area and kids can run around, so it's really nice. So it's $1,600 a month.

[Narrator]

They have solar panels, so their utilities usually aren't bad. Typically around $320 a month. The cell phone bill is $350 a month. That's for eight phone lines. The car insurance for two cars is $140 a month and gas is around $300 a month.

[Angela]

I have to take the kids everywhere.

[Narrator]

And then can you fit everybody in one car?

[Angela]

We can in the bigger one. In my other one it just fits the normal like five people. And so if I'm just taking my kids go to different schools cuz different ages. So I'll take the little kids and then the middle kids and then the big kids.

[Narrator]

Wi fi is 75. Her gym membership is 25. And she pays for private health insurance for her and the kids, which is $1,500 a month and then groceries.

[Angela]

I'm pretty good about finding deals and making meals that will last a long time. So between household items and food, it's about 1,500 to 2,000amonth.

[Narrator]

In some ways that's a huge grocery budget, but for 11 people, it's really not like that's.

[Angela]

No, it's. It's not. It goes. And they're always hungry, so you have to. They all have. They all give me a list. So they all get to pick some things that are just theirs. So they all give me the list. And so some of that includes their fun stuff too.

[Narrator]

Angela went to school for healthcare administration. So she pays 200amonth towards her student loans. And then she tries to set aside about 500amonth for a family fun budget.

[Angela]

I think memories are very valuable. So I save and we do fun things. Or I'll take one of the kids and they'll be like, hey, we're gonna go do this. And so it's just kind of time. It's to get time with my kids is what it's for.

[Narrator]

Do they ask you for a lot of stuff? Like kids must want things all the time, right?

[Angela]

Well, they do. They do. There's always, there's always somebody wanting something. And then we have some, some chores. If they'll do the chores they get. They get this or this. And if the bigger the chore, then the more they get type thing. And one of my daughters asked my other daughter, she's 12. She asked her the other day, how much would mom have to give you to clean the whole house all the time? And she's like, $25. And I looked at her, I'm like, no, honey, you're like, sold.

[Courtney]

Yeah.

[Narrator]

How would you describe your relationship with money?

[Angela]

Oh, goodness. It's better than it used to be. It used to be very, very stressful.

[Narrator]

Yeah.

[Angela]

When my kids were younger, there were times that I didn't know necessarily where we were going to have to eat. And I grew up in a religious household. And so that's kind of why I have 10 children, is it was like, you're supposed to have lots of kids. And I grew up very, very poor. My parents had the mindset that we're in the ministry. My dad was a pastor, and so we weren't supposed to have like a lot of money.

[Narrator]

Angela's dad was what her Fundamental Baptist church called a home missionary. He was doing missionary work just at home instead of abroad. So most of their income came from churches that donated money to support that work.

[Angela]

And so we lived in like the trailer park. And there was a while I didn't. I almost slept on a mattress on the floor because they couldn't afford a bed. So I never wanted my friends to come over because they all had really nice houses and I was embarrassed. So that was a struggle for me. And so I think when I had kids of my own, I went out of my way to always make sure they had everything they needed, no matter what I had to sacrifice. And so I think that experiencing that shame as a child made it so I never wanted my kids to experience that. So even if I have to get up at 4 in the morning every day, I'm going to make sure they have everything to have a good life.

[Narrator]

After high school, Angela went to a Christian college where she met her husband. After they got married, he became a truck driver and she became a stay at home mom. She didn't work or have any control of their finances. That's just what was expected in their community. So by the time Angela had kid number nine, they were living off of just her husband's salary, which could be anywhere from 120 to $54,000 a year. And then one day, her life completely changed.

[Angela]

So it was the middle of the night and I was on the couch because my ninth one was a baby. He was a baby and he had been crying and I just got him to sleep and the dog started barking and I Was like, be quiet. You're gonna wake the baby up. And he just kept barking and kept barking and kept barking. And so I was like, what are you mad about? So I went out, and he ran up to the kitchen, and by the microwave plug was on fire. And so I called my dad because I thought it was an electrical fire. And I knew you weren't supposed to pour water on it. But by the time I talked to him, it just, like, shot up over the whole entire wall. And it was like. It was surprising how fast it was. So I got everybody out of the house, and then I called 911 once I had them all out. And between that time, the time I had called my dad on the call log to the time I called 911 was five minutes. And it was already through the whole bottom of the house where I had been sleeping with my son.

