What Is Your Worth Beyond Dollars And Cents

I’m recording outside at the park, sweating a little under a shade tree, watching my son play, and trying to talk myself through a decision that a lot of us are facing right now. A temp to perm opportunity is turning into a permanent offer, and I’m genuinely excited, but the pay is lower than what I wanted. That puts me at a real crossroads: do I stand firm on salary because I know my worth, or do I look at the full picture and choose stability in a job market that feels tough? 

I break down how I’m weighing the pros and cons and why “worth” can’t be measured only in dollars and cents. Benefits, work schedule, work life balance, and having a manager who actually supports you can be the difference between burnout and a career that lasts. I also talk about the fear behind holding out, like what happens if you say no and the next offer is worse, and how budgeting can bridge the gap while you grow into the next level. 

Then I zoom out to something I swear by: multiple streams of income. I share why side income matters when contracts end or pay changes, plus practical ideas you can start small, including a real estate related side hustle like transaction coordination. I also tell a real story about guiding a client from renting to asking “what do I need to do to buy?” and how being clear about boundaries protects everyone’s time. 

If you’ve been torn between a bigger paycheck and a better life, listen through and tell me what you would choose. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s job hunting, and leave a review so more people can find these real conversations. What matters most to you when you weigh a job offer?

Thanks for listening coffee with a twist.

Email me at: coffeewitatwist@gmail.com

Note: I don’t own copyrights to any music you hear in any of my episodes. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 4:28

Hey guys, welcome back to Coffee with a Twist. You're here with Madame Balloon. Hope you all are having a great week and looking forward to the weekend. I am outside at the park with my son. Um it's hot, but um it's a nice little shade tree I'm kind of under, and I think it's supposed to thunderstorm later, but I wanted to um let him get here to the park, get some energy out and things. It's been a long day. I'm tired. Um very tired, but I wanted to do an episode or so, like I said, um you know it's back to school time. My son goes back to school next week, next Thursday. Yeah, he's going back on a Thursday, wild, right? Um, so again, to reiterate, I got pretty much everything done. Everything has come in, all his school supplies, clothes, shoes, etc. Um, really, I think all he may need is a haircut, and that's maybe not. Um, he might not get the haircut till uh the weekend after school starts because he just got a haircut not long ago and it still looks good, but we'll see where it's at, you know, by next week, Tuesday. So it's gonna be a busy week. So I got back the school night, so I like to go to that. I like to go to pretty much all the stuff the school has, but definitely like meeting the teachers and things like that. I like to drop off like his school supplies ahead of time, so that way if they want to get like his desk area set up before he you know even starts, I'm cool with trying some things different this year. Like I told you guys already. It's all these damn lantern flies flying around. So, guys, I'm in this weird like dilemma phase in life. Um, so I think you guys know for so for one, I always do multiple faucets of income, like I feel that is huge. I do it where I can. Um I've been doing it for some years now of uh multiple faucets, doesn't have to be a ton of money, whatever. It's just so that you keep a stream coming in because you just never know. I mean, you're working for someone else, you never know. So um I the towards the beginning of the year, one of my one of my contracts ended, so which was my meat, you know, meat and potatoes that you know the big one, and you know, um, I've always been a contractor and enjoy it, but as we know the job market has been changing a lot, especially with like contracts, etc. So um I wasn't working, I didn't work for like three months, but it was nice, a nice little break. Um, I was kind of looking, I knew it was coming up as well. Wasn't like I was blindsided or anything like that, you know. Um, so I took a little break, which was nice, and then an opportunity came about um pretty much temp to perm in a sense, so I took that on, and now um the temp is starting to come into perm. So I'm super excited because you know it's an offer has been made, which is so awesome, but um the pay isn't where you know I would like it to be, or even ain't really that close either. So it's like in this weird dilemma because it's one like especially with the way the job market is. Do you keep standing on I know my worth, I know my worth, or do you really just do pros and cons? You know what I mean? Do you just break it down the pros and cons? Um, and it's a lot of pros, and at this point, the only con that I see, me personally, would be the pay, but the rest is pros, it's not like it's a list of cons. So sometimes do we need to realize it's a blessing, even though it may not look the way that you thought it would look. Sometimes the the end result of everything may look different,

Park Check In And Back To School

SPEAKER_00 8:58

meaning, um yeah, I'm like looking at the money aspect or whatever, but benefits could be great, uh, the work schedule could be awesome, the people, you know what I mean? Like, there's things and in time I could be, who knows, in the next few years, could be where I'm wanting to be, and then some. And then I look at it like, well, yeah, why do I want to be where I want to be at right now in five years or four years, right? Because I want to be at a certain rate because of a reason. Could be bills where my bills are at currently, it could be because we know everything is just so freaking expensive. So, you know what I mean? So it's it's you can argue it all ways. So I'm at this like crossroad, and um, of course, talked it over with my household. You know, my husband says, go for it, and I'm like, uh, because it's like, what's the alternative for right now? If I don't go for it, that's cool, but I'm back in the market, and at some the way the market is it. I'm not gonna lie, it's it's it's bad right now, in my opinion. Um, very bad. It's hard, and the thing is, it could be worse. I could join, I could, you know, say no, hold out, and then end up making even less than what I'm being offered right now to some some other job because I'll be in the market so long that I'll be so desperate. You you know what I'm saying? So I just wanted to talk it out with you guys. Um, of course, I'm leaning. I think you guys know what I'm leaning towards, leaning towards taking it. Um, it's a good gig, in my opinion, and I'm just hope that um, you know,

A Contract Ends And A New Offer

SPEAKER_00 10:52

with the people I'm negotiating with, you know, they know where I want to be. So I just hope that when those times come around for bonuses, increases, merit increases, that you know, as long as my work is up to par and performance is good, that they recognize that and you know do what they can to continue to get me closer to where I want to be. Um, so I just gotta pray that's the way it will go. Um, and again, I'm kind of jumping on here because again, you guys that know me, I like to talk things out. I know you all cannot respond, but again, use the fan mail, um, and I'll get everything firsthand. But um, even by me taking it, I don't it doesn't make me feel less than or like I'm not getting my worth. Um, it it doesn't make me feel bad or anything, but it would have been nice to make closer to what I was wanting to make. Um, but yeah, but I'm still excited. I'm excited that they even want to bring me on because you know, the agency I was going through, they were like, Oh, they never bring on any one one. I haven't seen where they do it in the 90 days, it's gonna be much, much longer. So it makes me feel good that um they want to bring me over already. Um, so yeah, it's something to think about, and um, I will give them my decision um, you know, by the end of the week, so tomorrow, and go from there. But yeah, that's kind of where life is at right now. So I'm excited. It's exciting as well because, like I said, I've always been a contractor, at least for the last 15 years I've been a contractor, 15, 16 years. So it would be nice to

Pros And Cons Of Lower Pay

SPEAKER_00 12:42

kind of be with a company that is or not even a company because that you know, it's not even about that, but to be in a position where I'm not a contractor, where I'm permanent, you know, if they let me go, it's something that I did, or budgets, things like that. It's not just due to oh, you know, our government has switched up again and we're doing cuts or we're not doing um five-year contracts right now, you know, those things where yeah, you might make them more, but the stability is just not there, and kind of where I'm at in my life and career. I you know, I'm I'm okay with being more stable, so um, yeah, I'm excited to see where this next journey will take me. Um and I guess we'll have to budget a little different for a year or so, um, which isn't a bad thing. Um, but yeah, so I'm hoping that uh you know this is a good step and not a step I would regret. And I don't think it is. Um but yeah, you know, so I feel the worth is still there. Um we're all worth much more to a degree, and you know, you just gotta measure it different. Not everything comes in dollars and cents, some things come in like work-life balance, benefits, um, additional benefits, you know, that companies even offer where you don't pay for that just comes standard, and this job has a lot of that, so I'm just trying to look at the big picture, even though my paycheck will be smaller. Um, you know, but yeah, so if anyone's going through something similar, I hope this quick little conversation helps you um and finds ways for you to look at it. Again, I'm you know, trying to look at all aspects of it, and like I said, in all honesty, if I had to do a pro-con list, that's the only con for me, in all honesty, and that's the pace, and I feel like that's not enough to say no, um, especially when they're giving me everything else that I want, and those things are just as important, if not more important, than even the pay. So, you know, sometimes the grass isn't greener. I've been on the side of where you know you make a shitload of money, and um not so happy with the organization, you don't have a manager that has your back, things like that. So, with this, you know, I really like my manager, and I really do think um he or she would go to back for me and things like that, um, as needed, and be a good manager, so that's what I'm looking at and banking on. So, yeah, so my next month, so next month, September, hopefully, you know, I'll be permanent. And the reason why I brought up the multiple fossils of income is because it's good to have, because just like this, the situation I'm going through. Yes, I'm working, but now some changes are about to happen, you know. Of course, when you're a contractor, you make more than what you do when they bring you on because of benefits and things. So my pay will go down some, but it helps that I've have these other multiple faucets of income that I am doing to always have coming in to where no matter if it's helping for savings, helping for extra expense, helping for for anything, so it just helps to get things in line, like you know, contract yourself out, find a skill of yours that you're really good at, and contract yourself out to people and to organizations, you know. Um, as you guys know, I do real estate, so something else which I have not done, I'm just using this as an example. I don't do this, even though I probably should, but I don't because I truly don't have the time because I do other stuff, but it's on my bucket list as my son gets older. I can fill up some more time. But I'm a real estate agent, and a side hustle that you could do is be a transaction coordinator for other real estate agents that maybe teams and stuff where they're bringing in more business than an independent person working, so they need someone to do their paperwork, and a lot of times you can make anywhere from 300 you know to maybe six hundred dollars per transaction because you're doing all the paperwork and stuff for them. So for every um deal they do, and you do the transaction, um, paperwork for them could be anywhere from three to six hundred dollars. It's a great deal, you know, to to especially when you know the paperwork, and a lot of times the way our databases are made, it it's plug and play. It's it's pretty much you put everything in on the front end, and then it's pretty much on the documents where needed. You just making sure you have the right documents for the agreement and things like that, and you're good to go. So, you know, just find a niche or something that you're good at. If you're good at event planning or the arch balloons, contract yourself out, you know. Don't don't don't make your side hustle a full-time job, and then you're overwhelmed. You know, keep it minimal, be very upfront and honest with your clientele. Like, hey, I do this very part-time, blah blah blah. I tell people, yes, I'm a real estate agent, but I do it very part-time. I kind of got into it because my husband and I buy homes, and I help my family members and things like that do the same, you know, and friends, etc. Of course, if I could get a transaction a month, I would be very happy. I am not there, but I also don't advertise and put myself out there like some do, and like I probably should. I don't have I don't have the time, so but when I do get time, I do what I have to do. I network and do all of those things. Some things are a constant hustle, but I'm very upfront with my family members and things. No, I'm not gonna give you bad service if you pick me. I tell mainly I'm telling them that because I'm letting them know don't come with me because you get those people who aren't really ready, they just look and I'm not the agent for you. You know, a lot of agents probably aren't the agent for you, but I'm definitely not. Don't just oh, can I look at this and look at that? But you don't have no pre-approval, you're not really serious, you haven't talked to a lender, but no, we're not doing that, you know what I'm saying? So that's why I'm letting people know everyone's time is precious and and needs you know to be met, but I'm letting them know I am not the one. If you're not ready, if you're not pre-approved, I'm not showing you nothing. Friends, family, whatever. So, um, I've had a couple of them people that I men are the best to work with, they're simple, especially if they're you know, single or whatever. Um, they're easy to please. I had my one friend, we started the process. He talked to me about it. I want to say like October, and it wasn't even about buying, it was about renting. Then, as I was sending him