[Narrator]

And were you able to save anything physically? No.

[Angela]

We pretty much lost everything. The firefighters. It was actually my oldest son's birthday. It was his 12th birthday, and they were able to save his ipod that he had just gotten and his red shoes. But everything else was a total loss. Either smoke or fire damage.

[Narrator]

Wow.

[Angela]

It was basically starting over. And it was just like, okay, what are we gonna do? And I'm like, you know, I need to get a job. Cause that's the only way we're gonna.

[Courtney]

Get out of this.

[Angela]

And I was like, I can work at nights when the kids. When my husband would. And I think it was the start of a shift in my whole mindset of everything I'd been in my whole life.

[Narrator]

Because of the fire, Angela didn't have anything to wear to a job interview. So she went to an organization called Dress for Success. They gave her clothes, but also invited her to join a women's group where she learned things about finances she'd never been taught. Also in that group, she talked about her dream of becoming a writer for the first time. So while she got a job as a caretaker for the elderly, she also finished her first book on her phone because she didn't have a computer. And later that same year, she separated from her husband. Gradually, she just started finding a new Angela.

[Angela]

That was like a changing year after the fire. It was almost like the fire just, like, completely woke me up and changed my entire life. So when I was able to finally get a job on my own and have some control of my finances, I started to feel stable and safer. And then when I got into the books and I was getting money on top of the caregiving, and then Eventually I was able to stop that even which gave me more flexibility so I could be with my children when they were home from school and I could spend max time with them. And that's when I really started. Okay, we've got this.

[Narrator]

After the break, we'll dive in to Angela's week.

[Courtney]

With a Venmo debit card.

[Angela]

You can Venmo more than just your friends. You can use your balance in so many ways.

[Courtney]

You can Venmo everything. Need gas?

[Narrator]

You can Venmo this.

[Angela]

How about snacks? You can Venmo that.

[Narrator]

Your favorite band's merch?

[Courtney]

You can Venmo this or their next show?

[Angela]

You can Venmo that.

[Courtney]

Visit Venmo me debit to learn more. You can Venmo this or you can Venmo that. You can Venmo this or you can Venmo that. You can Venmo.

[Angela]

The Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp bank and a pursuant to license by Mastercard International Incorporated card may be used everywhere MasterCard is accepted. Venmo purchase restrictions apply.

[Courtney]

What are the consequences of getting on Europe's bad side?

[Narrator]

The rationale is more like those guys.

[Courtney]

How is stealth wealth changing retail?

[Angela]

You can have taste and still buy dupes.

[Courtney]

What does a $6.2 million banana have to do with any of us? People don't like the attribution of serious financial value to comedy. Join me, Felix Salmon, and my co hosts Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spires as we talk about the most important and obscure stories in business and finance. Follow Slate Money wherever you like to listen. Diary Day 1 of my expenses Today I received my royalty payments, so I went through the list of things that I was going to need for the month and I got my first audiobook done, which is a new experience for me. They're more expensive than putting together ebooks or paperbacks, so there's a lot of things that go into them that I don't think I even realized. I had to pay the narrator, and it cost $185 to pay the narrator, and then I had to get the COVID for it because they make you have the COVID before you can approve it, and that was $40. And it turned out really well. I was really happy with it.

[Narrator]

After sorting out the audiobook, Angela went on Amazon to buy some supplies so she could get another one of her books out to readers. She spent $22.87 on boxes and Scotch tape for shipping.

[Courtney]

I have 32 physical books that I have to send out this month because I have a book launch that's going on. So I have to send out 32 books that I signed up for social media influencers to give out. And a lot of people are surprised that authors have to pay for their own books. But I always tell everybody that Amazon's not going to pay your printing costs. So all the books came to a total of $242, and the shipping will be free because I have prime, which has been a big help in my business and personal life. And then today I had to buy puppy pads for my senior dog. And Those came to $69.54, but they were 500. Because I usually will buy most things in bulk. It's a habit I have of having a big family. You tend to buy as much ahead as you can. And I also think that some of that stems from in the past, not having enough. So I don't really get more than we have room for because I'm also very careful about not hoarding things too. And so it's a balance of making sure that we have enough, but that I'm not hoarding stuff that's going to just get out of hand and create clutter and chaos. And from there, I had to take my daughter to an occupational therapy evaluation. Whenever I take a child to an appointment, I try to do a fun thing, kind of get some time, one on one time with that child. So we will usually go out and get a treat. And in this case, we got Starbucks on day one.

[Narrator]

Angela ended up taking a few different kids out for treats and one on one time, which meant she spent $19.75 at Starbucks, $32 on sandwiches from a deli, $42.34 on noodles for one kid and $8.45 for a cheeseburger for another.

[Courtney]

So he did that. And then I went home and I worked on my business. I worked on writing because I'm on a book deadline that I have to get done for a big promotion that I'm doing. So I wrote for the rest of the afternoon and then I ordered some food because we order all the groceries at the beginning of the month because it helps to know that we're gonna. I plan out our meals very, very precisely. And so it makes sure that I know we're gonna have till the end of the month, that this is the budget we went over. But then we went through food a little faster this month, so I bought some extra groceries, but those were $83 and 22 cents. And that should get us by until I buy groceries later this Week, which will be the big haul. And yeah, so that's what I spent for day one.

[Narrator]

Total for day one, $661.95.

[Courtney]

Diary day two. I didn't. I went out some today, but I mainly stayed home other than to take kids to school and pick them up. I had to pay for a promotion for some of my books. It was $360, but it'll send out my books something for arc reading, which is advanced reader copies. We have people sign up for them. And this company puts together arc readers for authors and out to thousands of people. And so it's a big giant help to get new readers and promote the book and get reviews which are really important to authors. So I paid for that. Then from there, one of my younger children was home from school because he wasn't feeling well. And I ordered us lunch for him and myself, and that was $18.79. I also did a little bit of Amazon shopping. I got toothpaste to last for a while, and I got some window clings. I was going to get them off the TikTok shop because I kept seeing the videos of them. And I have a window in my door and I don't like it because you can't really put curtains on the way that it is. And I just really don't like the lack of privacy. So I saw these window clings and they kept showing up, of course, because when you watch something on TikTok, it just pops up and pops up and gets you to buy it. Because they say that it takes. Von I love from like book marketing. It takes about seven to eight impressions for somebody to see something to impulsively buy it. And so that's something interesting knowing that from this side now when I'm online and I see something over and over again, I'm more aware of, hey, that's the marketing. They're waiting for me to see that it's seven or eight times so that I'll impulsively buy it. And then of course, I had to get an X acto knife because you need to cut them out. So I ordered. I ended up spending $15.95 on three rolls of window clean and an exact little tiny X acto knife to cut it. And Amazon's getting quicker and quicker about getting stuff to people's door. It just all can show up pretty quickly nowadays. And I think that that makes people more tempted to buy and actually spend more. I think that it just makes for impulsive spending that I try to be aware of and not Do a lot of. Even though it's tempting because it's very convenient. And after doing everything I have to do, sometimes I'm tired, and I'm like, it'd just be really nice for food to show up at my door. But I try not to do that that often. I try to go out and pick it up because that's cheaper if we're gonna do that.

[Narrator]

On day two, Angela also had to pay most of her bills. Her mortgage for $1,600, utilities for 102, and her cell phone bill for $355, bringing her total for the day to $2,471.74. Day three started with Angela taking one of her daughters, who does online school, to a library to complete a state test. On the way there, they got breakfast for $18.12.

[Courtney]

And since it was a library, it also gave me. Since I was sitting there waiting for her, it gave me extra time to write, which was nice. And so just waiting for her to get done with her test. And then we went back and we went to the mall. Since we had a little bit extra time before I had to go back with our other kids, we went to the mall, and we walked around, and we kind of. We just kind of window shopped. We didn't buy anything. And then we had pretzels, and those were really good. And it was like $21, I believe. And that was kind of, I don't know, afternoon snack. It was just fun kind of doing something with her. And then I got a tank of gas. It was $32.54. That filled up my tank. That was pretty much all I spent for the day. I did get the list together. Each of the kids has to give me a list of the things they want for the month for food. And then I plan meals so that I did a lot of that today. I planned out what the meals would be each day. And then tomorrow is when I will do the actual ordering, and I order it online, and then I go pick it up, because it's a. It's a pretty big order. And it used to be very exhausting to go and just endlessly shop. And it's better now just to order it and go pick it up. And then everybody has to be on deck to put everything away. But that'll be tomorrow.