Why Multiple Income Streams Matter

SPEAKER_00 20:19

stuff about renting, he was like, Shit, what do I gotta do to buy? He asked the question. I'm like, perfect. Told him what to do, hooked him up with the right people, lenders, etc. He did exactly what I said, and he did it like within a couple of days of us talking. Like, my person got them approved, pre-approved, um, told me the numbers, we started looking that just that easy. I literally took him out for one day. We saw about maybe five places, I think total. And you know, he wanted to stop at the first one because he loved it so much. Oh, we don't give us that. I said, Nope. We are going to see them all so that you don't feel like you missed out on anything. Let's see them all. And we literally saw all five, and it does not work. That's my son. So saw all five places, and um the last one we saw. Yeah, yep, that's what it was. The last one we saw. So the first one we saw, he's like, Okay, I'm done. I don't gotta see anymore. And I'm like, nope, we're gonna see it. Saw the next one, he liked that one too. Like, oh man, like, nope, it was you know, so the last one we saw was the one he ended up choosing. So I spent maybe a half a day with him, and um, he let me know which one's like which one you want me to call on. So he told me before he got the car. I'm like, okay, cool. So on my way back home, um, this happened in Maryland. I live in West Virginia. I'm making my calls to the Atlanta and the um real estate agent, like, hey, you know, asking information about it, blah blah blah. Let them know I'm gonna be sending something over tonight. Boom, done. Got home, draft up his paperwork. Because what I do, um, as well as I try to like, if I know ABC is coming to, you know, tell me they want to look for a home, they already went to the lender, you know, did everything I asked. I start filling my database immediately, you know, with all their information. I try to get all that on the front end that way. If they really want something, I can get their offers in as quick as I can possibly get it in. So when I got home that night, I literally drafted everything up because before going, I already had template going and all of that, and then put it in, sent it over, boom. Then a day or so, he was a you know, boom, accepted. So we started we talked about it in October. He started doing the the legwork with the lender at the end of October into November, and he was moved into his house before Christmas. So yeah. So yep, so that's kind of how I do it. So, especially since, you know, again, that's really all I have is the weekends to do this stuff. And you know, you just find little multiple faucets, little things that you like to do, um, you know, and make that your secondary income. Again, it's probably not the meat and potatoes, but it can be helping you along the way, you know. Just rather if you're putting it and say, get uh uh see what I'm doing, he's jumping. It's time to go. So, guys, I'm gonna cut it here because he's not listening. Um, jumping from the very top slide. So yeah, but I'm

Real Estate Boundaries And Client Readiness

SPEAKER_00 23:54

gonna end it there. Wish me luck, and I will have another episode soon. Um, thank you for joining Madame Blue called the test.