[Narrator]

You must be having to think about food all the time.

[Angela]

All the time, all the time. And then I'm like, having to always check, okay, did they run through all the food? So now I need to, like, stay ahead of it so we don't. Oh, no, the pantries. So I have to, like, constantly look because they're always hungry. Kids are always hungry.

[Narrator]

How big is your pantry?

[Angela]

It's pretty big. I'm trying to think of how to describe how big it is.

[Narrator]

Can you spread your arms out inside your pantry?

[Angela]

Yes. Yes. Okay, okay, okay.

[Narrator]

Can you spread your arms out and spin in a circle?

[Angela]

Yeah, I think you could. It's pretty big. It's got lots of shelves. And like I said, I have the one section. Okay, kids, this is for meals. So I have plans for this and then this. You guys, if you're hungry, you can eat this.

[Narrator]

So smart. So smart.

[Angela]

We used to do Sam's club runs, and we'd have four carts. It was quite an ordeal. I was so tired. I was so happy when they invented this pickup thing.

[Narrator]

Day four.

[Courtney]

Everybody needs to put the frozen stuff over here. Who's going to be in charge of the frozen stuff? Me. Okay, that needs to go out to the garage, into the big freezer. And then we have fridge stuff over here.

[Angela]

Fridges.

[Courtney]

And cleaned and organized, it should be easy. And then all the extra juice box and stuff need to go up to the upstairs pantry. Where do I put this? That needs to go over there to the cupboards.

[Narrator]

Angela tries to buy all of their groceries for the month all at once in this one big haul. And everything they buy is part of a meal plan designed to make her grocery budget stretch as far as possible. So she's got lots of little tricks to make the most of what they have.

[Courtney]

I usually pre make sandwiches and freeze them, so that saves a lot of money. So you just buy, like, a big jar of peanut butter that's about $12, and then jelly. For enough jelly, you get, like, it's about $5 a jar, about $10. And then the bread is about a $40 a loaf. And then I spend a day, well, not a whole day, but like a few hours making the sandwiches. So that's something that I do that saves a lot of money. And then for most dinners, I try to keep them under $20. I make a lot of big recipes. The biggest one we have is we always have nachos and taco night. So one is a nacho night and one is a taco, and we spread them out. But the reason those end up being a little bit more is because the meat is really expensive. So for a five pound of ground beef, it's like $30. And then that, like, feeds everybody, so it ends up Being for both the taco night and the nacho night and ends up being $60 total for the meat. But other than that, I try to keep all the rest of the meals under $20 as a budget cooking a lot of his or myself doing the ingredients and slow cooked meals, things like that. It ends up saving money so we can feed everybody for that price. When I would buy every week, we would end up running out before the month was done and I'd have to spend extra money. So that's how we ended up doing this completely. Everything's planned out, organized, and we stuck to budget this month at $1244.30 and that feeds everybody for the entire month.

[Narrator]

Angela's mother in law helps her with childcare and food when the family needs it. But the vast majority of the cooking falls on Angela, which is a lot. But it's so much cheaper than eating out.

[Courtney]

There's a buffet restaurant, it's called Pizza Ranch. And it's pretty pricey, but we do it once in a while. It ends up being like $19 per adult. And then for children under 12, it's a $ per their age. But it ends up, it ends up being like around $200. And we have to call ahead and get the party room just for our family. So that's kind of a challenge when we go out. And we do factor in game nights and movie nights. So example of that is everybody gets their favorite candy and then popcorn. So candy movie ends up being around $40. And then we have a big TV so that we just stay home a lot because you can stream movies now. And so that's kind of one of the fun things that we do is we'll stream movies and so like things like that are budgeted into so fun nights, game nights and movie nights. And then the rest is meals and snacks and everything. Because again, everything needs to stay within the budget. But we also want to enjoy life. So it's everything I believe in. Life is a balance, including money. Finding. Finding that balance if you can. And it, it's a struggle. That's it for grocery day. It was a good day. You know that feeling when someone shows up for you just when you need it most?

[Angela]

That's what Uber is all about. Not just a ride or dinner at your door.

[Courtney]

It's how Uber helps you show up.

[Narrator]

For the moments that matter.

[Courtney]

Because showing up can turn a tough day around or make a good one even better. Whatever it is, big or small, Uber is on the way.

[Angela]

So you can be on yours. Uber on our way.

[Narrator]

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[Courtney]

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[Courtney]

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[Courtney]

Diary Day 5 I didn't spend a whole lot today. I got a drink at a coffee place called Scooters. I got this protein peanut butter drink that was pretty good. I don't do that very often, but once in a while I was a treat and I made it through the week. So in the the groceries and then also having to make the food for the month and it just was a nice thing to do for myself. And the kids had school and I mainly other than making food I wrote because I have a deadline for a big promotion coming up for a book that I have to have done and to the editor pretty quick here. So that's what I spent most of my day on. I did go through and inventory the household items we need because the groceries yesterday didn't include things like toilet paper and hygiene products. The kids will give me a list and then I'll go through and figure out what we need. And I was thinking after I listed all the groceries about how my grocery bill has come down since my second oldest went to the Marines because he was always a very social kid and so when he was here he always had a bunch of other kids over that were hungry. I mean they were teenagers. We were kind of the house to hang out when he was in high school and I miss that a lot. Obviously I miss him and he's doing great in the Marines and he has a pretty good head on his shoulders. He's already investing money so I'm proud of him. And investing money wasn't something that I really knew how to do because when I was younger and my oldest kids were a lot younger, it was more about survival and getting by and I think that still affects me too Even though we have, we have what we need now, there is always that anxiety. What if we don't have enough? And I think it's kind of something that I want my kids to, to know all the mistakes that I made and the things I didn't know because I want to kind of give them a shortcut to success. And so that's important to me. And it's not just finances. It's on every area of life. I'm like, hey, this is what I wish I had known when I was your age. And financial stuff is definitely one of it.

[Narrator]

On day six, Angela went ahead and bought the household items she needed. Dish soap, dishwasher, detergent, mop heads and some other cleaning supplies for a total of $81.22.

[Courtney]

And then after that, the focus was on my business. I had to go in and look at my ad spend. So that's where you do Amazon ads through Amazon's marketing thing. And you pay so much you decide how you want them done. So you can pay per impression or per click. There's different ways. And so I went in and looked and my ad spend on there was about $200. That's for a couple of weeks. So not bad. And it really helps to get my books seen and, and to sell books. And then I was trying to, I odd do book boxes once in a while I did a Kickstarter that helped me with the boxes and I kind of, when I do that I make these paper pockets.

[Narrator]

What she's talking about are these little decorative sleeves that the books sit in to make them prettier.

[Courtney]

And so I was trying to think of a way to do it faster because the last time I did it I made a hundred of them. And my daughter, my oldest daughter helped and it took two eight hour days of folding, gluing and then we put this pretty tape over it that really adds to it and then tie charms that have to do with the book around it. So it's very time consuming. So I'm trying to look for ways to cut costs and also to be more efficient because the more efficient I am, the faster that I can get back to other parts of business, which is important to continue to make the money I need to support my family.

[Narrator]

On day six, Angela also filled up her tank with gas, bringing her total for the day to $113.65.

[Courtney]

End of day expenses. Day 7. Today I didn't spend anything and I didn't go anywhere. I was mainly focused on my business. I have that book that I'M trying to get done and I'm also trying to figure out my business for the next year, how to kind of upscale it to gain, get some more profit. And it's hard sometimes because you just kind of try to go after things and see what works. And so I was doing a lot of research on the computer and I looked up stuff to do a Kickstarter for one of my books that is going to be released hopefully this summer. And that's, that's been an interesting and kind of, kind of a little bit frustrating because I'd planned to do a special edition for quite a while, but it's been something that I've just been too busy to do. And I was trying to find the price to stay because I decided I finally wanted to go through with it. And now I think I might have waited too long because I found out now because of all the tariffs that are going on, it's going to be insanely expensive to ship the books from where they have to be. And there's kind of criticism from certain people that just use a US Based printer. But the problem is there's no US based printer that does sprayed edges, which is like the, the pages, the ends of the pages are like pretty. And it's really important for a special edition. And then the gold foiling and all the other special things that have to go into a special edition, there's no US Printer that can provide that, which means that authors, we have to go overseas to get that. And now because of the tariffs, it's extremely expensive. And so these Kickstarters for special editions that were extremely profitable are now not as profitable, if profitable at all. So I'm trying to figure out now because the printers also don't know what the tariffs are necessarily going to cost. But I did find one that has a calculator and they told me it was going to cost me $1299 to ship 100 books, special edition books into the United States because of the tariffs. And so I just, now I'm just like, maybe this is not feasible. And then I also found out that that's going to apply to paper. So it looks like we're probably going to have to raise all our paperback costs. And so that's going to be, I think, detrimental for a lot of businesses and a lot of authors. And really talking about that makes me realize how much of, I guess I'm worried about it and where it's going to take the book industry and if how much of it's going to go into Profit, because that profit feeds my family and takes care of my family. And it feels somewhat unstable where it has been stable. But I'm gonna take it one day at a time. And if we have to do something different, we have to do something different. That's what I'm always telling my kids. You hit a roadblock, you figure out a way through it or around it, because you have to keep going. You don't have a choice, and you just do whatever you have to do to get needs met. And that's what I will keep doing, trying different things and go from there.

[Narrator]

Even though she's just one person, Angela is doing what a lot of business owners are doing. Trying to figure out how to adjust her business to get ahead of the continually shifting tariff policy. She knows she might have to raise prices on her books, which she's afraid will impact sales. And that's exactly the kind of thing that can bring Angela all the way back to where she started. Afraid she won't have enough, but she's trying to push through that and focus on what she can control.

[Angela]

I've learned that when there is, like, a unexpected expense, instead of panicking and going into an anxiety attack, that it's okay. I put myself at a neutral. If I can't make myself positive about it, I'll put myself at a neutral, neutral mindset of it where I'm like, okay, you always find a way to make it through this. It's not the end of the world. And so I don't have to be happy that this big, giant expense came into my life, but I can be like, you know what? It's just a bump. Let's keep going. We're gonna be okay.

[Narrator]

Angela's total for the week was $4563. If you want to learn more about the organization that helped Angela get interview clothes and kickstarted her financial education, go check out their website, dressforsuccess.org they've got all kinds of employment resources for women and affiliates all over the country. What We Spend is an Odyssey original podcast. It's written and hosted by me, Courtney Harrell. Our producers are Margot Gray and Kristin Torres. Our editor is Jonathan Menhivar. Our executive producers are Maddie Sprunkiser and Leah Rees Dennis. Theme song and original music by Matt McGinley. Additional music from APM music mixing by Pedro Alvira. Special thanks to Melissa, Akiko Slaughter, Joel Lovell, Jenna Weiss Berman, J.D. crowley, Maura Curran, Josephina Francis, Kurt Courtney, Hilary, Chef Sean Cherry, Laura Berman and Hilary Van Ornam. If you want to be on what we spend, we'd love to hear from you. Write us atwhatwe spend podcastmail.com and tell us about yourself.

[Courtney]

I'm Emma Greed and I've spent the last 20 years building, running and investing in some incredible businesses. I've co founded a multi billion dollar unicorn and had my hand in several other companies that have generated hundreds and hundred hundreds of millions of dollars. The more success I've had, the more people started coming to me with questions. How do you start a business? How do you raise money? How do I bounce back from failure? So it got me thinking. Why not just ask the people I aspire to the most? How did they actually do what they do? I'm so incredibly lucky to know some of the smartest minds out there. And now I'm bringing their insights along with mine, unfiltered, directly to you on my new podcast, Aspire with Emma Greed. I'll dive into the big questions and everyone wants to know about success in business and in life. Through weekly conversations, you'll get the tangible tools, the real no BS stories, and undeniable little hacks that actually help you level up. Listen to and follow Aspire with Emma Greed and Odyssey Podcast available now. Wherever you get your podcasts.